Watercolour by Alexandra Blum depicting spring sky with winged insects chinooks and clouds above urban forest and new buildings in early spring

Alexandra Blum, ‘Spring Surveillance’, watercolour on paper, 23 x 30.5 cm, 2026.

Very early spring 2026, when the sky no-longer felt like a lid pressing down on the city, as it did through the weeks of winter rain. Instead it felt expansive, as if clouds were propelled upwards by the energy of sap rising and the merest hint of leaves emerging from bud cases.

I’m fascinated by the sky as a site of activity. It’s a realm of flight encompassing minute and planetary scales with insects, birds, chinooks, planes and weather systems allowed to become directly juxtaposed on the painted surface, reflecting my interest in thinking about the world on a range of scales and from more-than-human viewpoints

Scroll down to see close ups ...

Watercolour by Alexandra Blum depicting sky with winged insect and chinook

Alexandra Blum, Detail from ‘Spring Surveillance’, watercolour on paper, 23 x 30.5 cm, 2026.

Watercolour by Alexandra Blum, close up of urban forest in early spring alongside new buildings

Alexandra Blum, Detail from ‘Spring Surveillance’, watercolour on paper, 23 x 30.5 cm, 2026.

series /previous/next

All rights reserved. Text and images © 2025 Alexandra Blum