Could you describe the Serenia collection?

Serenia is a collection of small original works in oil pastel on handmade cotton paper. The pieces sit between landscape and abstraction. Each one is made by hand and exists once.

Why this medium?

Oil pastel on handmade cotton paper is everything artificial image-making is not. It is sensory, immersive, physical. The pigments are powerful and the texture is built up by hand. You can see exactly where the pressure changed, where a decision was made. There is no algorithm involved. That matters to me and I think it is starting to matter to people who live with art.

You work in both small and large format. How do the two relate?

The small works are intimate. You move toward them. The large format pieces on aluminium panel are for rooms where the painting needs to hold the whole space. A large painting in a consultation room just changes the feeling of being there. Beauty calms people. That's it really. Both are originals, both are made by hand.

What do you want someone to feel with one of these works?

Serenity. Comfort. Peace. I think people spend a lot of time looking at screens and generated images that want their attention. These paintings do not want your attention. You notice them when you are ready. And something settles.

How do you think about placing work in clinics and hotels?

A patient in a consultation room has nowhere else to look. A guest in a hotel is away from their routine, more open than usual. In both cases the quality of what surrounds them matters more than people think. Smaller pieces work well in reception and treatment rooms. Larger works are for the rooms where people sit and wait — there is time to actually look.