Hampshire Open Studios 2022 – Basingstoke

Yes, it’s that time of the year again! Hampshire Open Studios 2022 is happening now! This year, in addition to my composition paintings, I am featuring my new series of abstract paintings. This collection includes mixed medium studies of local seascapes and the Lake District. 

 

 

 

 

I have enjoyed experimenting with new mixed media such as candle wax, sea salt and even black cherry juice, to name a few. It’s always exciting to see the way materials and random ingredients react naturally to each other to produce vibrant colours, depth and substance to paintings. 

I will be exhibiting my works at Proteus Creation Space in Basingstoke in collaboration with 17 other Hampshire based artists and designer makers who have come together to present a unique colourful and vibrant collection of works. For location information, dates and times, please click here.   

 

Eype Beach Art to support London Action for Children

I ran across this quote from Pablo Picasso the other day: –“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”

How appropriate this was for me as I recently had the wonderful privilege of donating an original piece of artwork to be auctioned by Postcards Anon which raises funds to support West London Action for Children, a non-profit organization. The event is held annually with over 1,000 original pieces of artwork donated each year so being invited to participate was certainly both a humbling and gratifying experience. 

My painting was inspired by a recent visit to Eype Beach, situated along Dorset’s World Heritage Jurassic Coast. This secluded beach boasts beautiful sunsets and is a haven for hikers and dog lovers as dogs are welcome all year.  

I was also very interested to find out more about West London Action for Children (WLAC). Here’s what I found out.  WLAC was founded in 1917. Concerned by the profound impact of World War I and the flu epidemic on children and families across London, it was one of several committees created in response to an appeal for assistance for children in desperate situations. Today WLAC is a professionally-run, registered charity staffed by highly qualified psychotherapists and counsellors. It provides free counselling and therapy services to vulnerable children, youth and families and in 2021 alone, saw an increase of 23% in referrals for mental health needs among families in the Greater London area. 

I would like to thank WLAC for inviting me to participate in their Postcard Anon fundraiser. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to play a small part in making a difference in children’s and youths’ lives – one postcard at a time!  

Please visit my website to see more examples of my artwork. I have original pieces for sale and welcome any commissioned works. 

For more information on services WLAC provides or how you can help support their organization, click on the link here. 

 

Watership Down Oil on Canvas

On a beautiful sunny frosty morning last winter I was driving through Watership Down and had to pull off the road to capture the stunning countryside around me with my camera. Little did I know that these photographs would become the inspiration for my very first attempt at painting with oils. 

In my painting titled “Frosty Morning on Watership Down” I wanted to not only capture the natural beauty of this composition but invoke the senses to “feel” the chill in the air and the glimmer of warmth from the hazy winter sun, silhouetting the vegetation. I chose muted and subtle colours for the teasels, cow parsley, nettles and grasses and used delicate brush strokes to create the frosty spiderweb detail. 

Painting with oils was definitely a little intimidating at first as I had always painted in watercolours.  Since it has more pigment in it, oils are a great medium for rich and vivid effects. And because they can stay wet for days or weeks it makes it easier to continue mixing colours for several days to produce subtle colour variations, which I was able to achieve in this painting.  

This original oil on canvas is SOLD but I do have prints available upon request. Please click here to visit my website for more examples of my art collection.  

 

 

 

 

 

Butterfly Meadow at Highclere Castle

The inspiration for my latest painting comes from the flowering meadows surrounding Highclere Castle in Hampshire (known to many as Downton Abbey). During the summer months these fields are bursting with vibrant coloured butterflies dancing in the air and doing what they do best – pollinating.    

Butterflies are some of the most beloved insects that inhabit our natural surroundings. Not only are they loved for their pure beauty but to many people they have spiritual meaning: rebirth, transformation, change, hope, and life. Ironically, butterflies have a very short life, ranging from a few weeks to a few months, which serves to remind us that ALL life is short, but worth living to its fullest. 

To view more of my artworks, please CLICK HERE or come visit me at the Hampshire Open Studios ART SHOW! 

Jelly Beans from the Garden

Yes, you can grow Jelly Beans in your garden! These beautiful double flowered California poppies with splashes of bubblegum pink, lemon yellow, raspberry red, tangy orange and apricot peach, are enough to make your mouth water. 

These hardy plants are easy to grow in most garden settings and soil conditions and seem to thrive best in poor, dry soil or gravel. They are an ideal choice for small bursts of colour concentrated in a compact space or rambling wildflower drifts. Generally categorized as annuals, Jelly Beans can be perennial if located in the right spot in your garden and tended to properly. They typically bloom from May to August and are a wonderful cut-flower and will bloom for several days.

So next time you’re contemplating what to plant that will give you vibrant sugary colour, think California Jelly Bean poppies!

 

 

Hampton Court Garden Festival – world’s largest flower show

What a great day out at the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival. The grounds of Hampton Court Palace were transformed into an extravaganza of colour and inspirational gardening.

I spent the day wandering around the grounds admiring and smelling the gorgeous flowers and discovering new plant varieties I had never seen or heard of before. It was all about what England does best: tea rooms, bunting, picnics and blooms. My favourite attraction however this year was the allotment gardens as I do love growing and harvesting my own vegetables, fruits and flowers. The featured allotments came in all shapes and sizes and varying degrees of complexity and use of space. 

We all know the British love their gardens and they love growing their own food as well as planting flowers. So whether you live in a large metropolitan city or small country village, your garden is calling you. It may be a small plot in a community allotment or an ignored patch in your own garden. Whatever it is, your garden is calling you. Grow some vegetables and fruits and plant a colourful garden to add some summer splash. And if you’re looking for inspiration, take a trip to Hampton Court Festival Gardens, the world’s largest flower show.

What are you waiting for? Get Set, Grow!

Foraging, Wild Garlic Butter and Pesto

One of my favourite pastimes is foraging in the woods in the heart of Watership Down for wild garlic. Spring is a perfect time of year to find early blooming spring greens and aromatic herbs.   

This versatile wild herb thrives in damp and shady woodlands around Britain in the Spring. It is easily identified by its vibrant green spears, white flowers and distinct wild garlic aroma. Wild garlic is a perfect compliment for soups, salads, sauces and general seasoning. Often touted as a “spring tonic” it has added beneficial health benefits.  It’s blood purifying properties are thought to help lower cholesterol.

I recently foraged a basketful of garlic leaves to make some wild garlic butter and garlic-pine nut pesto. Both are quick and easy to prepare and make a delicious garnish for your table.

So next time you have the urge to get outside for a bit of fresh air, grab your basket, head for the woods and do some foraging along the way. It’s a great way to get some exercise and much needed Vitamin D while discovering wild foods right on your doorstep, many of which are packed with super healthy nutrients.

Happy foraging!

In My English Country Garden

The English have always been keen gardeners and nothing demonstrates this better than a traditional English country garden. So what makes a garden a true English country garden? Simply put, it offers the perfect balance of whimsical and casual elegance. It boasts glorious jumbles of flowers, shrubs, climbing vines and meandering pathways leading you through this horticultural delight. 

 

Like most English country gardens, mine is a constant work in progress. I have numerous varieties of annuals and perennials to create seasonal blooms of color. Some of the plants you will find here are varieties of Cosmos, Penstemons, salvias, hollyhocks, climbing roses and California jelly bean poppies.  I’m constantly re-planting, relocating and regrouping plant varieties to create areas of saturated color, height variables and textural compliments. The goal is that every vantage point surrounding my garden room creates a vibrant and pleasing sensation for all the senses.

My most recent oil paintings, “Hollyhocks” (featured above) and “Dragonfly by the Shed” were inspired by some of the beautiful flowers growing in and around my garden. These paintings are featured on my website. Click here to view.

I also have several plants for sale which are available for purchase during the annual Hampshire and Berkshire Open Studios Art Shows, held in Ecchinswell where I also feature my original artworks for sale. 

I look forward to seeing you!

Hampshire Open Studios 2021

It’s that time of year again for artists of all genres throughout the Hampshire region to prepare for the upcoming annual Hampshire Open Studios 2021 Art Walk, and I am very excited and honoured to be a featured artist this summer. 

The event spotlights select artists and craft studios, where the general public can meet the artists in their homes, studios and galleries free of charge. This year I will be featuring both original and commissioned artworks and prints for sale which can be previewed on my website, as well as a large variety of rare and colorful plants I have grown from my own English country garden. The Open Studios event runs from 21st to 30th August, 2021. 

My art studio is located on our property in the picturesque village of Ecchinswell. Come mosey through my gardens as you peruse the artworks. And bring your walking shoes as there are abundant walking trails through the woods and fields right on my doorstep.  I look forward to seeing you in August. 

For more details click here: Hampshire Open Studios 2021

Spring of New Hope

Spring always brings with it a sense of new birth and regeneration and I don’t think this could be more meaningful or more welcoming for everyone than its arrival in 2021. Evidence of Spring is abundant all around us; from the fresh cut flowers on our kitchen tables to the vibrant carpets of wild flowers and sweet aroma of blossoms in the surrounding countryside. It’s a time to awaken the senses again and embrace all that Mother Nature has to offer.  

My painting titled “Spring of New Hope” was inspired to capture the very essence of what its title suggests through the application of bright, fresh colours and textures. The setting is Highclere,  located in the heart of the Hampshire countryside where I live.  For centuries Hampshire has been the fertile soil for local artists and some of England’s greatest writers: Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy and John Keats, to name a few.  Their works were often inspired by the picturesque villages, rugged pastures and heathlands and rolling wooded hills and vales of this predominantly rural county.  

Spring has always been my favorite season and this one for me is definitely about rebirth, refocus and rejuvenation. As we all strive to move forward, let us embrace the arrival of this fresh new season with a little less weight on our shoulders and  a “Spring in our step”.