City Living

• Acrylic, pewter leaf, mixed medium
• An original
• Framed
• 114.5 x 78cms 

This painting is all about the vibrancy of city living. I was lucky enough to go to Palma last year on a girls’ trip with my three darling friends. One of our best decisions in a long time was to ensure that we always tried to go away for three or four nights to somewhere in the world every October. And in 2024, that city was Palma.

We stayed right in the centre. We had a lovely hotel and a room with a balcony that looked across a busy main street, towards all of these beautiful, historic buildings with apartments. Every morning when I got up and I looked across, I spotted life in the building. From someone doing yoga to a couple embracing, a man on his balcony reading the paper, a family enjoying coffee to a young guy kicking back and relaxing.

This really got me thinking about what it's like to live smack bang in a city and how their lives are so different to the life I live in Northern Ireland in a small town. Would I like it? I'm not sure, but maybe…I do love cities and the energy they bring, but equally, I appreciate the space and peacefulness of rural living. 

Really, it’s just capturing a moment in time that illustrates how different lives take shape for people at different times and in different places. 

Leaving my home and heading away always brings some anxiety. I’m at a loss as to why this is but I am determined to oush on through, and one thing that I’m 100% sure of is that I NEVER ever regret a trip. As soon we landed in Palma, we had the best time. We spend really quality time together and create awesome memories, and so when thinking about what I was going to paint, once again I went back to what brings me joy.

I felt really at peace at this moment, getting ready for the day ahead, looking out over this balcony, seeing what all of these people were doing in their lives and getting ready for a brand new day. 

I hope you love City Living as much as I do. When I look at this painting, it still brings me right back to that trip where we laughed, we cried, we drank wine, we enjoyed the finest food and we had the most epic four days.

City Living…for the originals.