'Nourishing Connections' (an ongoing art series)
This year I have been working on a series of 24x36in oil on canvas paintings depicting hands making, grabbing, and sharing food.
Growing a focus
My art practice began off with no focus, but very quickly started repeatedly exploring themes of happy moments and mundane joys. However, it wasn't until I painted 'Pandemic Picnic' in gouache on a small 15x20cm piece of watercolour paper that the topic of human connection became clear to me, and through what method people would be shown to connect - over food!
The story behind this art is that my boyfriend and I would escape through one of our skylights onto the roof of our apartment during the covid pandemic. We were trapped in a dark flat that only had 2 small skylights pointing up and had to be extra cautious due to health issues, and so were starved of sunlight and views.
We had a picnic blanket and would shakily climb the ladder with mugs of tea to sit in the sunshine and find a moment's peace amongst the chaos and disruption of our worlds. The painting, despite having no people present, is able to represent a warmth and human connection shared between two people.
It was then that I realised that the narrative behind the painting can be explored more and more. Incorporating hands and an element of chaos / energy has been my favourite thing to do since then. I also began dabbling more in oil paint to utilise visible brushstrokes and create energy with looser and brighter paint application.
Starting the series
When I moved studios at the end of 2025 to somewhere nearer to where I lived, I was able to start focusing on creating larger pieces. I was worried they would be more of the same stuff, but I was determined to explore the theme at a larger scale in order to inject even more energy and detail into each painting.
Now, I have finished 2 paintings and am working on the 3rd. 'Filling' was my first, depicting an evening where my boyfriend, my friend and I are crimping homemade ravioli parcel edges in order to cook and eat them together. The hands in the middle of working away, and the view looking down makes you feel like you're there, taking part in this act of care and effort.
'Feasting' was the second, and it's my favourite painting I've made to date! I'm so pleased with the sheen on the bronze edge of the Hotpot broth boiling in the centre of the table. The values is what I think really works in this painting, and the viewer feels like they are celebrating at the table with the others, about to tuck into a feast.
What I'm working on currently is called 'Grabbing', and it's a little different from the others in that it almost has more hands than food in it! This one was inspired by a meal with friends, celebrating the wins in life like landing a job after graduating.
Why food?
I feel that food and the act of making / sharing it is one of the things that makes us the most human. The small things we put effort into, to show care for others, and the tme we spend with one another, to show that we care, are important.
In a way I feel that I explore this theme of human connection because I felt so disconnected for years, and after the pandemic it felt appropriate to put effort into fostering connections where I hadn't before.
Making art about these moments that bring us closer together, universally recognisable and inviting, is an important act of representing how we can create more joy and stability in the world. I look forward to painting even more canvases in this series 'Nourishing Connections'!
