White Camellia at Night is part of a new collection of pieces from my Nocturnal Series, exploring nature in urban settings in an age of 24 hour cities. White Camellia at Night is a study on natural life in the darkness, in particular in a city where light pollution and dense populations means we rarely ever experience a true absence of light. I studied the camellias in my neighbourhood to see how they emerged from the dark surroundings like miniature sculptures against dense foliage, reflecting brightly under street lighting even late at night. I experimented with combinations of crimson and vert de gris pigments through this piece, both to form the shadows and definition in the flower, and to create the depth and fullness of the background. The piece is finished with a black wooden 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.