NB: This painting can be secured now. It is on show in John Dyer’s ‘Spirit of the Harvest’ Exhibition at the Eden Project and will be shipped after 9 February 2026, or sooner on request.
In ‘Paddy Paddling, the Philippines’ John Dyer, Eden Project’s Artist in Residence and an official Artist for the Earth with Earth Day, captures the enchantment of the tropics under a starlit sky. Painted en plein air in the Philippines, the work depicts a rice paddy alive with ducks, palm trees and village life, glowing with colour and vitality. The immediacy of the painting reflects the conditions of the tropics, where acrylic paint dries almost instantly on the canvas, demanding rapid responses and instinctive brushwork.
The scene is filled with cultural detail: ducks paddle through the flooded fields, searching for fallen grains of rice that cannot be gathered by hand. These birds are integral to the rice harvest, turning waste into food, while also providing eggs for cooking and even being raced for sport at weekends. Behind the paddy, homes line the horizon, their windows lit with the warmth of evening life, while coconut palms and banana plants frame the crescent moon and stars above.
Rice sustains more than half the world’s population, and in the Philippines, it is at the heart of both daily life and cultural traditions. Dyer’s vivid brushwork, glowing palette and layered textures bring together the practical and the poetic — the labour of food production with the wonder of tropical nature.
This original painting is both a joyful celebration of Filipino culture and a unique record of the rice harvest’s story. Collecting a John Dyer painting is to invest in the vision of one of Britain's best loved and best known environmental focused artists, bringing colour, energy and the spirit of the Philippines into your home.
Item Information
| Description |
Framed Original Painting |
| Artist |
Cornish Artist John Dyer (born 1968) |
| Signed by the Artist |
Signed by John Dyer |
| Painting size |
24 x 24 inches |
| Medium |
Acrylic on canvas |
| Framed size |
29.5 x 29.5 inches |
| Frame type |
The St Ives style picture frame is a Renaissance-inspired cassetta frame, Italian for 'little box', featuring a white stain finish that highlights the wood grain. With a 73mm wide profile and 39mm depth, it creates a recessed central panel, perfect for a timeless, contemporary and elegant display of the painting. |
| Ready to hang |
Strung with picture cord and ready to hang |
"After the winnowing there are still rice grains in the fields; but too little to collect by hand. To make the most of the remaining rice the farmers herd in hundreds and hundreds of ducks to feed on the rice. The ducks peck and squabble amongst the rice plants – collecting every last grain. The sight is amazing, with the upside-down moon of the southern hemisphere, towering palm trees and the lights of the village twinkling on the edge of the paddy. The farmer finally herds the ducks back to their tin and wood house – which is also the pump house for moving water into the paddy fields. The ducks will lay many eggs that are used for food, and to add a competitive edge the ducks are also raced as a local sport! I pack up my paints and share Coca-Cola, sweet potato and mango with the farmer who owns the land."
John Dyer

The painting is featured in the book 'Painting the Colours of the World' by Kate Dinn.
Artist Information Links
Read about artist John Dyer
Artist Chronology I Paintings in Public Collections I View John Dyer's Latest Paintings