Your work often brings natural forms into cubist, contemplative interior spaces. How does this blend of nature and domesticity reflect your personal experiences or identity, and how is this theme explored in your contributions to Under the Laurels?

Stuart - I think the blending of nature and domesticity in my work comes from my interest in romanticising them through painting and illustration. My works resemble my appreciation for nature, and how, in my spare time away from the studio, I am usually at home drawing surrounded by my house plants, or traveling to the nearest green space I can find. Bringing natural forms into my living space brings me comfort, and recreating those places and objects in my work is an expression of that. I am often reflecting on my lived experiences and memories, which patch together to form a sense of self alongside exploring the human relationship to nature rather than just nature itself.

You subvert traditional art historical themes, particularly with your portrayal of the female nude and classical still-life compositions. How do you see this approach challenging or reshaping these genres, especially through the lens of queer identity?

Stuart - I have always felt the need to paint subjects which I can identify with, and create a sense of familiarity as personal reflection. Although I have always felt inspired by classical subjects, I have rarely identified with a lot of them. Queer subjects are historically less visible in traditional paintings of nudes and still life works. Reshaping these subjects from a queer perspective is my way of countering conventional expectations about heteronormativity. It’s very much a personal journey that has come naturally, but I hope that it’s something that other queer people can relate too.

Stuart Rayner, Evening Repotting, Oil on Canvas

Your paintings are known for their emotional tenderness and connection to nature. What role does nature play in your work, and how does this relationship manifest in your pieces for Under the Laurels?

Stuart -I think my fondness of nature comes from having periods of suspended time and stillness. There’s a lot of emotions that can come to the surface when you have time to look inwards whilst being part of the landscape you are in. I find painting landscapes captures that experience. When I painted ‘golden hour’ I was responding to the inherent feeling of nostalgia that is felt collectively during Autumn, in this way it was a manifestation of connection and experience.

Interior spaces feature prominently in your work. What draws you to this setting, and how do you use it to convey a sense of quietness or introspection in your paintings?

Stuart - The interior spaces that I paint are mainly my home or studio. I think I’m drawn to them because they are places that are comfortable and lived in — they are an invitation to look at the scattered belongings that leave hints about the people inhabiting that space. In that way, my approach to painting still life works is really influenced by people and their domestic spaces. Open sketchbooks, flowers bought for an occasion, objects only recently set down. I’m most interested in signs of life. The compositions I create usually hold an enhanced sense of calmness and contemplation as a reflection of the moments where I pause and place value onto my surroundings.

Colour plays a significant role in your practice, with vibrant tones often used to express emotional states. How do you decide on your colour palette for a piece? Stuart - The colours in my works are heavily influenced by time of day and seasonal changes, the qualities of these atmospheres guide my use of colours as well as my emotional responses. At the moment I’m using a lot of raw umber tones, I’ve been experimenting with this as it adds a warmer glow to things that may not naturally have that attribute, i feel as though enhancing the warmth of a painting can make it seem more intimate yet open.

Queer identity and contemporary living are central themes in your work. How do these themes intersect with more traditional elements like the still life or female nude, and what conversations are you hoping to start through this juxtaposition?

Stuart - I don’t feel as though I am creating a juxtaposition, but rather filtering traditional elements through a lens from my perspective. Painting from my perspective gives an insight to my identity. I use traditional methods to inform the compositions of my works because still life or nude portraiture can give quite everyday moments a sense of significance. I think romanticising the things that I find typically normal is an important part of my practice which comes from a place of appreciation.

Margate, where you are based, has a growing reputation as a creative hub. Does the local environment and its art scene influence your practice?

Stuart - The local art scene can be useful at times to reach out to other creatives and share experiences and advice. As someone who works in a shared studio building I find that it helps to be in a Creative environment to stay motivated and positive, and I enjoy having frequent access to exhibitions and creative culture. It doesn’t influence my practice directly but it’s becoming a good location for mutual artists and creatives.

Can you tell us about your workspace?

Stuart - I am currently renting a workspace at Joseph Wales studios with close friends and artists where I paint as often as I can. I find It's a good working environment as it's a very active space where we share mutual interests and ideas. It's an old building with a lot of windows which means my practice is definitely effected by natural light, but I enjoy how that can interact with my pace of working. My workspace is full of all my works in progress. I would say I have two main areas in my studio, one being my table which I use for making works on paper and playing with compositions whilst I’m in between paintings, and the wall spaces which I use to hang canvases and paint. I always work on multiple paintings at once so that I can go from one to another when I hit a wall or get unmotivated towards a certain painting. I find it helpful to have a collection of objects and visual references around my studio, at the moment I have a lot of flowers, magazines and drawings from daily life around to inspire me.

Your interior spaces often feel like places of care and contemplation. How do you think your work invites us to engage with these intimate settings, and what emotions or thoughts do you hope that we take away from the experience?

Stuart - I am glad you say they feel like places of care and contemplation because that’s exactly what I want the viewer to feel! I think painting from personal experience is an invitation to engage with moments that have stuck with me and to potentially relate with them.

In both your painting and illustration, you explore themes of contemporary life as a queer person. How do you see your work contributing to the broader conversation about queer visibility and representation in contemporary art, particularly in a group exhibition like Under the Laurels?

As a gay person I find these themes naturally leak into my work because I make from a place of vulnerability and emotional honesty. Of course my work is gay, being gay is joyful, and a lot of the most beautiful parts of my life are to do with my time in nature or my partner or my queer friends. Being open and showing my work is my way of contributing to these conversations, I am happy to be here as an artist, and share a space with other great artists.

View Artwork by Stuart

Stuart Rayner

Cheri Smith

Greg Becker