My latest collection, The Sublime Horizon, is a series of six original acrylic paintings inspired by a distant storm I watched unfold from my garden.
Where the Idea Came From
I was outside one evening when the sky turned a striking orangey-pink, glowing brightly against deep blue and grey storm clouds beneath it. As I stood watching, I noticed flashes of orange and pink light in the distance and realised I was looking at a thunderstorm, just from a completely different vantage point than usual.
What struck me most was the contrast: something as violent and destructive as a storm can look, from a distance, calm, beautiful, and genuinely awe-inspiring. That tension between danger and beauty became the idea I wanted to explore across this new collection of original paintings.
Developing the Collection
The colour palette for The Sublime Horizon is drawn directly from that evening sky; the oranges, pinks, blues, and greys I saw layered across the horizon. With the palette established, I moved into my favourite part of the painting process: experimenting freely across all six panels, applying acrylic paint with a wide range of brushes and palette knives.
I try to keep the process playful for as long as possible, holding nothing too precious until the final composition starts to take shape. Working this way keeps things spontaneous and allows small accidents to happen, the kind that end up giving a piece more energy and life than a fully planned approach ever could.
Six Paintings, Six Stages of a Storm
As the final compositions for each of the six panels began to emerge, I noticed they seemed to capture different stages of a storm — some calm and tranquil, others more energetic, with visible tension in the brushwork and colour. That observation shaped the titles I gave each piece, with each one marking a different point along the timeline of this natural phenomenon.
One example is II. Where the Sky Splits, shown below — a piece that captures one of the more dramatic, high-energy moments in the sequence.
Shop the Collection
All six original acrylic paintings on panel from The Sublime Horizon are available now, along with a set of art postcards that complement the collection for anyone looking for a more accessible way to bring the series into their home.
