Brooklyn-based painter Iris Scott is known for being one of the only fine-art finger painters working today. From colorful landscapes and expressive animal portraits to fantastical dreamscapes, her work explores the beauty of nature and the magic of her own imagination. Scott’s latest series of work, titled the Angel Trilogy, gives us a glimpse into a mythical world where angels convene in a forest.
The three paintings, Owl and Embers, Feather Script, and The Violet Vestment, were all completed in late 2026. Scott used her hands to intuitively apply layers of oil paint to her canvases, resulting in vibrant works full of organic texture. The artist tells My Modern Met, “The paint is still wet in fact.”
All three paintings feature angels with obscured faces, fires burning beneath colorful trees, and surreal hieroglyphic markings that look like part of an ancient language. “I love the idea of creating paintings that look like artifacts from a civilization that may or may not exist…at least in our dimension,” Scott tells us. “Something ancient and sacred, but impossible to place historically. As though these images were discovered in the ruins of a forgotten temple, and we’re left to piece together what they might have meant.”
Together, the three paintings tell a story. In Owl and Embers, two figures gather around a fire in a eucalyptus grove, almost as if in the middle of a ritual. Their gowns merge with the foliage as owls appear to emerge from the trees, and a pair of white wings lifts one of the figure’s gown from the forest floor.
In Feather Script, two angels seem to emerge from the fire, one appearing pregnant and the other adorned with wings covered in mysterious hieroglyphic patterns. The ghostly figures appear to become one with the flames and trees, blurring the boundaries between the supernatural and natural worlds.
In the third painting from the trilogy, The Violet Vestment, a priestlike figure with a golden halo stands as an angel leans in to whispers into their ear. “I deliberately leave the story unresolved,” says Scott. “I want viewers to feel as though they’ve stumbled upon something they weren’t necessarily meant to witness.”
The Angel Trilogy is now available to purchase, both the original paintings and prints of the works. If interested, head over to Iris Scott’s website. Check out the series below, and stay up to date with the artist’s work by following Iris Scott on Instagram.
Fine-art finger painter Iris Scott’s latest series of work, titled Angel Trilogy, gives us a glimpse into a mythical world where angels gather in a forest.
Together, all three paintings tell a story from another time, place, or realm.
Scott says, “I love the idea of creating paintings that look like artifacts from a civilization that may or may not exist…at least in our dimension.”
“Something ancient and sacred, but impossible to place historically. As though these images were discovered in the ruins of a forgotten temple, and we’re left to piece together what they might have meant.”
All of the original paintings and prints of the works are now available to purchase on the artist’s website.
