The Prototype

For my prototype, I will re-engage with a stalled painting that has been waiting for resolution. This artwork began with strong passion and intent, but due to a period of illness during pregnancy, my momentum and vision for it have become uncertain. Rather than attempting to replicate the success of a previous artwork 'Fallen Oak', which unexpectedly became my most popular and commercially successful piece, I want to use this prototype as a way to release the pressure of “success” and instead return to the core of my practice and make more work, to help me with my larger endeavour.

The prototype will focus on process over outcome. I will experiment through:

• Sketching and material play: rapid, unfiltered drawings, colour studies, and pattern explorations to ‘brain dump’ ideas connected to my subject matter.

• Thematic anchoring: all experiments will connect to my central subject of rare ecosystems within temperate rainforests, ensuring coherence with my wider endeavour of sustainability and environmental awareness.

• Iterative painting development: I will then allow the painting itself to evolve organically, informed by these experiments, embracing uncertainty and the journey as part of the creative process.

By prototyping in this way, I aim to:

• Reconnect emotionally and creatively with my practice.

• Test strategies for overcoming creative “blocks” and external pressures.

• Explore how experimentation and reflection can feed directly into finished works that align with my broader endeavour of professionalising and sustaining my art practice.

The outcome of this prototype may be a completed painting, or it may remain an exploratory work-in-progress. In either case, its value lies in testing how iterative, reflective methods can strengthen both my confidence and the authenticity of my artistic process.

'Fallen Oak’, A1, acrylic & water-soluble oil paints, 2025