Newsletter

I have not sent out a newsletter since just before the Pandemic Lockdown. For nearly two years I had been in my studio working on paintings for the 2020 club shows, the London Artists Studio Tour and my own solo show at STEPAC. The Pandemic caused cancellations and postponements and, I have to admit, took the wind out of my sales. After much deliberation with my family and my Tour Helpers, I came to the conclusion that I could not safely open my home and studio to visitors and so withdrew from the studio tour.

For consolation I turned to my kitchen where I could create new dishes for my family. This served several purposes. It gave me an outlet for my creativity not in any way associated with painting. Secondly the nutritious and, even if I do say so myself, delicious food I produced kept us healthy and in good spirits. And, Lastly, the enticing fragrances of home cooked meals, freshly baked bread and treats made our home a comforting and pleasant place to pass the lockdown together.

Time not spent in the kitchen was spent on the Internet exploring. I found new artists to admire and reacquainted myself with others.

One of the artists, Karen Stamper, from Cornwall U.K., introduced me to working in a concertina sketchbook.I enjoyed this very much. Here is a portion of the sketchbook.

I also discovered an American botanical illustrator, Lara Call Gastinger,  who introduced me to the idea of a perpetual nature journal. For me, this seemed an act of faith as well as both hope and trust in that it required working on it for several years, returning to pages time and again to make additions. so this is the first year of my perpetual journal! Look her up on the Internet if you wish to find out more.

Zachary Login, a Canadian artist from Sakatchewan, is another artist worth investigation. I saw his work a few years ago on Instagram, and was intrigued to find some of his work included "After Mary Delany" in the titles. Mary Delany is one of my heroes and lived from 1700 to 1788, taking up botanical collage in her later years. Zachary's contemporary paintings are filled with botanical images, beautifully rendered and have been exhibited internationally.

Eventually my Internet explorations and my sketchbooks allowed me to return to my studio and to paint. Three pieces will be in the Westland Gallery's Square Foot Show, November 17 to December 24 by appointment and online.

Square Foot Show  

Process and Products

I entered paintings into the OSA Member's Exhibition of Selected Works and was delighted to have one painting juried into the exhibition.This is an online exhibition and is available to view until Oct. 31.

I wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving. Stay safe. Take care. Be good to yourself and each other.

WEAR A MASK!