'Nights by the Bay'

Since launching my business I have met many interesting people. The client who commissioned this painting was one of them. Helen owns her own jewellery brand (I'll link below), and makes the most gorgeous abstract intricate pieces. Working with someone who has their own creative vision is really exciting; and I'd say it was more like a collaboration between us rather than just me painting the piece on my own, which I loved.  She asked me to work up a commission for her gorgeous townhouse in the west end of Glasgow. 

The main objective of this piece was to create something which would compliment the interior wall colour and the other artworks in the space, so everything in Helens living room would sit together in harmony. She wanted something moody, with deep blues, greys and dusty pinks. I wanted to also include some warm neutral colours as this would be used to tie in some of her furniture and accessories she owned. The mood board below shows shots of her room, and inspiration images and colour palette I used to create the painting from.

The mood board

I wanted to use Helens jewellery as inspiration;  which would add a lovely bit of personalisation into the painting for her. I focused on capturing some of the shapes Helen often uses in her pieces. Some are quite graphic, others are more organic. I had fun playing with pops of colour and contrasting linear shapes and lines. I tried to create almost 'jewel'-like shapes. 

Helens Jewellery 

Studio Shot & Works in Progress

It took a while to get the balance working of the dark blue and contrasting white, you can see some of the top images are quite different to the final painting - again, its all a process and it was great being able to run things past Helen.

The final painting; ready for its new home!

I dropped the painting off to Helen in person which was lovely, and she sent some photos of the painting hung above her sofa. It looks perfect for the space and her grey walls and decor.

I've decided to call this piece 'nights by the bay'. I asked for name suggestions on instagram and almost everyone suggested something sea themed - I can see why and it definitely reminds me of a peaceful water scene. Doing this piece was a pleasure and I'm really happy with the way it has turned out.

Please give Helen a follow on her instagram below, and I'll link her website. I'm all about supporting small, Scottish creative businesses and her work is so beautiful!