Apple Reflections

Llael McDonald

Oil on canvas, framed

80 x 54 cm

2025

I first came across Llael McDonald’s work through my dear friend Sophie Wood at Among the Pines Gallery in the UK, and it immediately resonated. A few years ago, I brought one of her egg paintings home from Michael Reid Gallery—it now lives in my kitchen, and I adore it. There’s something quietly powerful about it that reveals itself more over time.

Llael paints with a kind of moody nostalgia that feels both personal and universal. Her still lifes—often centred around food—carry layered narratives, inviting reflection on memory, culture, and the rituals that shape our everyday lives. They ask us to slow down and really see what’s in front of us.

As someone deeply drawn to the symbolism of the familiar, I feel a strong connection to Llael’s work. She honours those quiet, often overlooked moments with such sensitivity and depth.

It’s a joy to celebrate artists like Llael, and to acknowledge the richness of women’s voices in painting—across Australia and around the world. Her work is a reminder of how much meaning can be held in the simplest of things.

Llael McDonald creates moody, nostalgic still life paintings that elevate the ordinary. Through intimate depictions of food and familiar domestic objects, her work explores culinary heritage, shared histories, and the emotional resonance of everyday rituals. Each painting invites viewers into a visual conversation—rich in atmosphere and layered meaning celebrating food as a cultural connector and unifying force.

Artist Bio

Llael McDonald is a Melbourne-based artist known for her evocative still life paintings that explore memory, nourishment, and the beauty of the everyday. Trained at the Independent College of Art and Design under painter Terri Matassonni, she graduated in 1996 with a top portfolio and has maintained a dedicated studio practice ever since.

Her work has been exhibited across Australia and internationally, with recent solo shows including Sumptuous and Plenty at Sketch Co Gallery (2023), Delices at Compendium Gallery, Melbourne (2024), and Savour at Michael Reid Southern Highlands (2024). She has also exhibited at the Sydney and Melbourne Affordable Art Fairs, the Melbourne Art Fair, and internationally at Berdoulat in Bath, UK and Han Feng Art Space in New York.

McDonald is represented by Michael Reid Northern Beaches and Southern Highlands, Han Feng Art Space (NYC), and Compendium Gallery (Melbourne). She has been a finalist in the National Emerging Art Prize, the Lethbridge Art Prize, and the Bluethumb Art Prize, and is a two-time award-winner at the Tacit Gallery Still Life Prize.

To purchase this work please contact Harriet Links through her website.