Warm brown and taupe tones with dramatic rocky stone forms flanking the figure. Painterly and classical in feel. The figure and background feel genuinely integrated.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, integrated figure and landscape in warm browns, painterly realism
Strong graphite on dark ground with bold sweeping strokes filling the background. High contrast and dramatic. The figure stands in a storm of marks!
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, powerful dark-ground graphite technique with bold gestural strokes
Rich charcoal tones blending from deep black into pale white through smudge and atmosphere. The figure emerges from the ground rather than sitting on it. Dramatic but still.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, dramatic charcoal work, form emerging from darkness through layered smudge and tone
Pure monochrome grey with large geometric faceted planes filling the background. The figure is folded into the same angular surface rather than modelled in the round. Precise and cool with no colour anywhere in the image.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, strict angular planes, no colour, figure folded into geometric surfaces
Warm cream and pale blue with large flowing draped forms filling the background. The figure is naturalistically rendered in warm flesh tones against the sculptural surround. Calm and considered with a classical drapery quality.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, calm and classical, with large draped forms in cream and soft blue
Cool blue lavender and silver with a silky vertical flow in the background — draped fabric or cascading water in cool light. Figure is warm against the pearlescent surround. Iridescent and luminous throughout. One of the more delicate and distinctive backgrounds in this range.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, in delicate iridescent blues and lavender with silky vertical flow and glowing warmth
Stark black corners frame radiating crumpled white planes — crushed paper or foil caught in sharp light. Figure is warm against the high contrast surround. Graphic and dramatic with a strong print-like character. Bold silhouettes read with particular intensity in this style.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, sharp print-like treatment with warm figure against intense geometric shadow play
Pale ivory and cream ground with loose scrolling organic forms in terracotta and rust. Background generates rounded decorative shapes — ornamental rather than architectural. Figure is warm and confident against the near-white surround. Distinctive and quietly decorative.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, quietly decorative style with fluid organic motifs in terracotta against a near-white surround
Cool blue and mauve with large rounded petal-like forms filling the background — abstract roses with a crystalline flash. Figure is warm and painterly against the cool floral surround. Soft and romantic but with a sparkling edge. Distinctive and immediately appealing.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, in a romantic painterly style with abstract roses, cool crystal tones, and luminous warmth
Deep cobalt blue background with warm golden-yellow forms bursting outward in bold impasto. Figure painted in warm cream and flesh tones at the centre of the energy. Theatrical and baroque — stormy sky with golden light breaking through. One of the more dramatically coloured styles in the set.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, theatrical oil painting style with stormy cobalt and bursting warm gold
Luminous white cloud forms fill the background with dark charcoal tendril or vine-like marks threading through them. Cool blue-grey at the base. Figure painted in warm flesh tones against the pale open surround. Looser and more organic than Pale Damask — botanical rather than decorative.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, organic botanical style, pale open surround with loose dark linear marks
Large angular faceted planes in pale blue-grey white and cream cover the entire surface like crumpled paper or crushed ice. Figure painted in warm flesh tones sits gently against the cool crystalline ground. Precise delicate and icy.
Figure caught in a mirror, eye contact, nude, arms playing a vital role, modest, delicate icy facets of blue-grey white and cream against a crushed-paper ground