Journal

When my son was a baby I taught myself to crochet granny squares. After a bit of trial and error I managed to master the technique and I was hooked! The repetitive action of moving the hook through the yarn was meditative and satisfying. Hours could be whiled away…

Initially I was aiming to make lots of little squares to form a blanket but the square I began with just grew and grew until it became a huge blanket for my bed. It consisted of 100% merino wool and was costly and heavy but perfect for a cold winter’s night. I’ve since made one for my sister’s baby, one for my son and others for pure joy and relaxation. There’s something so satisfying about seeing how the colours of the yarn interact and evolve.

Last summer I decided that I wanted a whippet. I’d had a whippety lurcher years ago (he often appears in my paintings) and I ‘d really loved him but he became very jealous when my son was born so sadly I’d had to re-home him. Now my son was older it felt like the right time to look into it. I think it’s important for kids to grow up with animals and learn how to treat and respect them. I signed up online to Just Whippets Rescue and began making a blanket for the whippet I was hoping would join our household, not knowing when this would occur. Each time I picked up my crochet I visualised having a female whippet, good with kids, house trained, easy going and around 4- 5 years old.

The VERY day that I finished the blanket I received a call from Just Whippets Rescue  – a 5 year old female whippet needed a new home and she was only 5 minutes walk away from our house! This was definitely fate. She matched my criteria exactly. We visited that evening and walked home with her, my son holding her on the lead. She settled in instantly and we feel as if we’ve always had her. She’s the most gorgeous little thing and spends many hours nestled right under her handmade blanket, snoozing the day away, just as I imagined she would.

For 23 years I’ve worked mainly in my kitchen, sitting room, attic room and when I first started out in my bedroom. I’ve never had a designated area solely for work- a space where I could close the door, leaving everything in situ ready for my next creative stint.

So, this year I finally decided to take action. I was sick of hauling equipment in and out of cupboards, cooking amongst paints and fabrics, eating supper with a sewing machine as a centre piece and using my bedroom as a place to store bubble wrapped paintings.

I’ve moved my son up to the attic room (with sea views) and I’ve transformed his old bedroom into my new space. It fits all my criteria, light, bright, enough room for storage, space for my sewing machine to be permanently poised for action and a separate table for designing and painting.

Here it is! And I love it.

Over the years I’ve had plenty of commissions ranging from a design to go on a pebble to creating a bespoke painting. The difficulty with a commission is that I’m creating a piece of work which has sprung from someone else’s heart and imagination. This means that a whole different approach is required. I have to put my personal ideas aside and interpret the brief as accurately as I can in order to make a personal piece which will delight and please my client.

As you can see, the pieces are in my style but not necessarily my elements. However . I’m always happy to accept commissions, they can be a challenge and I LOVE a challenge!

Around the age of 23 I began to enjoy having disposable income for the first time thanks to my earnings as a freelance illustrator. One weekend I was browsing the stands at the Battersea Arts Fair and I realised that I could afford to buy a piece of art for myself -what a joy!

I fell in love with this little canvas by self taught artist Brenda Brooks. The price was a mere £50 and it was all mine. I still love it now. It marked the beginning of my journey into buying art. I have a very simple criteria- I purchase what I love. Sometimes I can’t explain why I like a piece but I know I have to have it in my life and my home. A painting can be forever and sometimes you grow with it and other times you grow out of it. This one will always remain a favourite.

I’m taking part in the May 2105 Open Studios which started yesterday and runs until May 31st. I’ve cleared the downstairs area of my home and set it up as a gallery shop for 6 days. I’ve created lost of new work and I’m really hoping it’s going to be a HUGE success! It’s completely unpredictable who is going to enter through my doors and buy but that’s part of the appeal. Ideally I would like to make lots of paintings sales and to be approached by one or 2 new galleries. Fingers crossed! 

My maternal grandmother, Eileen Stephens, originally trained and worked as an actress and later on she studied part time as a mature student at Gloucestershire College of Art.
As a young child I couldn’t understand the appeal of her paintings. We had a collection adorning our walls at home and I used to think how childlike and simple they were, and to be honest I didn’t think they were very good!
However, much later on, having studied art myself, I could appreciate their appeal and originality.

I love the freshness, simplicity, colour and purity; these are all qualities I aim to have in my own work.
Eileen is one of my favourite artists and she has definitely influenced my work.

I thought I would begin my first blog post by writing about how many of my childhood images have manifested later on in my work as a professional artist and illustrator. I have a very old tatty box at home full of little drawings and pictures from my youth and it’s so interesting to see how these beginnings have evolved to reappear later on in my work. Almost as if my early thoughts and ideas were a prediction of things to come.

Anyone who’s familiar with my work will know about the recurring romantic elements and again this theme started very early on as some of these pictures are from the age of 9 or 10. If I didn’t still have this box I wouldn’t have been aware of how it all began.

I often drew babies as I’m the eldest of seven and it seemed as if my childhood was burgeoning with new siblings every few years. However I wasn’t keen to have lots myself. One is enough.

I’ll be revisiting this theme further down the line as I’ve got plenty more material…