Oil and acrylic on canvas
 
This painting was created for my exhibition Endless Summer at Saltdean Lido, and it’s without doubt one of the most personal pieces in the collection. It’s full of moments - symbols, stories, and memories - that mean a great deal to me, and painting it felt like piecing together something intimate and true.
 
Eclipse Season explores the idea of endings and new beginnings, and the strange beauty that lives in that in-between. I’ve painted a huge celestial body rising behind the lido. I was thinking about eclipses, shifting light, and the way life can quietly pivot in ways you don’t always see coming.
 
I’ve filled the foreground with women doing things I love - from the Aqua Lilies-style synchronised swimmers, to rollerskaters gliding across the scene. I’ve painted women for many years, and I always come back to their strength, grace, and joy.
 
There are also small symbols tucked throughout. A tiger, which I often use to represent my son - born after a series of vivid tiger dreams I had while pregnant. Two dogs appear too - one I met on a recent surf trip to Morocco, and another from a place I stay in Santa Monica when I exhibit there. They’re like little anchors, connecting places I love with the present moment.
 
It’s about love changing shape, about holding onto joy through transformation, and about trusting the newness and optimism that follows loss.