Would like to make a portrait using collage, poetry, words, perhaps photocopy of his letters.

working drawings.. decide that simple os best. Minimal. Always drawn to more graphic images.

Tried Missy and acrylics... yuck.

Try clear gesso and oil paint on top ?

Then used fabric and far happier.

Tried to add wall paper on y own self portrait... so happy! Love it.

Edward James Portrait:

Formal portrait but with a contemporary, modern, tropical and colourful style.

It took me four hours to paint. Wanted to keep it loose and free.

Walked into wallaper shop and chose Mexican EJ style. One that summed him up jumped out of first book i looked at. i ordered a roll. Looked perfect. Paired with over writing "el toro blanco" plus a secret word that only I know. Pink shirt to pop colour. Designed wall paper as mainly one cut including bird on shoulder. i am really happy with the portrait. I hope he would have liked it.

Video of me adding layers next time?

Barbara Kingsolver (writer):
“Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.”

My mother’s portrait forms the starting point of this enquiry. Her character epitomizes a mercurial nature in terms of her volatility. The work reflects how attention became centered on her needs, while her extreme narcissism is suggested through the use of reflection in the window. She appears disconnected from the family, emphasised by the vertical barriers within the composition and the separation from us created by her own reflected image stopping a flow of connection and facing everything back to herself.  Portrayed in her wheel chair, her Multiple Sclerosis is considered not only as a physical condition but also as a force or separate entity that has shaped family dynamics through her need and demands of care. The cool, almost monochromatic palette draws on the influence of Jon Currie's portraits and triptychs, with only subtle traces of colour interrupting the deathly pallor, creating a tension between vitality and decline. Her hand left unrefined and claw-like to reflect her mother’s touch.

The central panel, titled The Motherload, focuses on the overwhelming accumulation of inherited responsibility and emotional labour. The dress, shared with my daughter, symbolises vitality, freedom, and the liberation that comes with age—and like Alice Neel, a refusal to be constrained by the expectations of others. Its vibrant colour palette reflects the joy and self-discovery I have experienced post-divorce, choosing self-love and demonstrating that choice to my children. On the other hand, and despite the open body language, the facial expression is tense due to the emotional and physical load of being the sandwich generation that has to notice and carry it all. Both portraits are looking towards me as a pillar of support and strength. Beneath the painted surface, I embedded a written stream of consciousness. What began as an exploration of truth, of holding the the weight of motherhood, anxieties about the world, guilt about divorce, and unspoken messages to my children unexpectedly resolved into the phrase, “I forgive you, Mum.” This became a pivotal moment within the work, shifting its emotional trajectory from fear and resentment towards release and understanding. In forgiving her, I hope to release myself and, in turn, loosen the burden carried by my own children. It became a mercurial shift—a change of emotional state.

This work is informed by psychological and autobiographical approaches within contemporary painting, film, and psychological approaches to family dynamics.  Film such a s”The Empire of Light” directed by Sam Mendes which is an autobiography and touch on his agonizing relationship with his mother though the view of the camera lens, and we therefore become protaginists. Black Swan also raises similar theres of mother/daughter relationship. I drew from this imagery in my work.  I particularly engage with artists who position the body as a site of emotional memory, trauma, and transformation, such as Alice Neel and Nasreen Mohamedi. I am influenced by the raw psychological self-examination found in the work of Louise Bourgeois, the exploration of family relationships, memory, and vulnerability in the paintings of Marlene Dumas, and the unflinching depictions of motherhood, identity, and the female body by Paula Rego.

My practice is also shaped by feminist perspectives on motherhood, identity, and care, where the maternal is understood not as an idealised or singular experience, but as complex, embodied, and often contradictory. Through this lens, the body becomes a space where personal histories, emotional states, and social expectations intersect, allowing painting to explore the fractured, intimate, and transformative experiences of identity and belonging.

The physical spacing between panels creates a psychological tension between closeness and separation, reinforcing the idea of inheritance as something both intimate and discordant. The physical separation from my mother’s portrait reflects the reality of our relationship whilst the colour balance across the tryptich echoes that disparity. The differing painterly styles are fragmented, reflecting the true nature of the family dynamics. The colour palette and handling of paint are both cohesive and clashing, mirroring lived experience and acknowledging the differences. The square format and repeated depiction of flesh act as visual devices that bind the triptych together.

I want to work bigger and making pose and flesh the character and letting everything else go. Leaving out the detail.

Ultimately, Mercurial is about what we inherit, what we carry, and what we choose to transform. It explores the tension between damage and care, repetition and interruption, asking whether generational patterns can be understood without being perpetuated. For me, the work is rooted in resilience, self-love, acceptance, and forgiveness. The act of making it became an act of transformation in itself therefore deeply profound exercise.

After jotting our initial ideas down on paper and ticking them, I made a poll of our favourites and "Mercurial" was the favourite.

We came up with the definition and thanks to our in house designers, had a logo which complimented the theme which we all agreed on instantly. We added a link via FIGMA and QR code with info on each of our works so that we could be found with ease, conscious of not using/wasting paper. Design to look contemporary and fresh and exhibit easily and clearly navigated. This Sigma will be online forever so we can access it in the future.

We printed off a few posters and signs and discussed access and added an invite to be able to text friends and potential clients.

I moved house in October and settled 3 teenagers. I took out a loan and got builders in January to make a basic studio. Started classes in the house in January.

Social media course midway through....

Insta Dabble Art

TikTok account set up.

Updated website- more to do

Smartest app in which I use ai interiors to place my work

Doing commissions.

Making an art collection. Offering freebies and photographed all my next sitters who all have links to the people I am aiming for/my buyer. Identified: My buyer is clear. Ibiza, style conscious, big white walls, money to spend, interiors clean and attracted to positive vibes.

Advertised on school what's app.

Dabble:

I've started teaching and made workshops "Dabble Studio".

Branded it and done some marketing Made flyers.

Got a separate business account set up.

Changed car to fit my big boards. Accounts in order. Set up a list of buyers.

In addition to this I have starting doing workshops/talks at Glion Hospitality School in Switzerland about "The Art of Communication" and "The Art of Connection".

Personally... I had some creative ideas about layout, lighting and photographed the headshots of the group and some of their pieces for their websites. I also documented, photographed every piece in detail at the exhibition as well as offering a basic and comprehensive lesson in photography. Showing how to do movement. See Elena above and we moved Nix's pieces changing their "feeling" . Also I've been the social media teacher.

I took the lead role occasionally if no-one had a fixed idea. Equally happy to step back. Felt like everyone in the group also danced the same dance complimenting each other so well. Sarah took on logistical roles despite being so poorly, Sue and Yanna were admin, Kate the finance coordinator, Nix and Elena graphic designers, Liz an all round and information and researcher extraordinaire.

The plan revolves around Elena's work which dictated the "flow" and everyone else needed particular areas which worked well.