Deepwater Poppies

Coral opens against cold water. A single poppy leans into the foreground in salmon and warm cream, its petals veined in crimson, while a pale bloom rises on a long curving stem behind it and dusty rose crowds the upper edge. Beneath them the ground moves — petrol teal, turquoise and deep navy brushed in long horizontal strokes, layered the way water is layered.

The dark foliage is what holds it together. Near-black leaf shapes, flicked with cream, cut through the composition and give the blooms something to press against. Nothing here is delicate. It is a botanical painted with confidence.

Rendered in matte acrylic — flat opaque colour laid in clean blocks, visible brushwork, no gloss. The kind of surface that rewards standing close to it.