Tea time with mama.

These two works continue my exploration into mixing acrylic paint with charcoal — my primary medium as a charcoal artist. While my practice has long centred on portraiture, in my recent works, I shift my focus to capturing a feeling, a moment suspended in memory.

These pieces honour a tender scene shared between my mother and I: her boiling water to make some tea late at night after a long day together and that warm, beautiful smile that appears only when one feels completely at home.

I layered paint with charcoal, warmth with weight, thinking about the woman who raised me and my three sisters, the grandmother who pours that same love into the next generation, my father’s love of his life and the muse of my own.

The older I become, the more I realise how deeply I need her — how many questions I still have, how many stories I want to hear, how much I long to learn from her. I’ve always wanted to be like her and that admiration only grows with time.

In these works, I pay tribute to the woman that shapes our family — not just her image, but the feeling of being loved by her.