• Poppy Cyster creates vibrant abstract paintings that capture the rhythmic patterns and atmospheric beauty of Scottish landscapes viewed from above....
    Available

    Poppy Cyster creates vibrant abstract paintings that capture the rhythmic patterns and atmospheric beauty of Scottish landscapes viewed from above. Working with acrylics, inks, and spray paint on linen, she builds layered compositions that balance structured geometry with expressive passages of colour. Her paintings suggest aerial perspectives without becoming literal: horizons emerge, land formations hint at themselves, and colour relationships evoke the emotional resonance of place.


    Poppy has an exceptional command of colour and an ability to create paintings that feel both planned and spontaneous. That is what draws us to her work. Her confident palette ignites excitement whilst maintaining the sophistication that appeals to serious collectors, creating work that transforms spaces through both its visual impact and its subtle complexity. Each painting invites multiple readings, revealing different qualities depending on viewing distance, lighting conditions, and the time spent with the work.

    • Poppy Cyster, The Waves Know Your Name 2
      Poppy Cyster, The Waves Know Your Name 2
      Available
      Poppy Cyster, The Waves Know Your Name 2
      £ 2,100.00
    • Poppy Cyster, The Waves Know Your Name 1
      Poppy Cyster, The Waves Know Your Name 1
      Available
      Poppy Cyster, The Waves Know Your Name 1
      £ 2,100.00
    • Poppy Cyster, The Evening Found Us
      Poppy Cyster, The Evening Found Us
      Available
      Poppy Cyster, The Evening Found Us
      £ 2,800.00

  • A Unique Aerial Perspective

    Formative Views from Above

    Growing up as an aviator's daughter shaped Poppy's distinctive visual vocabulary in profound ways. She spent countless hours in open cockpit biplanes, leaning over the edge to observe the world below. These childhood experiences embedded a unique way of seeing: fields forming geometric patterns, rivers carving sinuous paths through the landscape, mountain ranges creating textural contrasts, roadways inscribing lines across terrain.

     

    These formative aerial observations continue to inform her abstract compositions, giving them a spatial quality that sets her work apart within contemporary Scottish painting. When you look at Poppy's canvases, you're experiencing landscape filtered through memory and translated into pure colour and form. The horizontal banding that appears in many of her works suggests stratified land, water, and sky viewed from altitude. Yet she never allows her paintings to become topographical or literal. Instead, she captures the emotional and atmospheric essence of landscape, the feeling of vastness and pattern that aerial perspective provides.

     

     

    Building Atmosphere Through Layers

    Poppy's paintings are characterised by their dynamic tension between control and release. Structured elements (often horizontal bands suggesting land, water, and sky) provide compositional framework, whilst areas of uninhibited expression allow colour to flow and merge with remarkable energy. This balance reflects both the ordered patterns and wild beauty of natural landscapes, creating work that feels simultaneously contemplative and vital.

     

    Her colour relationships demonstrate intuitive understanding combined with technical skill. Warm oranges and coral pinks transition into cool teals and blues, creating atmospheric depth that draws viewers into the picture plane. The layered application of mixed media (acrylics, inks, spray paint) builds luminosity, with underlayers influencing the final surface in subtle ways. This technique creates paintings that shift as light changes throughout the day, revealing different qualities at different times.

     

    The scale of Poppy's work is carefully considered. Her mid-sized pieces (63 x 63 cm) create intimate yet substantial presences, whilst her larger works (107 x 107 cm) offer immersive experiences that command architectural spaces.

  • "Poppy translates the experience of landscape into pure colour and form. Her paintings capture something essential about Scotland's natural beauty whilst remaining thoroughly contemporary and abstract. They're works that reward both immediate viewing and sustained contemplation."
  •

  • Spotlighting Poppy Cyster at Graystone Gallery

    • we seek painters who can work abstractly whilst maintaining a genuine connection to Scottish landscape and experience. Poppy achieves this balance beautifully. Her paintings aren't literal representations, yet they unmistakably evoke the atmospheres, colours, and spatial qualities of Scotland's varied terrain. There's something distinctly Scottish about her palette choices and the way light moves across her surfaces, even when the compositions remain purely abstract.

       

      What particularly appeals to us is how Poppy's work suits diverse collecting approaches. The paintings possess immediate visual impact: strong colour, confident composition, substantial presence. They transform spaces instantly, bringing energy and warmth to contemporary interiors. Yet they also reward sustained attention, revealing subtleties of technique and colour relationships that emerge over time. This combination makes them ideal for both residential and professional settings.

    • Since graduating from De Montfort University, where her degree show sold out completely and earned the Leicestershire Artworks Collection Prize, Poppy has dedicated herself full-time to her artistic practice. Her growing reputation extends beyond Scotland, with collectors in Japan, Australia, India, and the United States acquiring her work. Her 2023 to 2024 residency at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen and her participation in Visual Arts Scotland's Annual Show at the Royal Scottish Academy demonstrate her standing within the Scottish art community.

  • Poppy's work transforms interiors through colour, atmosphere, and presence. Understanding how her paintings interact with space is essential to selecting...
    Photo credits: Euan Cherry

    Poppy's work transforms interiors through colour, atmosphere, and presence. Understanding how her paintings interact with space is essential to selecting the right piece for your environment.


    The mid-sized works (63 x 63 cm framed, priced at £2,100) suit a range of residential settings. These square formats work particularly well in contemporary interiors, complementing clean lines and neutral palettes whilst providing essential warmth and energy. They're ideal for living spaces, bedrooms, dining areas, or home offices where their atmospheric quality creates contemplative focal points without overwhelming the room. The scale allows you to appreciate the colour relationships and layered technique from comfortable viewing distances.

     

  • The larger pieces (107 x 107 cm framed, priced at £2,800) make dramatic statements suited to generously proportioned rooms or...

    The larger pieces (107 x 107 cm framed, priced at £2,800) make dramatic statements suited to generously proportioned rooms or professional environments. Their scale allows the compositional complexity to fully express itself, creating immersive experiences that reward viewing from different distances. In residential settings, they anchor living rooms or entrance halls. In professional contexts, they bring warmth and sophistication to reception areas, boardrooms, or private offices.


    Consider the existing colour palette in your space when selecting a work. Poppy's warm compositions (oranges, corals, pinks) energise neutral or cool-toned interiors, whilst her cooler coastal pieces (teals, blues, greys) provide calming counterpoints to warmer spaces.