Study for Storytime, 2026
Study for Big Feelings, 2026
Study for Sensory Room, 2025

These three oil studies depict scenes from local nurseries that my children have attended. Developing my sustained interest in representing essential but often unseen forms of care work, these studies are part of a series that centres on the people working in children’s early learning environments. I particularly wanted to explore the stage of children’s development between the ages of 0-5, often called 'Early Years'. It is during these years that children learn how to care for themselves (brushing their teeth, getting themselves dressed, tidying up, feeding themselves etc.), developing the social skills needed to build relationships, and also the foundations of reading, writing and counting. I wanted to consider how children model the behaviour of adults in these educational settings, and how different forms of play are utilised as a learning tool, often reinforcing gendered roles.

Study for Storytime shows a nursery worker reading to a group of children at the outdoor nursery Little Bugs. It is winter in Scotland and each child is bundled up in layers of warm clothing. Study for Big Feelings illustrates a day in early autumn at the same nursery. A group of children play under the trees while their teacher watches. Another teacher comforts a little boy who is upset. Study for Sensory Room depicts a nursery worker playing a counting game with two children, in a room flecked with vibrant blue light. Sensory rooms are settings intended to introduce children to different materials, textures, colours, sounds and sensation in a visually stimulating environment.