Departures & Returns: From home to home

Between The Rushes, 2026, Acrylic on canvas

Every journey has a start, but for me, the best bit is coming home.

I’ve just spent a month back in Hong Kong for Lunar New Year with family and friends. Growing up in such a vertical landscape, the sky is a luxury; you rarely get to see the horizon.

Moving to a place where the clouds actually have room to move changed how I see light, and returning to the soft, damp skies of Oxford always grounds me.

Working at the Ashmolean, Turner’s famous painting of the High Street is a daily highlight for me. After years of looking at his version, I finally felt ready to paint my own as a local.

Turner's High Street, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851)
Oil on Canvas, 68.5 x 100.3 cm, Ashmolean Museum

My new show, "Departures & Returns" (3rd Floor, Conway’s, starts from 16th May 2026), features two new sunset paintings: The City Exhales and Between the Rushes.

Alongside these, I’m showing A Skyline Settled, a hero piece for me this year. It captures that specific calm exclusive to Oxfordians, when you sit on the hill in South Park looking back at the Oxford spires as the sunset glow changing colours.

The City Exhales‍ , 2026, Acrylic on canvas

A Skyline Settled, 2026, Acrylic on canvas

These works are just a glimpse into a larger series of Oxford studies I’ll be sharing. I’d love you to see them.

Start your journey tomorrow at Paperboat Cafe with my landscape studies, inspired by Cappadocia.

then follow the trail to the top floor of Conway’s for the larger paintings.

Whether you start with a coffee at Paperboat or head straight to the gallery at Conway’s, I hope these paintings give you a moment of calm.

Thanks for being part of the journey.
x
Alice