Why are you holding back?

I was mid-painting the other night. Brush in hand, music on, painting away in complete bliss - and this thought just dropped into my head out of nowhere:

Why are you holding back?

And honestly? It stopped me in my tracks.

Because it's not the first time I've heard that. My dance teachers have said it. My drama coaches have said it. And now apparently, somewhere deep in my creative brain, I'm saying it to myself!

What does it really mean though, and why now?

The first thing I did - out loud I said, "“Thank you, self-awareness for bringing this to my attention. Your question has been heard.”

(Don’t pretend you guys don’t speak to yourselves, too! If I can sing into a paintbrush and dance for my plants, you better believe that I talk to myself!).

Here is what I think this question is about…

I think a lot of decorative art creatives do this — we have this wild, imaginative, slightly chaotic version of ourselves that we keep just a little bit tucked away. Most of us make things that are nice. Things that are pretty. On trend colour palettes, designs, popular design elements. We create things that people will probably like and purchase. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that - this is a business and buyers love what they love.

But sometimes pretty and nice are a little too safe, which can feel like I am suffocating my imagination after a while.

So, I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to really let go, creatively. To stop trying to make something everyone will like and just make something that is completely, unapologetically me….with at least a sprinkling of likeability.

Enter: the big, slightly terrifying project I've been quietly working on

For the last 18 months I've been dreaming about something. And I mean that literally — these ideas have been living in my head, growing, evolving, getting louder and more insistent until I finally had no choice but to pick up the brush and start.

I'm not ready to share everything just yet — I want to have more to show you first — but what I can tell you is this:

These are the biggest, most ambitious, most me paintings I have ever made.

We're talking large scale. Bold colour. Absolute botanical chaos. Storylines. Meaningful touches. Detail you could stare at for an hour and still find something new. And a presentation unlike anything I've done before.

I've been painting one of these pieces for five weeks. FIVE WEEKS.

Anyone who knows me knows I am not always the most patient person 😂 but this work has asked me to slow down, to go deep, to add layer upon layer of detail until it becomes something you can almost feel and smell as much as see.

And she is breathtaking. She is finished. And she is everything I dreamed she would be.

Her name is ‘Aloha’ and she is just the beginning.

Why botanical? Why this, why now?

I am fascinated by Biophilia. It's this idea that as humans we have an innate, deep connection to nature. We need it. We're drawn to it. And yet so many of us live in spaces that are completely disconnected from the natural world. I’m sure it is why everyone is so plant-obsessed these days.

So I started thinking — what if you could bring the outside in? Not with a pot plant. Not with a nice botanical print. But with something that feels like nature actually erupted through your wall. Something wild and layered and alive.

That's what I'm making.

Painted living walls.

Big, bold botanicals that transform a space and make you feel something the moment you walk in the room.

Art for your walls that makes you forget you're indoors. 🌿

A little note on why I make art

I want art to be for everyone. Full stop.

I have zero interest in being the kind of artist that makes people feel like they need a fine arts degree to appreciate what they're looking at. Life is too short and art is too joyful for that.

I make things because I love making things. Because colour makes me happy. Because I want the people who bring my work into their homes to feel something every single time they walk past it.

That's it. That's the whole philosophy.

So whether you're a serious collector or someone who just saw something I made and thought oh I love that — you are so welcome here. Pull up a chair. There's always paint on my hands, snacks in the cupboard and all the necessary beverages.

☕🎨

Big things are coming. I can't wait to show you!

Briar x