Dreaming on Holidays With You II, 2026

Emma Nourse  

Thick impasto strokes define this evocative floral study. Oil paint is applied with visceral energy. The surface feels alive. Sunflowers droop with an elegant heaviness. Their golden petals curl and fade. Heavy brown centers anchor the composition. A white ceramic pitcher holds the arrangement. Bold blue patterns dance across its curved body. The vessel stands as a luminous pillar against a muted backdrop. 
The arrangement spills forward. Two fallen blossoms rest at the base. They suggest the inevitable passage of time. A single green stem snakes across the foreground. The figurative approach blends reality with emotive distortion. Every gesture is deliberate. The tactile quality of the medium elevates the scene. Light catches the ridges of the paint. This creates a rhythmic interplay of shadow and brightness. The composition balances the vibrancy of yellow with the depth of cobalt blue. It captures a moment of quiet transition. This artwork emphasizes the fragile beauty of nature through a rich and sculpted texture.

Emma Nourse is an expressive, tactile painter whose work draws inspiration from still-life tableaux and floral arrangements. Through the use of vibrant colour, dynamic brushwork, and expressive gesture, Nourse explores the complexity of human emotion. Her paintings investigate how everyday subjects can communicate deep feeling when they are abstracted and intensified.

A recurring sense of longing and nostalgia runs through her work, balanced by moments of hope and joy. Nourse is particularly inspired by the poignant contrast between enduring emotions—such as love and connection—and the fragile beauty of blooms that gradually fade into decay.

Emma Nourse graduated from the Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2011. She has participated in numerous exhibitions with Salon Ninety One and has held two solo exhibitions at other galleries. Her works are held in private collections worldwide.