Gorse And Heather

Resin and mixed media on canvas · 85 x 60cm · framed in white wood

Rachel lives on Tregonning Hill in Cornwall, and from the top there's a sweeping view across to Redruth, St. Ives and Godolphin Hill. In spring the hilltop transforms, as purple heather spreads across it and the gorse bursts into bright yellow flower. This painting is her response to that view, and to the colours and shapes that surround her every day.

A sky of vivid, sunny yellow glows across the top. Beneath it, distant hills roll away in soft bands of lilac, grey and white, edged with fine lines of turquoise. Then a nearer hill rises, rich with olive, khaki and mustard, rippling like wind through the gorse. In the foreground, everything comes alive: pools of deep plum and magenta heather tumble together with splashes of gorse yellow, moss green, pale blue and soft pink, as joyful and tangled as a Cornish hillside in full bloom.

As with all of Rachel's resin work, it looks free and fluid but was carefully planned. Resin gives her just four minutes before it sets as hard as rock, so every colour and every pour had to be decided in advance. The result is a glossy, jewel-like surface that makes the colours sing.

It's bright, uplifting and full of energy, and it carries a real sense of home. Framed in white wood and ready to hang, it would bring a burst of colour to a kitchen, a living room, or anywhere that needs lifting on a grey day.