When I was younger, I used to lie down in fields during summer time (this is England, where you can lie on grass without getting mauled by mosquitoes or worry about snakes) and stare up at the moving clouds, trying to picture the stars that were hidden from view behind the blue sky.
I was always keen to remind myself that we were tiny little things, on a vast planet, in a much more vast universe. And according to science, we were hurtling through space at a fast rate.
I was reminded of this when I took a photo of some particularly fluffy clouds at Noosa's doggy beach (not dodgy beach), and felt inspired to paint that feeling of immense skies and feeling small.
This is the resulting painting, where I've put a tiny little house in, with a brightly coloured door, to show that it's a welcoming place. I've also littered the sky with gold stars, which, on a clear night here on the Sunshine Coast in winter, is pretty much what you'd see. The Milky Way in all its glorious splendour.
I hope this painting also reminds you a little of what it's like to feel small, but part of it all.
This painting is available through Montville Art Gallery, Montville, Queensland, Australia // May 2021