A Painting Made as a Gift
It was Christmas time, and I was away from home.
Away from my studio, with only a few familiar things close by, a sketchbook, pencils, and acrylic pens.
A friend gifted me two small sets of starter oil paints.
He said, simply, that he would love to see my work sometime.
I didn’t have brushes with me.
Only sculpting knives.
So I worked with what I had.
The paint behaved differently without the tools I’m used to. It resisted in places, moved unexpectedly in others. I let the knives lead, allowing the surface to decide how the colour would settle.
This painting was made for him, not as a finished statement, but as a response.
A gesture of gratitude, shaped by limitation and trust.
Sometimes the absence of the right tools doesn’t stop the work.
It asks us to listen more closely.
Made for a friend.
