Orson Welles described Hearst castle as Hearst's own private Xanadu. A pleasure palace – a place where the rich a famous went to relax and play. The idea of Paradise on earth and the mixing and mingling of animals and people is a theme that I am continuing to explore in my work and am complelled to paint. 
 
Paradise was an idea that fascinated the Romantic poets including the wonderful poem Kubla Khan. My mum used to recite me the lines from this poem as a child and it must have rubbed off on me because it’s making an appearance again now as a reference point in my work.
 
Kubla Khan 
By Samuel Taylor Coleridge 
 
Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.
 
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
 
 
This painting depicts a lush green tropical watering hole populated with figures scattered through the trees and relaxing in the dappled shade. I’ve enjoyed layering a glazing intense turquoise and bright emerald green hues and sitting them against this golden yellow. For me blending, applying and mixing all of these colours together is what drives my continued urge to paint! Enjoy….