What happened to August? Somehow, this moment of reflection on a recent commission has found me at the tail end of the month—and yet, I’m delighted to finally share a piece of art that holds a quiet world within.
This intimate painting, created for the wonderful Pia Pelkonen of @piainteriordesign, recently appeared in the September issue of Homes & Gardens magazine. The collaboration felt effortless from the start. Pia’s vision—steeped in sustainable design and a Scandinavian ethos of serenity—mirrored my own belief that art should not just sit in a space but breathe with its surroundings. I also love that as a designer Pia is championing original art commissioned from an independent artist.
From the beginning, the commission was bound to something deeply personal: the end client’s love of nature, and more specifically, a cherished childhood memory of a beach in Ireland. When I spoke to her at the start of th project she recalled the salt-touched air, the shifting light across wet sand, and memories of how relaxing this place was to her. I set out to capture these feelings, a soulful layering of memory captured within the layers of the canvas. The painting also had to work with Pia Interiors design aesthetic for the scheme; Scandinavian minimalism.
As the artist, I approached this canvas as a soft abstraction of that beach—rather than something representational. Thin washes were layered over more textured passages of impasto, which create visual interest but which still felt soft and meditative.
Pia was a dream collaborator: precise in direction, a clear communicator, and she is wholeheartedly committed to sustainable values. Her commitment to longevity—reusing, reimagining, and building spaces that mature with their inhabitants—felt like an artistic kindred spirit. It meant that this commission wasn’t just about aesthetics; it was about creating a painting designed to endure, like the memory it represents.
Seeing the piece integrated into the tranquil living room space of Pond Place—a beautifully considered family home that marries minimal Scandinavian materials with organic resonance—was a real ‘pinch me’ moment. The artwork doesn’t command the room; it completes it.
To me, every commission begins with a story. This one began with a beach, a client’s memory of a place with happy memories. It was a reminder that fine art is usually deeply personal.
As an artist, these are the commissions I live for: where story, memory, nature, meet on canvas. Each layer is an invitation: to pause, remember, and step back in time.
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