Firebird is a joyously colourful paintover painting and has dynamic brush marks and a printmakerly feel. The bird started out as a peacock but I went for warmer colours and called her Firebird, thinking of the Stravinsky ballet based on a Russian folklore story. Prince Ivan is hunting in the forest but decides to spare the Firebird's life, because she is too beautiful to kill. In thanks, she gives him an enchanted feather. Later in the story, Prince Ivan uses the feather to summon the Firebird so she can cast a spell of sleep over the creatures that have been set upon him by the evil Kastchei. Prince Ivan destroys the egg that contains Kastchei's immortal soul, freeing everyone under his spell including thirteen princesses, one of whom Prince Ivan falls in love with.

Catherine Pring

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As with most artists, I paint about the human condition. I paint things that have impact for me and that I hope other people can relate to, connect with. I often use myths and legends as a starting point for my paintings but I work unconsciously so I can veer off at a tangent or change course completely. Making art is a bit like dreaming for me. I let things suggest themselves and go with it. If I don't love the 'finished' painting, I spin the canvas and start again. The previous painting becomes an under-layer. A hidden or partially hidden part of the painting's history. Each canvas tells a story in itself but sometimes canvases have their own story of evolution as well, their own journey, just as we do. It's a very playful process, it's fun - but it's serious fun.