From my new Nocturnal Series, exploring how we see plant life at night, in particular in 24-hour cities, this piece depicts a close cropped image of a red camellia against a deep Vert De Gris background. I studied and took photos of the red camellias in my neighbourhood at night to explore the way the plant sat in the darkness under harsh street lighting, external and security lights, and in the surrounding light pollution. The dark red flowers often almost disappeared into the dark surrounds, with the leaves and foliage around them appearing nearly black with depth and saturation. In this piece I used a combination of colours to create the dark background, avoiding any use of black pigment to suggest that there was not emptiness around the plant, as an urban sky is never completely dark due to the light pollution, and subtle colours such as green and violet to create shadows and definition. The piece is finished with a black wood frame, ready to hang.

Dom Holmes

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My name is Dom Holmes. I am a queer, non binary multi-media artist living in East London with my wife and our beautiful senior beagle. I am a self-taught painter, working with traditional oil painting methods and minimal materials, specifically using glazes and colour theory to build depth and intensity of colour with the fewest pigments possible. My work reflects my ongoing fascination with the human connection to nature within an urban environment. My paintings depict botanical life found in city settings, and the relevance of seasonal wildlife and community amidst late-stage capitalism and the current climate crisis. I’m currently working on a series inspired by non indigenous and invasive plant-life and the impact on the environment, ecosystem and community. While I have been painting with oils as my primary practice since 2019, I have been an artist for over 20 years working across various mediums. You may know, recognise or even have some of my other work without even realising it. Throughout the years, my background in pen and ink drawing and tattooing has seen me collaborate with brands and companies, including designing the Royal Mint’s commemorative 50 pence piece, celebrating 50 years of Pride in the UK.