Oil on canvas, 80 × 60 cm, 2026Ginger Baby captures a quiet moment of tenderness, care, and affection. It is a playful story about connection: how we adapt our love language to be seen, how we share and care, how relationships take multiple shapes and forms. We crave something very basic and vital, wishing only to feel present, recognised, needed. Just that same old joy here and now in all of its prosaic glory.
With this painting, I set myself several ambitious challenges first and foremost technically rather than conceptually: to create complex lighting with strong contrasts, sharp edges, reflections, and an active interplay of light and shadow; to build a dark, weighty background reminiscent of Rembrandt; to structure the composition around two opposing key colours; and to explore a range of textures.
I am especially pleased with how many of these elements came together, particularly given how much the work evolved during the process (there was even a first version without the cat mask). I’m most proud of the hand and everything coming together in that space - shadows, cat’s face and the hand itself. Composition is looking good too. The sense of discovery and change became part of the painting itself.
