Meet me under the Hawthorn Tree – 2026. : Oil on canvas (24 × 29 cm), framed in a vintage gilded wooden frame

In this piece, I explore the quiet threshold between our world and the Otherworld—a place that feels both inviting and watchful. The May Tree has long held a place in European folklore as a gateway to the realm of the Fae, and I was drawn to that sense of beauty edged with a quiet disquiet.

Among the braided shadows of the ancient wood, a pixie lingers, half-hidden among the pale hawthorn blossoms. It watches rather than reveals itself, present but elusive. The blossoms carry a fragile softness, yet their thorns remind us that not everything here is meant to welcome. Around them gather small, bird-like spirits—mossy, antlered, and still—more felt than fully seen.

I wanted this work to echo an old warning: that to rest beneath such a tree is to be noticed. To pause here is to step just beyond the known world, into something older, where boundaries soften and certainty begins to fray.

There is an invitation in that—but also the question of whether it should be accepted.

So rest beneath the May Tree, if you dare—be bold enough to invite the gaze of ancient powers. For to linger here, where the edges of worlds wear thin, is to stand before a sacred threshold to the realm of the Fae.