Afternoon Sun

"Afternoon Sun" was a project that emerged from "The Fruit of Our Labour". Whereas "The Fruit of Our Labour" is a piece that celebrates and explores techniques and art styles, "Afternoon Sun" is more purposeful in its composition.

Rather than cotton, the frog is now created out of felt to better preserve the shape and expression. The dress is better fitted, and the book more detailed. In one sense there is less going on in general, but the details that are present have been chosen deliberately to bring out colours and accents so that, when the piece is illuminated by the afternoon sun, it captures the warmth of sunlight on a cobblestoned street.

For this piece I reached back to my childhood, of which some months were spent living and studying in Spain. My grandmother had a flat nearby Benidorm. It was winter when we visited, but for us it was like the height of summer; I swam in the pool, learned rollerskating, and picked oranges which we then juiced and drank fresh with our breakfast. At home I often felt like an outsider, but here the qualities that ostracised me were praised and I felt appreciated in a way I hadn't before. It gave me a sense of belonging which, in time, led me to universities and work abroad.

You can read more about this piece, both the process and the story behind it, on my Patreon.