Thicker Than Water

Oil on Canvas

45 x 40 x 3.5cm

2024

Thicker Than Water is one of a series of paintings based on photos of myself as a child - I was suffering from mild anxiety around the time the photograph was taken (plus, I'd just had a haircut I really hated!) and my aim was to capture a sense of vulnerability. With the added interest of the lion hat, I also aimed for the the painting to evoke and sense of fun and carefreeness.

The painting can be framed or hung directly onto the wall on a nail or with mirror plates.

Info: Zena Blackwell is an award-winning figurative painter based in Cardiff, Wales, UK, working primarily in oil paint and exhibiting regularly both nationally and internationally. She obtained her MFA at Central Saint Martins; BA at Wimbledon School of Art and most recently completed the Turps Correspondence Course.

A year after resuming her painting practice following a lengthy break, Zena won first prize at the Cardiff MADE Summer Open 2017, presenting a very well received first solo show there the following year. She was also awarded 3rd prize at PS Mirabel’s open exhibition ‘PAINT’ (Manchester) in 2019 and has been shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Show and BEEP Painting Prize twice. She was recently awarded the Friends of the Glynn Vivian Award at BEEP Painting Prize 2024. Her work is held in the permanent collection of the National Library of Wales and in many private collections globally. She has exhibited at Saatchi Gallery, Hastings Contemporary, Irving Gallery and many other galleries nationally and internationally.