Cat, Wisteria & Hydrangea

This was my very first acrylic sand painting — a completely experimental piece, and a process I truly enjoyed.

In May 2025, I was looking through photos I took at Knebworth House under a wisteria tree, and others from the previous year at Trebah Garden in Cornwall among hydrangeas. I suddenly felt a strong urge to paint them — they are my favourite flowers. In Chinese, wisteria represents longing, and hydrangeas represent reunion, which reflected how I was feeling at that time: missing home, under a lot of work pressure, and doubting myself.

That same day, our cat Rocky sat quietly under the canvas with his paws crossed, watching me paint. He’s usually only interested in me when he’s hungry or wants to go outside, so his calm attention felt special. I was so touched by the moment that I decided to make him the main subject of the painting.

I chose the acrylic sand technique because I found many leftover acrylic paints in my drawer and didn’t want to waste them. I was also fascinated by mineral pigment painting, but the materials are expensive and hard to find, so I decided to experiment with acrylic sand instead. I mixed texture gel with white paint using a palette knife and slowly built up the surface layer by layer. The uneven, light-catching texture was magical — I fell in love with it immediately. Even the sound of scraping the surface felt strangely healing (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵).

It may not be a perfect piece, but for me it was definitely a life-changing one. 💜💙