Ollie Tuck

Description

"Ladybirds, to me, are both a symbol of childhood wonder and a reassuring presence in the garden. We are all familiar with ladybirds and they have lots of different, positive interpretations associated with them. Having spent more time observing them this Spring, with my young daughter, I have noticed how different they are from each other. They vary enormously in colour and pattern but they all appear like shiny little jewels hidden amongst the leaves. I wanted to create a series of ladybird paintings that were just as perfectly small and decorative as the insects themselves. These tiny paintings are designed specifically to add a flash of red to a wall, just like the ladybirds do in the garden. I wanted them to be small enough that the viewer must lean in and observe the ladybird closely, just as we do outdoors" - Ollie Tuck.

A single ladybird traverses the canvas in Ladybird No. 16 from the lower right corner, caught mid-stride as though navigating an infinite golden plain. Painted in rich vermillion, she commands the composition through her smallness against the luminous gold leaf ground. The warm gold behind her catches the light differently depending on the viewing angle, giving the impression she is moving across living, shifting earth. The hand-finished blue frame deepens the warmth of the gold, creating a jewel-like object that rewards close attention to Ollie's brushwork on the beetle's carapace.