Paintings
in
Ink & Motion

Original alcohol inks on Yupo paper,
brought into motion as animated loops:
living portals of memory, myth and transformation.

My work moves through six bodies:
an unfolding alchemical series,
figures crossing transforming landscapes,
mythology,
the ocean's deep tides,
deep-space nebulae,
and the mood-oriented Glow collections.

Each piece, made by hand in my studio,
has award-winning editorial practices
meeting pigment and light that refuses to sit still.

Transmutation:
The Animated Series

An unfolding series of alcohol ink paintings and animated loops embracing the old alchemical arc.

Each painting catches colour at the exact moment it changes state.

Ink poured on Yupo behaves like transformation itself:
it cannot be forced, only invited.

This is the marriage of my painting practice and my animation editing career, united together.
Currently in production.

Landscapes

A figure moves through a landscape that transforms as it goes…
Terrain answering feeling, the outer world mapping an inner passage.

These mixed-media and alcohol ink works grew from a walking labyrinth I built stone by stone in the Joshua Tree desert, and from years of studying how the body carries what the face cannot reveal.

Labyrinth — Golden spiral labyrinth with a rising figure, inspired by a Joshua Tree walking labyrinth — mixed media painting by Stella Robinson Lightheart
Birth — Serene blue silhouette within a luminous swirling field of colour — figurative alcohol ink painting

Mythos:
Goddesses, Coasts & Ancient Stories

Tributes to the beloved Mythic world, painted in vibrant inks and shimmering detail.

I partly grew up in the English countryside with ancient stories in the ground;
painting them is a way of going home.

Bridget — Golden flames of Brigid, Celtic goddess of forge and inspiration — goddess alcohol ink painting
Aine — Golden summer radiance of the Celtic sun goddess Áine — goddess alcohol ink painting
Cerridwen — Dark and luminous cauldron swirls of the Celtic goddess of transformation — alcohol ink painting
Coventina — Shimmering teals and fluid golds of the Celtic goddess of sacred springs — water goddess alcohol ink painting
Damara — Soft pastel tones of the gentle Celtic goddess of spring and hearth — goddess alcohol ink painting
Epona — Luminous rider moving between worlds — Celtic goddess alcohol ink painting
Taliesin's River — A shimmering current honouring the Welsh bard Taliesin — miniature Celtic alcohol ink painting
Cad Goddeu — Deep forest greens and spectral purples twisting like enchanted trees — Welsh mythology alcohol ink painting
Ceffyl Dwr — Luminous water horse emerging from misty riverbanks — Welsh folklore alcohol ink painting
Gwragedd Annwn — Shimmering lake maiden beneath still water — Welsh fairy folklore alcohol ink painting

Oceans:
Paintings of the Sea's Deep Tides

Having lived my life on three coastlines - England, New Zealand, California -
the sea is the one country all of them share.

The Ocean Soul works are painted the way the ocean behaves:
ink surging, pooling and pulling back, salt-light breaking over depth.
Below the surface, everything slows; colour sinks through turbulent layered waters.

Cosmic:
Paintings of Galaxies & Deep Space

Deep space, revealed and rendered in ink.

The Alcohol behaves like the cosmos in miniature: pigment blooming into nebulae,
metallics scattering like star fields stretching into the unknown.

Cosmic works paint the universe from the inside outward:
galaxies swirling in iridescent hues, a dying star becoming a ceremony of light,
the vastness that makes you feel both very small and yet completely infinite.

Select pieces weave in authentic celestial photography from the Hubble Telescope:
blending reality and abstraction.

Light Echo of 1054 — Supernova remnant in eternal bloom, painted over Hubble Telescope photography — cosmic alcohol ink artwork
NGC 602: Starbirth at the Edge — Radiant star nursery at the edge of the Small Magellanic Cloud — alcohol ink with Hubble photography
Radiance in Vulpecula — The symmetrical final breath of a dying star — cosmic alcohol ink and Hubble photography artwork
Wings of Ion and Dust — Twin luminous wings of ionised gas from a stellar explosion — nebula alcohol ink artwork
The Milkyway — Cosmic purples and gold leaf tracing the arc of our home galaxy — galaxy alcohol ink painting
Galaxy Rose — A rose blooming in spirals of cosmic dust and starlight — large alcohol ink painting on canvas
Thank Goodness We're All Star Stuff — Shimmering nebula colours celebrating our cosmic origins — alcohol ink painting on canvas
Twirling through Galaxies — Joyful radiant dance of colour and stardust shimmer — galaxy alcohol ink painting by Stella Robinson Lightheart
To Coddiwomple — Soft pink clouds drifting across a sky of spun sugar and stardust — dreamy alcohol ink painting, 48 by 24 inches

The Glow Collections:
Radiant, Mystic & Ethereal

These works are curated differently from the rest of the portfolio:
not by myth or series, but by who they're for.

Each Glow mood is matched to a personality:
Radiant, in hot pink, sunlit gold, and deep violet, for the ones who lead the energy in a room.
Mystic, all chiaroscuro and unsolved mystery, for the deep divers and comfortable-in-shadow.
Ethereal, dawn-light and mist dissolving like breath on cold glass, for those who steady everyone else.

The original paintings shown here anchor each mood,
and each mood continues as a collection of archival prints and animated loops.

Not sure which one is yours?
Take the test and discover your Glow.

Find Your Glow takes 45 seconds and matches you to your mood's collection:
plus, I'll send you a free animated loop of your own - a small living portal for your phone or screen.

… and finally,

Ignite — Gold, sunset coral and ember tones surging like a spark turned wildfire — radiant abstract alcohol ink painting
Electric Bloom — Radiant pinks and molten golds colliding in kinetic motion — vibrant abstract alcohol ink painting
Solar Flare — Hot golds bursting against a navy sky — bold abstract alcohol ink painting
Phoenix Dawn — Golds, reds and purples layered like wings mid-lift — radiant abstract alcohol ink painting
Eclipse of Memory — Ink forms dissolving into darkness, a memory flickering behind the veil — mystic abstract alcohol ink painting
Moonlit Reverie — Soft candlelight tones drifting on deep water — mystic abstract alcohol ink painting
Seraphic Drift — Soft-edged forms of ash and light rising like apparitions — mystic abstract alcohol ink painting
Phantom Tide — Inky waves rising and vanishing in shadow — mystic abstract alcohol ink painting
Ethereal Winter — Soft whites and featherlight blues dissolving like breath on cold glass — pastel alcohol ink painting
Veil Between Worlds — Deep violet and magenta spiralling around a luminous gold-threaded core — ethereal alcohol ink painting
Celestial Tide — Layers of pearl, fog and translucent blush swelling like moonlit water — ethereal alcohol ink painting
Threshold of Light — Mist softening into morning, the instant before illumination — ethereal pastel alcohol ink painting

Find Your Glow — 45 seconds →
Discover your colour-mood · Get matched to your collection · Receive a free animated loop

Selected works are available as archival prints and limited-edition digital loops for screen: inquire here.

For custom animated originals and commissions, start a conversation →

Full archive of earlier collections available on request.