Pink Piton

This vibrant painting depicts the iconic Pitons of St Lucia, the twin volcanic peaks that rise from the Caribbean Sea. One peak dominates the foreground - richly painted in layered greens and teals that capture the dense jungle covering its flanks - while the second sits just behind it in deeper blue-green shadow. The sky is split decisively across the top of the canvas: lavender purple on one side, clear pale blue on the other, divided with deliberate harshness that amplifies the drama of the scene. Below the peaks, the Caribbean Sea is rendered in vivid turquoise and electric teal. White marks move across the water surface - abstract suggestions of waves and light - created using oil and acrylic in combination, the two materials refusing to fully merge and producing spontaneous, energetic patterns.

The Pitons are one of the most recognisable landmarks in the Caribbean, and I wanted to give them the kind of painting that matched their impact. The split sky was a deliberate compositional choice - I wanted the top of the canvas to carry as much tension as the peaks themselves. The lavender and blue do not blend; they sit beside each other like two weather systems that have not yet decided what to do. The oil and acrylic technique was chosen specifically for the sea. I find that when the two materials meet, they push back against each other rather than blending, and the results are never quite predictable. That unpredictability makes the water feel alive, which is exactly right for the Caribbean.