Esme McMillan-Scott

His Cheeks Were Aglow

Jackson's Art Prize 2026
Oil
Panel
12.7 x 17.8 cm

£350

“In this particular painting, I explore the quiet tension between memory and perception. The soft interplay of muted greens and pale pinks evokes a landscape half-remembered – an echo of a place rather than a direct representation. I am drawn to the subtle transitions between clarity and obscurity, using translucent layers and gentle gestures to suggest how experiences fade, blur, and reform over time. This work speaks to my ongoing interest in the fragility of observation and the poetics of abstraction. Through painting, I trace the fleeting relationship between inner feeling and external form, aiming to hold space for both stillness and flux. It is less a depiction of a scene than an exploration of how traces – visual, emotional, or temporal – settle on the surface of memory.”