Joie de vivre

This series is an attempt to capture that fleeting moment when the body quite literally jumps for joy. But joy isn’t limited to leaping – it lives in playing, running, striking a pose, and the exuberance of moving together. It’s something I often see children do instinctively, but age is no barrier.

I also find rich colour irresistibly joyous. I try not to use all the colours in every painting, but in this series, I’ve given that tendency free rein. I can’t resist the pull of patterning either: every surface, if it stands still long enough, gets lit up with its own pattern. Eventually, I started inviting animals to join in the dance – lemurs, wild dogs and sheep all begged to have a go, and I let them, with a heart full of joy.