In the Making
Some paintings take time to arrive.
This page offers a quiet glimpse into works that are still unfolding - paintings guided by intuition, light, and the presence of animals who step forward when the moment feels right.
These pieces are not unfinished in spirit.
They are simply still becoming.
Collectors are welcome to witness the process gently, without expectation. Some paintings will linger here before they’re complete. Others will move quietly into their next chapter.
Some collectors feel drawn to a painting long before it’s finished.
If a work here speaks to you, you’re welcome to enquire privately.
I’m always happy to share where a piece is heading, and whether it may be available.
The Smallest Yes - (Complete)
A behind the scenes reflection on the making of The Smallest Yes, a painting about having courage in making the small decisions.
In the Making Entry - The Smallest Yes
February 2026
Painting Title: The Smallest yes
WIP Stage: Complete
Canvas Size: 16 x 12 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Theme: Courage
Series: God’s Rope - Chapter I
Current Stage
The Smallest Yes
There are paintings that arrive fully formed in the mind, and there are paintings that unfold slowly, like something being remembered.
The Smallest Yes belonged to the second.
It began not with a detailed plan, but with a feeling. A sense of pause. Of something about to move, but not yet committed to flight. I wanted to paint that exact threshold, the breath before action, the inward decision that no one else sees.
The first layers were muted and restrained. I kept the forest soft, almost dissolving, allowing space around the bird rather than filling it. The branches were placed carefully, not as decoration, but as grounding, as history, as the structure from which courage rises.
The wings were built gradually in translucent glazes. Light was not added as an effect at the end. It was developed patiently, layer by layer, so that it would feel internal rather than applied. I wanted the bird to appear as though it was carrying light, not simply reflecting it.
The golden threads emerged quietly during the middle stages. They were never meant to dominate the composition. They are part of my God’s Rope narrative, the invisible strands of connection between animals, the soul, and the divine. Here they sit gently in the branches, suggesting guidance rather than declaring it.
Throughout the process I resisted the urge to dramatise the moment. This is not a painting about spectacle. It is about subtle courage. About trusting the air before you know you can fly.
As the final layers settled, I understood that this painting was less about movement, and more about consent. The quiet inward yes that reshapes a life.
The Smallest Yes now joins the growing body of work exploring sacred animal messengers and the gentle thresholds that define us.
Sometimes the most important step is barely louder than breath.
🕊️ Progress: 100% — Stage: Complete
100% Complete — Now Available
The Eyes of the Messenger - (Complete)
A behind the scenes reflection on the making of The Eyes of the Messenger, tracing stillness, light, and spiritual arrival in paint.
In the Making Entry - The Eyes of the Messenger
January 2026
Painting Title: The Eyes of the Messenger
WIP Stage: Complete
Canvas Size: 24 x 18 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Theme: Connection and recognition
Series: God’s Rope - Chapter I
Current Stage
This painting began, as many of mine do, with stillness.
Before colour was chosen or forms were resolved, there was simply a sense of presence, the feeling that an animal had arrived rather than appeared. That quiet certainty guided the first marks on the canvas.
The Eyes of the Messenger grew slowly.
In the earliest stages, I focused on atmosphere rather than detail, allowing space, air, and light to establish themselves before defining either figure. The fox emerged gently, her posture upright and attentive, her body held in that delicate balance between movement and rest. I resisted any sense of drama. Nothing here was meant to rush.
The woman followed.
Her head was lowered slightly, her posture open but unassertive. I wanted the encounter to feel mutual and unforced, two beings sharing a moment rather than performing one. Much of the work in this stage was about restraint, knowing when not to push, when to allow a passage to remain quiet.
As the painting developed, light became the central language.
Not brightness, but gathering.
Not spectacle, but recognition.
Soft glazes were layered to build the sense that something invisible was forming between them, something felt rather than seen. The glow was kept contained, held within the air of the painting rather than radiating outward. It needed to feel inevitable, as though it had always been there and I was simply uncovering it.
The fox’s eyes were revisited again and again.
Small adjustments shifted the entire meaning of the work. A fraction too sharp and the moment became alert. Too soft and it lost intention. I looked for the precise balance where the gaze could hold presence without command.
When the final layers were added, nothing dramatic changed on the surface, yet the painting settled.
That is usually how I know a piece is complete.
Not through a single finishing stroke, but through a sense that the painting has stopped asking for more.
The Eyes of the Messenger now stands as part of the earliest movement in my wider body of work, the paintings where animals first arrive as guides, before journeys are named and paths are mapped.
These works mark the beginning of everything that follows.
🕊️ Progress: 100% — Stage: Complete
100% Complete — Now Available
The Smallest Yes - (In Progress)
A spiritual oil painting in progress exploring light, stillness, and the quiet moment of consent. A bird as messenger, carried by light rather than illuminate
In the Making Entry - The Smallest Yes
January 2026
Painting Title: The Smallest Yes
WIP Stage: Light and movement resolved in a muted palette.
Canvas Size: 12 x 16 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Theme: Connection between realms
Series: Golden Whispers - Golden Thread Collection
Current Stage
At this stage of The Smallest Yes, the colour palette has been intentionally muted to allow the painting to settle into a quieter, more reverent state before completion.
This is a deliberate pause in the process, a moment of listening rather than speaking.
By softening the colour, my focus turns entirely to the behaviour of the light: how it enters the space, how it moves, and how it passes through the bird rather than simply resting on its surface. The bird is not being illuminated so much as carried…held within the light as a messenger rather than an object.
I am currently resolving the feeling of:
light moving through the wings
presence without weight
motion without urgency
and the stillness that exists just before a choice is fully made
Restraint at this stage is essential. Too much colour too soon would disturb the quiet truth the painting is holding. This muted phase allows humility, attentiveness, and reverence to lead the way, so that when colour returns, it arrives with purpose rather than force.
This painting is not about action, but about consent. About the smallest inner agreement… the quiet yes… that alters the course of what follows.
The final layers will reintroduce colour gradually, guided by the light itself, ensuring the finished painting retains this sense of sacred pause and gentle recognition.
🕊️ Progress: 65% — Stage: Resolve the light
65% Complete — Resolve the Light
The Smallest Yes (In Progress)
A warm, radiant study of a bird in flight, captured mid-message as it moves between the earthly and the otherworldly. The first layers of golden light and threads have begun to emerge in this 12x16 oil on canvas.
In the Making Entry
December 2025
Painting Title: The Smallest Yes
WIP Stage: Block-in and First Pass
Canvas Size: 12 x 16 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Theme: Connection between realms
Series: Golden Whispers - Golden Thread Collection
Current Stage
The block-in and first pass of modelling are complete. At this stage the bird’s form has begun to take shape, and the first touches of the golden light and threads are emerging. These early glimmers are the beginnings of its message - a quiet signal of the connection between the earthly and the otherworldly.
Birds have always stood at the threshold between realms for me. They’re gentle messengers that can slip through the thin veil that separates our world from the unseen one. The Smallest Yes carries that symbolism forward, offering a moment where the spiritual and physical meet in a soft rush of wings and light.
More layers, refinement, and the full weaving of God’s golden threads will follow in the next stage.
🕊️ Progress: 45% — Stage: Block-in and First Pass
45% Complete — Block-in & First Pass
Complete and in Originals and available as Limited Edition Print
Work in Progress Entry
November 2025
Painting Title: The Message in the Wings
WIP Stage: Complete and Released
Canvas Size: 12 x 16 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Theme: Divine guidance carried in motion; animal messenger as spiritual bridge
Series: Golden Whispers - Golden Thread Collection
Complete.
This painting carries the spirit of arrival - the message that’s already been sent and received. The golden threads trailing behind the bird shimmer like divine residue, evidence that something sacred moved through and left light behind.
From the first brushstroke to the final glaze, The Message in the Wings reminded me that faith is often experienced in motion.
🕊️ Progress: 100% — Stage: Completed & Released
Ready for final glaze — the quiet part before the glow.
Work in Progress Entry
November 2025
Painting Title: Message in the Wings
WIP Stage: Final layers - adding details and refining
Canvas Size: 12 x 16 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Theme: Divine guidance carried in motion; animal messenger as spiritual bridge
Series: Golden Whispers - Golden Thread Collection
📖 Story from the Studio
Here’s where the light comes through. Each thread is built through glazing, not metallic paint — so the glow feels part of the air, not sitting on the surface.
🔍 What’s Next
Refining details
Adding golden threads
Refining edges
Crafting the glow of light
Want first right of refusal for this original?
Message me directly to receive early access once completed. Limited edition print tiers will be available after the reveal.
Building the light to form the connection.- Message in the Wings
Work in Progress Entry
November 2025
Painting Title: Message in the Wings
WIP Stage: Glazing - Crafting the light
Canvas Size: 12 x 16 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Theme: Divine guidance carried in motion; animal messenger as spiritual bridge
Series: Golden Whispers - Golden Thread Collection
📖 Story from the Studio
Soft layers of warm greys, purple and blue undertones. I’m beginning to build the glow that will eventually hold the golden threads.
🔍 What’s Next
Defining the spiritual light
Building form in the wings
Adding depth to the face
Softening edges
Want first right of refusal for this original?
Message me directly to receive early access once completed. Limited edition print tiers will be available after the reveal.
Building the wing through shadow before adding light.- Message in the Wings
Work in Progress Entry
November 2025
Painting Title: Message in the Wings
WIP Stage: First Colour pass - Illumination Begins
Canvas Size: 12 x 16 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Theme: Divine guidance carried in motion; animal messenger as spiritual bridge
Series: Golden Whispers - Golden Thread Collection
📖 Story from the Studio
Not every message is spoken - some are carried on wings.
This painting explores the moment a divine message is already in motion, carried through the body of a bird whose wings exist in two worlds at once. The golden threads drifting behind it aren’t just light - they’re proof of what passed through. A quiet spiritual moment suspended in movement and oil.
I have added the first layers of muted tones to establish depth and direction in the feathers. At this point, the painting feels more like a whisper than a statement.
🔍 What’s Next
Building form in the body and defining the wings
adding light
Painting the celestial background
Want first right of refusal for this original?
Message me directly to receive early access once completed. Limited edition print tiers will be available after the reveal.
The beautiful red-haired woman and white horse bow in reverence - The First Ascent
Work in Progress Entry
October 2025
Painting Title: The First Ascent
WIP Stage: Final Layer — Illumination Begins
Canvas Size: 18 x 24 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Series: God’s Rope - Golden Thread Collection
📖 Story from the Studio
The beginning of the ascent - heads bowed not in prayer, but in reverence.
The golden threads and rope are forming and leading to heaven - to home.
🔍 What’s Next
Glazing the divine light
adding definition and highlights to the clouds
Painting the golden spiritual thread in real liguid gold
Horse and red-haired woman in early sky scene — still gentle and forming
Work in Progress Entry
October 2025
Painting Title: The First Ascent
WIP Stage: Mid Layer — Illumination Begins
Canvas Size: 18 x 24 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Series: God’s Rope - Golden Thread Collection
📖 Story from the Studio
The clouds are still whispering, and the horse is still waiting. This month, I’ve begun refining light across the mane and starting to weave the golden thread toward her, letting it decide its own path on the canvas.
The golden thread hasn’t appeared yet, but I already feel where it will belong: not tied to reins, but floating near her mane, following her movement like a quiet promise.
🔍 What’s Next
Glazing the horse’s coat to refine light
adding definition to the clouds
Painting the golden spiritual thread in thin, glowing strokes
Putting life into her face
Umber Underpainting – Building atmosphere and energy beneath the light
Work in Progress Entry
February 2025
Painting Title: Fleeting Freedom
WIP Stage: Early Layers → Mid-Development
Canvas Size: 24 x 18 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Series: God’s Rope - Golden Thread Collection
📖 Story from the Studio
This painting began with the image of a horse caught between two worlds - running not away from anything, but toward the invisible call of something sacred. Before the colour ever touched the canvas, I sketched her in charcoal, letting the movement find its own rhythm. Even then, she already felt alive.
The first wash brought in the earth tones - Transparent Brown Oxide, Yellow Ochre, touches of teal where the water and light will eventually meet. I let the drips stay where they fell. They felt like part of the story instead of something to hide.
Once the sky came in - soft greys, rose-touched clouds, and hints of cobalt - the birds began to reveal themselves. They’re not just companions to the horse. They’re messengers. Guides. Guardians of the threshold between body and spirit.
As the horse deepened into dark blues and violets, she stopped feeling grounded and began to feel suspended - almost weightless. The freedom now isn’t a physical escape, but a spiritual release. A moment caught between stillness and flight.
The golden thread hasn’t appeared yet, but I already feel where it will belong: not tied to reins, but floating near her mane, following her movement like a quiet promise.
🔍 What’s Next
Glazing the horse’s coat to refine light + muscle definition
Adding soft reflections in the water below her
Painting the golden spiritual thread in thin, glowing strokes
Final pass on hummingbirds (light, detail, motion)
🎨 Colours Used So Far
Transparent Brown Oxide
Yellow Ochre
Ultramarine Blue
Quinacridone Rose
Indian Yellow
Cobalt Teal
Alizarin Crimson
Some freedom isn’t loud. It doesn’t kick down gates or demand an audience. Some freedom is simply knowing when it’s time to run — and trusting the path appears beneath you.
Discover the spiritual meaning of horses and their symbolism across cultures. Explore strength, freedom and how horse encounters inspire the God’s Rope series of animal paintings.