Mother’s Garden

Oil on canvas

65x52 cm

Centred on my childhood memories of Jamaica - where my mother is from and where I spent formative time growing up - this oil portrait explores the intimate connection between mother, child, and nature. The work draws on my own thoughts and feelings to reflect a sense of origin, belonging, and nurture.

The background is built from thick layers of paint evoking the sun and sea, using vibrant colours drawn from my memories of the landscape. Bursts of flowers and dense flora surround the mother and son, visually enclosing them and symbolising their bond. Together, these elements - mother, child, and nature - depict a beautiful, nurturing relationship and serve as a reminder of where it all began.

I worked primarily from an old photograph, alongside other images taken at the same time. Throughout the process, I found myself reconnecting with memories that resurfaced as I painted, recalling the energy and richness of the land. The abstract quality of the background is intentional: memories rarely hold precise detail, but instead preserve atmosphere, feelings, and emotion. Through thick brushstrokes and swirling, saturated colour, I aimed to capture the dreamlike texture of early memory, while also echoing the vitality of the landscape itself.