Please Release Me, Let Me Go

Please Release Me Let Me Go

Digital sketch on iPad — Limited Edition Print

Please Release Me Let Me Go borrows its title from that old country classic — Irish depending on who you ask, or Tom Jones if you want the drama dialled up. Either way, the line has that perfect mix of longing and exhaustion: the feeling of wanting out, wanting space, wanting to stop being stared at. It suited this goldfish immediately. There’s something quietly tragic about a creature that’s always on display — observed, monitored, judged — living in a tiny glass world with nowhere to hide. A goldfish bowl is basically a prison with good lighting.

The piece is really about that sense of being watched a little too closely. The rough brushstrokes and scrawled lyric amplify it — a kind of visual sigh, equal parts humour and claustrophobia. It’s a familiar feeling: the desire to be released from expectations, from scrutiny, from the endless loop of swimming in circles while everyone looks on. *Stephen writes

Please Release Me Let Me Go is part of my ongoing series Sketchy Thoughts — a playful, growing body of work that parodies the kind of “art” we see for sale today. It’s a spontaneous visual diary of what I see around me. Created entirely on my iPad, these sketches appear wherever I happen to be — in the bath, on a plane, in the car, or on a beach somewhere — capturing thoughts before they slip away. Each piece begins with a passing emotion, a lyric, or a fleeting idea, turning quick impressions into lasting images.

Together, the works in Sketchy Thoughts explore the immediacy of perception and the humour woven through everyday life — quick, irreverent, sometimes sarcastic, but always rooted in the moment.

Edition details:

• Limited edition of 195, individually numbered

• Size options:

  • Small print: image size 24cm x 24cm, finished mounted size 30cm x 30cm

  • Large print: image size 29.5cm x 29.5cm, finished mounted size 40cm x 40cm

  Both sizes are also available framed in black wood, ready to hang.