Summer Days, Drifting Away

This painting feels like a mix of cool confidence and dreamlike escape. The woman (in fact, myself as a self-portrait), half-submerged in water, looks straight at you through reflective sunglasses, giving her an untouchable, self-assured vibe. The colours are vivid and playful - teal blues, splashes of neon green, and pops of yellow flowers swirling in her hair - all blending in a way that suggests movement and light rippling through water.

There’s a sense of weightlessness, as if she’s suspended in a private, tranquil world, yet the intense contrasts in colour keep the image bold and energetic. It’s calm and vibrant at the same time, like the feeling of floating in the ocean while knowing there’s a bustling shore just out of sight.

My original paintings are informed by created and found photographs and film stills. This particular piece was inspired by a collage that I made using imagery I had from personal photographs from when I was a teenager. Having just moved close to Southern Beaches in Fish Creek, Victoria, I felt that I was revisiting my youth - hence the blue glasses and groovy neck choker. It really is a kind of Self-Portrait. I have developed my style using contemporary art techniques such as expressionism and pop art. Named after a line in Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta's song "Summer Nights".