Good Morning, Sunshine, 2026
63 × 47 inches
Oil stick and acrylic on canvas
Held in the Artist’s personal collection
The Story Behind the Painting
Naturally, as humans, after experiencing such a definitive ending, we search for a beginning. I think grief often does that. It challenges us to reflect and search for places or things that once felt safe. And, through that search we often find our way back to the wonder, curiosity, and joy we experienced as children.
The colour palette for this painting was inspired by the iconic children’s book Goodnight Moon and I wanted to somehow reference this in the title of my new painting. Reading ‘Goodnight Moon’ was a way to say ‘goodnight’, a goodbye, the closing of a chapter and ‘Good Morning Sunshine’ is a ‘hello’, a beginning, a sense of gratitude for a new day.
The title is also a nod to my 2025 painting, ‘Good Morning Darling’, another work created in my first series on grief, ‘Watch Me Rot’ (2025).
The interior is inspired by that of the restaurant, Elio Volpe, in Vancouver, Canada which was designed by Ste Marie Studio. As I was writing this caption I did a bit of research on their design work and Ste Marie pulled inspiration for the interior from the word ‘Elio’ which comes from the roots of the Greek name Helios, the Greek god of the sun. Are you kidding me??? And I named this painting, Good Morning, Sunshine without knowing that connection?? The universe works in mysterious ways.