Cinderella Story -Rags to Riches

The Story Unfolds….

Original abstract painting in earthy tones with sweeping textures and raw expressive strokes. Early stage of the Cinderella Story piece.

This piece is my ode to transformation. Cinderella Story – Rags to Riches began as a wild experiment in texture and layering - a way to physically express the shift from hidden worth to empowered beauty. I started with a raw, expressive abstract painting that I later chose to bury, repaint, stitch into, and sculpt from. What emerged felt like a resurrection - fragile, powerful, and deeply feminine.

Canvas covered in stark white and titanium buff paint, symbolising the silencing or covering of the original artwork beneath.

I painted over the original with layers of stark white and titanium buff, as if silencing her story - just as we’re often taught to quiet our own. That act of covering up was emotional. It felt like shame and rebirth at once.

Abstract mixed media painting with bold black paint, cotton and muslin fabric

Then came the drama - bold black strokes, torn fabric, rough textures. I scorched the muslin, hardened some sections with fabric stiffener, and left others soft and flowing. It became a study in contrast: strength and softness, control and chaos.

This wasn’t a gentle transformation - it was a fight to be seen.

Abstract mixed media painting with bold black paint, and torn muslin textures starting to emerge.

As I pulled, threaded, stitched, and twisted yarns and silk fibres through the fabric, the work took on a life of its own. It began to look like a dress - or perhaps armour. Not delicate, but deliberate.

This is no fairytale princess. She is a woman who’s walked through fire in slippers made of ash.

Abstract mixed media painting with bold black paint, scorched fabric, and torn muslin textures starting to emerge.
Close-up of fabric details — pulled threads, silk yarns, and sculpted textures showing a tactile and emotional transformation.

Displayed in a calm, neutral setting, Cinderella becomes even more striking. The tension between fragility and fierceness demands attention - a statement of reclamation, and proof that art, like people, can be broken and still beautiful.

Cinderella Story artwork displayed above a fireplace in a calm, modern interior — soft lighting and neutral palette enhance the textures. Styled room with Cinderella Story wall art — elegant modern space with organic textures and muted tones.

• Medium: Mixed media on canvas (acrylic, textile, silk, wool, muslin, cotton, fabric stiffener, textured paste)

• Size: 100cm x 80cm

• Year: 2023

• Signed by the artist and includes a certificate of authenticity.

• The artist retains the copyright of the piece.

• The paint and paste were finished with archival varnish for longevity, before the addition of the fabrics and yarns.

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I Identify as Fabulous Darling