About the artwork

I wanted to explore using more areas of neutral/muted tones in my work, rather than the whole painting being a big punch of colour and pattern. So with this piece, the pop of colour is very much contained. In keeping with this idea of reigning things in a little, I also wanted to try and depict the subject of the painting in a simpler way. So here this piece is based on a portrait, like many of my other works, but that face is depicted by what is close to being just a single line with a few details either side and that line is essentially what separates the two contrasting areas of the painting. Out of this thought process, I have made two paintings - Simply Be and A Way In (which are similar, but almost in an inverted way). ​ Simply Be was really enjoyable to create - it just came together beautifully and without a fight. I put together the base layer at the start of 2023, and then left it for a few months as I didn't feel confident about how to proceed. In the end, I just had to go for it...and then it was finished within a matter of hours. ​ Simply Be was created with mixed media (gesso, collage, graphite and Caran Da'che Neocolor II) on a flat wood panel, which is presented in a custom-made hand-painted wooden frame 36 cm wide, 65 cm long and 3.5 cm deep. It is titled and signed by Gillian Hancey on the back and signed on the front in the bottom right corner, and is ready to hang.