On colour, essence, and the beauty we forget to look for
I've been deep in a study of colour lately – mixing greys, of all things. Value scales, one hue pushed through every shade between black and white, the kind of exercise that normally stays in my studio as technique. Nothing about it was meant to become a painting in its own right.
And yet, somewhere in all that grey, without me deciding to, two women appeared – dancing, or something like dancing, so grounded and earth-connected it felt less as though I had painted them and more as though I had uncovered them. Already there. Already moving.
It looks nothing like the work I normally create. It is, on the surface, mainly grey, but I could not touch it again.
So I have framed it – in a frame as unusual as the piece itself – because some part of me understood that this wasn't a painting about looking right. It was a painting about being true.
I think we do this to each other too. We meet someone and the first thing we register is the outside – the face, the clothes, the shape. And there is nothing wrong with noticing these things. We are, of course, observers, and sometimes we need to make quick judgements in order to make good decisions.
But I wonder what would happen if we let that be the second thing we noticed instead of the first.
If the true greeting was: What colour are you today?
Because everyone has one.
You know it the moment you are near someone. That person is a low, steady green, unhurried, like moss on a rock that has stopped needing anything. That one is amber – warm and quick, lighting up a room without meaning to. Someone else is a deep indigo, quiet, holding more than they say.
None of this shows up in a mirror. And none of us is only one colour, or lives within just one quality. But it does reveal itself in the feeling of being near someone – the essence of their being, and the quality of that particular moment in time. The quiet frequency they are humming at beneath the surface of the day.
This is what I chase in the studio.
Not likeness. Not appearance.
That grey painting taught me this all over again. There was no colour in it, by any ordinary definition of colour, and yet it holds so much feeling.
Because I wasn't trying to paint what two women dancing looks like. Something in me was only interested in how that dance feels – earth-bound, unhurried, entirely certain of itself.
That feeling has its own colour, even inside all that grey.
It isn't a colour you find by looking.
You find it by being in the feeling and asking your body what it is holding.
You find it by feeling.
I think people are the same.
We are all walking through the world holding colour, carrying an essence that the surface only hints at. And maybe the most generous thing we can do for one another – more generous than complimenting how someone looks – is to go looking for that colour.
To ask, in whatever quiet way we ask these things:
What is true underneath, today?
It's a strange kind of relief when you stop measuring people – and yourself – by appearance, and start meeting the feeling instead.
Nothing has to be fixed, perfected or even understood.
It simply has to be felt.
That's the whole practice, really.
In the studio and out of it.
So this is my invitation for the season.
Next time you are with someone you love, or even someone you have just met, see if you can feel their colour before you notice anything else.
And maybe – this is the harder part – let them feel yours too.
Unfixed.
Unposed.
Whatever hue you happen to be standing in today.
With paint-stained hands and a full heart,
With lots of love,
Kirana xx
P.S. Not long ago, a woman wandered into my studio while the grey painting was still wet on my table, surrounded by many other, much more colourful works in progress. She stopped in front of it for a long moment and said, "I don't know what it's of, but I know exactly how it feels."
No question about the subject matter. No need for me to explain. Just the feeling, received whole.
So my invitation stands, as always: come and feel it for yourself.
Come and spend some time in the studio while it's open – works in progress, half-mixed greys and all. Nothing tidied up. Nothing explained away.
Come and see what is true underneath, before it is finished or before it is "of" anything.
Everyone is welcome, kids and dogs included.
For now, just know the door will be open, and so will I.
What's On:
Save The Date – 07.11.26 – SUNLIT-UNSPOKEN
Some paintings offer themselves immediately, in the first encounter with colour.
Others reveal themselves more slowly, in what only becomes visible when we stop looking and begin noticing.
This exhibition moves in both directions at once.
The first is outward – sunlit.
These paintings are filled with colour, with light caught and reflected, with the quiet joy that rises unexpectedly from ordinary moments. They are bright because the world, when we truly allow ourselves to see it, is bright. Because colour is its own form of honesty.
The second moves inward – unspoken.
Here, the paintings slow down. They leave space to look, to wonder, and to feel. They are less interested in answers than in what begins to emerge when we sit with stillness long enough. They invite us to notice the quiet things – the feelings, memories and small truths that only reveal themselves when the noise falls away.
In the studio, making these works became its own form of contemplation. Each painting was a gentle negotiation between intention and surrender, between knowing and discovering. That same conversation exists throughout this exhibition.
These two bodies of work are not opposites so much as companions.
The sunlit and the unspoken need one another.
Colour without contemplation can become spectacle. Contemplation without colour can become austere.
Held together, they become an invitation.
To slow down.
To notice.
And perhaps to discover what has been quietly waiting for you all along.
Open Studio + Walk in Art Class
Next Dates - 11th of July, 1st, 5th, 8th, 12th, 15th, 19th and 22nd of August
Kirana’s studio is open on Wednesdays from 10am to 4pm, and most Saturdays from 9am to 12pm (when Kirana is available). You’re warmly invited to drop in, have a look around the studio, enjoy a cup of tea or hot chocolate, and stay for a relaxed chat. There’s no pressure and no expectations – just an open door and a welcoming space.
By popular demand, Saturdays also include a walk-in art class from 10am to 12pm. This relaxed and friendly session is open to everyone – whether you’re an experienced artist or simply curious to explore your creative side. All materials are provided, and the focus is on enjoying the process of making art in a calm, supportive environment.
Art Class Details:
10am – 12pm
$70 per person (GST included)
All materials included
We look forward to welcoming you into the studio.
One on One Art Lessons
Can be booked suitable to your timetable, tailored to your needs and all ages.
$110 p/h (GST inc) | All art materials included
ArtSHINE x Kirana Haag collection on Threadless
Friends & Family Code: FAMd6e722b
Final Notes
All the above are also great gift ideas for a loved one who would benefit from some breathing space and would love to try something new.
If you would like more information on any of these workshops or to book, simply reply to this email or contact me on 0448446466.
With lots of love,
Kirana xx