‘A Series of Decisions’: a Haus Of Beau Showcase
Textural canvases layered in mixed media, conducting unrestrained movement and complex thought. Colour that both holds and dilutes emotion. Each piece exists to captivate with all of the above, unfolding and sharing its secrets for years to come, when the moment is right.
With Haus of Beau opening her debut solo show this month at The Artpad in Bath, we caught up to discover more about the collection and how it came to be.
‘Sliding Doors’, 2026. 61 x 200 cm per piece. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
“I'm Aiyla Beau Darling, the artist behind Haus Of Beau. I grew up in the circus with two artists for parents, so naturally, I was a free-spirited child obsessed with all things magical and exciting. I wasn’t the best student in school; I bunked off a lot and was only really ever interested in art and science, specifically physics.”
Sharing how she has always been a creative person, her journey—and her self-professed love of bunking off lessons—led Darling to study Applied Art and Design at Bristol UWE.
“I was given the opportunity to be a model, which I loved; the creativity and freedom of expression were incredibly satisfying. After a while, though, I wanted to be the creator of the art rather than the subject.”
Darling’s first step back behind the canvas was with pencil, as she focused on hyperrealistic portraits.
“My love of colour and expression always came through, though, setting my subjects up with coloured lighting to create aesthetically captivating images. From then, I experimented with many different styles and materials. I’d only ever used pencils, and I wanted to try everything to see what I was most drawn to over and over again. Someone once told me, “Try everything once, twice if you like it.” I’ve lived by those words ever since.”
Becoming Haus of Beau
‘Analysis Paralysis’, 2026. 100 × 85 cm. Acrylic, pigment stick and paint pen on canvas.
I first discovered Darling’s work at the turbulent start to our decade. A duo of pieces that still stick vividly in my mind, each with brightly coloured, textural silicones on board, which were purchased by fashion magazine editor Diana Rotten.
Your work has evolved so much since 2020. Can you tell me a little about your journey through different mediums and themes over these years?
“During lockdown, I craved the expression I had missed from my modelling days, maybe due to the physical limitations we all faced. I found myself drawn to more emotional free painting, which is where my love for abstracts came to fruition.”
During that stage, Darling explains how she worked with textural media such as silicones, resins, and plaster, across both minimal and bright colour palettes.
“Most of the time, my themes were my internal emotional states, responses to life events, and creating worlds that didn’t exist except for inside my mind. I think a lot of my earlier work was a way of processing my life at the time, if I am honest.”
As the world opened back up, so too did Darling’s viewpoint behind her work.
“Over time, styles and techniques that felt natural and personal came to the surface, and the themes became more about the universe we all live in together rather than my own personal perspective.”
‘Déjà Vu’, 2026. 40 × 120 cm. Acrylic and pigment stick on canvas.
You recently moved out of Bristol to Wales. How has this transition adjusted your relationship with your work?
“Before I left Bristol, I found myself in a place where, if I'm honest, life was pressuring me. I knew I either had to go all in or go a different way. I chose all in. I left the home that I loved, sold all my belongings except what I needed to work or live, moved into one room and decided to put everything I had into my practice, to really find my voice and create a body of work that has depth and continuity.”
Whilst choosing to confine life in such a way would not be considered without its drawbacks, for Darling, it has offered a dedicated period of time for expansion.
“It's been a year so far, and it's probably been the most growth I've ever had. I’ve learned so much more about myself and my work and have really found my style. I definitely made the right choice.”
The last time we spoke, you were still exploring the new collection. Can you tell us a little about it ahead of its showcase?
“My latest collection, ‘A Series of Decisions’, came from this idea of the choice I had made, and the path that has since unfolded because of that choice. I realised that everyone's life, no matter who they are, where they're from, or what start they have, eventually, when you look back, becomes the sum of all of their choices.
Our life is determined by the decisions we make, from the first to the last, the minor to the major; every little decision we make ultimately determines the life we live. This was when my love of physics also came into play, as quantum theory is a nerdy little side love of mine.”
‘Superposition’, 2026. 87 × 97 cm. Acrylic, pigment stick and paint pen on canvas.
Can you share which emotions and thoughts have felt most aligned with, or most strongly influenced, this new body of work?
“I started looking at theories around decision-making, how and why we make them… Quantum entanglement, superposition, multiverse theory, the butterfly effect… How, if everyone is making choices every day, do those causes and effects ripple through all of us as a whole?
As we all navigate our individual lives, they must bump up against each other, thereby affecting the choices others have to make.
For whatever reason, you don’t fill up your car, it breaks down, causing the bus behind you to be delayed, meaning someone on that bus missed a job interview, and had to choose a different job... Then, on the timeline where you filled it up, that person started working the original job, so a completely different life happened for them... All because of your full tank or lack thereof.”
Where do you see your new collection in the context of your existing work?
With a shift in depth of field has come a transition in direction, artistically, Darling explains.
“This collection is a departure from my earlier pieces, I think, as I'm starting to be more concerned with universal things humanity goes through, rather than my own personal life, even though that's where it started. I've become much more fascinated with the larger questions in life that we really don’t have any answers to. The nerd in me is having a lot of fun.”
Darling, in studio.
Darling’s initial abstract work
I fell in love with an early piece of acrylic paint on board. A base of cool pink is layered with gold leaf and swathes of white, wide imprints of pastel seafoam green, and with textural erratic gestures of impasto and flung neon tones of yellow and pink.
Sometimes the piece feels resolutely calm, at others, the expression offers solace to stronger emotions. I found out after I had bought it that its title was, ‘Have You Tried Yoga?’.
It felt cataclysmically important that it had found me at that exact time. I remember sobbing as I read Darling’s message, whilst I navigated ill health and accepted a life-changing diagnosis.
I loved waking up to it every day. I spent a lot of time incapacitated with severe fatigue in those early months; the way it altered throughout the day in different light was such a comfort, breaking up the monotony of hours in bed.
I credit it as an important influence in my recovery from those initial dark months. It took years to notice that the delicate pink freckles atop it held tiny flecks of gold whilst it hung across from my bed.
Can you tell me a little about that early piece?
“‘Have You Tried Yoga?’ was one of my really early pieces! I loved that piece. At the time, I was struggling so much with my own chronic illness and feeling so isolated and unsure about what life would hold, and all anyone seemed to be doing was giving me unsolicited advice.
I can’t count how many times someone said that to me, like it was some miracle cure. Eventually, I had to paint about it. The piece was quite joyful, though, mainly because I was aware everyone was just trying to help, even though it felt so hollow at the time.”
‘Field Of Dreams’, 2026. 100 × 120 cm. Acrylic, pigment stick on canvas.
Where do you focus your attention now, and what would you like from this collection, and beyond?
“My attention now is firmly planted in the big questions, like what happens when we die and other fun things. This current collection, I'm hoping, will be the first in a long line of explorations into the human condition. Where we all come from, why we are here, and how, as a species, we move forward together.”
I dream of coming to you again when I’m in my forever home, a brutalist space filled with my thrifted shabby mid-century furniture… What’s your process of working with a client on a commission?
“I love working on commissions, I find the challenge of a brief exciting. Beyond the obvious initial colourways and intended space, one of the best ways I've found to work with clients is to ask them which of my pieces they like most and why. From there, I know the piece they get will be made with the elements that caught their eye and their internal attention, the things they are naturally drawn to, to create a piece they will truly love.”
‘A Series of Decisions’ opens on April 24th (preview night) and is open all day on April 25th at The Art Pad, 62 Great Pulteney St, Bath. For enquiries, get in touch on Instagram at @_hausofbeau_or at beau@hausofbeau.co.uk.
