Hello again THU and everyone taking part in the golden ticket! 

My Personal Oasis - <em>Contrast</em> 

I always start by trying to understand the theme and how I can approach it personally. 

Looking up the definition of an oasis will bring you to both the literal description of a space of water and usually greenery amongst a desert, and the other interpretation of; 

"a calm, pleasant place in the middle of somewhere busy and unpleasant". 

When I first heard the theme, the word oasis brought vivid imagery of beautiful lucious green space and running water to my mind. I struggled to find a way for this to both relate to my own personal definitions of an "oasis" and to the art that I enjoy making.

I like dark, moody scenes. I like painting mysterious hidden places and this wasn't meshing well with what I understood an oasis to be. 

I focused more on the definition provided. An oasis doesn't exist on its own. It exists in contrast to and in spite of an unpleasant space.

MY Personal Oasis 

I recently move to London for a job. Before this I lived in Iceland. 

The contrast of being in a peacful slow paced environemnt with fresh air and all the space to think, to being in a dense, dusty (sooty even) never resting place was chaotic. 

My life as of late has been exciting yes but also filled with no space to slow down or take respite from the urban jungle.

When I can, in the little spaces of time I have, I go for a walk. I find small hidden spaces of vegetation and let myself rest from the bustle of the city. I smell the night air and enjoy the peace.

In the lower two sketchesI was trying to convey the enormity and imposing nature of the city and how the light from the sky can only peak through the endges of the frame. I wanted there to be a small gathering of trees and other plants sitting under the weight of the city, existing in spite of it's opressive nature and providing a space of rest. They might be... a little too dark and maybe not putting enough emphasis on the 'oasis' itself. 

Recently I came across a public garden space, hidden between two giant skyscrapers under construction. The space had fruits and vegetables and many varieties of plants all nestled in a small lot providing the opportunity for the local residents to grow their own produce and also help in feeding the homeless. I was also inofrmed there was a long boat on one of the local canals providing the same oppotunies. I found this place to be delightfully relaxing and spent the rest of the evening there, watching the bees and occasional fauna explore this small space of green. 

This gave me the idea of trying to sketch the the top image; a small greenhouse or garden space existing in spite of a much larger entity/city.

I would love to capture the cosy lighting illuminating the plants and create real contrast between this space and it's backdrop. 

I like the idea of a resident of this city sumbling upon a path to leave the city bounds and finding a small dock that they repurpose into a sall gardening space away from the the chaos of the city.