Hi, I'm Sam

I’m Sam Clift, an intuitive artist working under the name Willow & Moon.

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My work lives in the space between realism and abstraction - where an image can feel clear from a distance, and quietly dissolve into gesture and atmosphere up close. I’m interested in paintings that make emotional sense before they make logical sense.

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Animals, nature and the human presence often appear in my work, not as stories to be explained, but as presences to be felt. I paint slowly and deliberately, allowing layers, marks and edges to soften and speak to one another until the image settles into its own truth.

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This way of working has come from years of experimentation, unlearning and trust - learning when to act and when to step back. I’m less interested in perfection than in resonance: work that holds stillness, depth and a sense of quiet recognition.

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I work primarily in oils, alongside drawing, watercolour and gouache studies that support my ongoing practice. Each piece is part of a larger, evolving body of work rather than a standalone statement.

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Willow & Moon is not just a name, but a way of working - rooted, intuitive and guided by cycles rather than urgency. My hope is that my paintings offer a place to pause, to look more slowly and to feel something that doesn’t need to be named.

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A note on commissions

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I currently take on a very limited number of commissions, offered selectively and only when they align with my practice. Availability changes throughout the year.

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Thank you for being here.

Much love,

Sam