A new painting is currently on show and available to buy at Capital Art Gallery, in Eltham, London! This one is titled, ‘The Gingerbread House’ and is inspired by the well-known and liked tale of Hansel and Gretel.
This painting took a very long time, with all its complicated light and shadow, small objects, composition and vanishing points… but it was totally worth it!
My sister in law gave the reaction that I was hoping to achieve. When she saw the painting for the first time, she commented that the first thing she saw was Hansel and Gretel in the woods; they took her initial focus. It wasn’t until after that that she noticed the strange objects inside the house and realised it was the Gingerbread House of the witch. This was my intention, but it is very hard to know if the way you have planned a painting will achieve the effect you want on a viewer until that point. This is why fresh eyes are so helpful!
When I delivered the painting to Karl at Capital Art Gallery, there was a family of parents and children there who fell into discussion about the painting and its story. That is the other thing I aim to do with these fairy tale paintings: create a discussion and a need to keep coming back to look again and spot more things – let’s beat the 8 second stat! (The ‘8 second stat’ is the statistic of how long a person looks at a painting on average before moving on. I find that a bit sad…)
So, I hope you can find an appreciation for this unusual painting. I have been inspired to do another witch’s window, but from the exterior side… so watch this space! Please feel free to tell me what you think, whether you think it’s weird or wonderful (or indeed both)! If you really love it, there are prints available online or direct from me, and of course, so is the original!
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