Stacey Rees has a way of capturing energy—of distilling movement, memory, and emotion into shape and color. Her latest body of work, Dandelion, is a radiant exploration of lightness, both in form and feeling. The Australian artist, known for her abstract compositions that straddle the boundary between figuration and the ephemeral, turns to the dandelion as a muse—not merely for its familiar yellow hue, but for its symbolism of resilience, transformation, and fleeting beauty.

“I want the viewer to experience this series with fresh eyes, to feel the happiness and optimism that these bright, playful colors evoke.”

“I want the viewer to experience this series with fresh eyes, to feel the happiness and optimism that these bright, playful colors evoke,” Rees explains. The collection marks a shift in her approach, embracing a looser, more spontaneous style. It is a departure from her more structured works, favoring transparency, fluidity, and an almost weightless quality. Rees invites us to engage with these paintings as we might with a dandelion itself: to pause, to breathe, to take in its presence before it drifts away.

Dandelions are, after all, often overlooked. Dismissed as weeds, they are hardy, stubbornly reappearing in places they aren’t necessarily wanted. Yet, they are also a source of childhood wonder—the delicate orbs of seeds that float away with a breath, carrying wishes on the wind. Rees channels this duality: the dandelion as both tenacious and transient, grounded yet airborne. “Inspired by the dandelion, I’ve embraced a freer, more relaxed style, inviting everyone to live in the moment with me,” she says.

The vibrancy of Dandelion is unmistakable. The palette pulses with warmth—sun-drenched yellows, gentle pinks, bursts of soft blues—colors that, together, create a sense of joy, nostalgia, and renewal. Her brushwork, loose and expressive, mirrors the organic unpredictability of nature itself. There’s an undeniable optimism woven into each piece, a quiet encouragement to find beauty in impermanence.

Based in the Grampians, Victoria, Rees has spent years refining her practice, capturing the subtleties of human emotion and perception through abstraction. A finalist in the prestigious Percival Portrait Painting Prize, she is an artist who understands the power of what is left unsaid—of suggestion over definition, movement over stillness. With Dandelion, she reminds us that art, like life, is best experienced in moments of release.

Credits:

Written by Kacey Perez | @studioblume_

Photography courtesy of Saint Cloche | @saint_cloche