Looking Up

'Looking Up' celebrates one of the simplest experiences we all share: standing beneath a dark sky and wondering what lies beyond. Inspired by the distinctive red-lit telescope at Nova Stargazing, the painting explores curiosity, discovery and the invisible wonders that surround us. A hidden fluorescent layer allows the stars to glow under ultraviolet light, echoing the idea that there is always more waiting to be discovered.

For some time I had been following the work of stargazing guide Jordan from Nova Stargazing, whose photographs often featured a telescope illuminated by a distinctive red light beneath spectacular night skies. The glow immediately caught my attention, but it wasn't the telescope I wanted to paint.

It was what it represented.

The telescope became an invitation to look beyond what we normally see.

Inspired by the colours and flowing patterns revealed through modern astronomy, I imagined a sky that sits somewhere between observation and imagination. Rather than depicting a scientifically accurate view, the painting explores the feeling of standing beneath the stars while knowing there is infinitely more above us than our eyes alone can reveal.

As the painting developed, another idea emerged. Just as a telescope reveals details hidden from the naked eye, the painting itself contains a subtle fluorescent layer. Invisible under normal light, the stars quietly glow beneath ultraviolet light, revealing one final layer of discovery.

Before Looking Up had even been publicly released, its story took an unexpected turn.

Jordan's fiancée, Chloe, contacted me after seeing the finished painting. Knowing how much the original idea meant to him, she secretly arranged to buy it as a surprise for his birthday, with his family helping to keep everything under wraps.

What began with my fascination with a red-lit telescope beneath the stars became an experiment in pushing my own night skies further, and ultimately a painting that found its way back to the person whose photographs helped inspire it.