Rainbow Tea Time

Description

Ink Pens, Watercolour and Gouache.

This painting, part of a continuing Teatime Still Life series, captures a fleeting yet deeply personal moment, where light, colour, and ritual come together in quiet harmony. Set on a kitchen counter, the scene centres around the preparation of peppermint tea, with my favourite teapot rendered in luminous iridescent blues and purples. Around it sits a collection of rainbow-hued glasses, each one tied to a member of my family, an everyday arrangement that for me is both intimate and symbolic.

What I feel elevated the whole still life was in fact the morning light. Streaming through the glassware, it refracted into a spectrum of colour that danced across the surface and turned a simple every day setting into a celebration of vibrancy and life. I chose to capture the scene midway through the act of making tea as it was too beautiful to not paint. I think this preserved the authenticity of the moment, although I had to remake the tea. It got cold as I was taking reference photo’s.

The painting carries a deeper meaning as well, serving as a tribute to rainbows, neurodiversity, and the full spectrum of human expression. The varied colours of the glasses become more than aesthetic as they suggest individuality within unity, difference held together in a shared, welcoming space.

I also love the ritual of tea making, the quiet contemplative feeling of filling a kettle with boiling water, the rising steam, the smell of tea-leaves and the warmth that comes with sharing it with others.

A rainbow lorikeet appears at the window, peering inside. Bathed in the brilliance of the outdoor light, it contrasts with the softer, more sheltered interior. Its presence suggests curiosity and connection, a bridge between the outside world and the sanctuary within. The kitchen becomes a place of refuge, warmth, and colour, quietly inviting both people and creatures to share in its calm.

Altogether, the painting is a celebration of light, ritual, and belonging, where the ordinary becomes radiant, and the preparation of tea transforms into an expression of comfort, inclusivity, and home.