Name: "Painterly"
Medium: Oil on textured canvas
Size: 250mm x 295mm (unframed)
Painted by: Shannon Quarmby
Year: 2026
 
I wouldn’t necessarily describe this piece as a self-portrait, yet it holds many quiet truths about who I am as an artist. I have always felt drawn to the simplicity of country life, spaces where the world feels gentler.
Living with chronic anxiety, I often return to the image of a forest as a place of refuge. In this painting, she sits before the trees, using that landscape as a moment of stillness and grounding. The forest becomes less a destination and more a state of mind, somewhere to breathe, to pause, to exist without urgency.
You may notice that the artwork on the easel does not mirror what she is observing. This subtle detail serves as a nod to my admiration for Claude Monet, who in his later years retreated from the demands of society and found solace in painting as an act of quiet devotion.
Her white dress carries its own symbolism, reflecting a longing for innocence, softness, and uncomplicated living. In a contemporary sense, the piece could be situated within the cottagecore aesthetic - an expression of modern nostalgia for simplicity, nature, and gentle rhythms of life.
Ultimately, this painting is an exploration of peace sought inwardly: a silent figure, a quiet forest, and the hope that calm can always be found just beyond the edge of noise.
 
Please note: Frame is not included.
 
Each original artwork comes with an artist's signature in the bottom right hand corner and a certificate of authenticity for that artwork.