After an exceptionally busy period, I am happy to be able to exhibit some work again! My new works “Bloom” and “Fruited” are on display at Grasmere, in the beautiful Lake District National Park. The village hall is traditional home of the Lake Artists Society’s Summer Exhibition. As the Society was founded in 1904, it’s a bit of an institution in these parts and beyond! Much appreciation is due to the hard working committee and helpers who made this happen. 
“Bloom”, 2023, oil on linen, 80 x 60 cm (+ frame)
“Fruited”, 2023, oil on linen, 80 x 60 cm (+frame)
The village hall at historic Grasmere, Lake District, UK
The standard of work in show is very high and varied so there’s something for everyone!
July 29th- Sept 6th 2023, 10.30-4.30 daily
A little about the paintings…
they’re part of a series I’m working on, looking at the passage of time and the human experience (albeit from my female perspective). The tumultuous journey on seas of hormones which shape and regulate our existence, loosely correlating with the seasons and also “woman” as Maiden, Mother, Crone. A kind of “Goddess” series with an awareness of archetypes without naming particular deities. My great joy in working on these was the choice of colour palettes which deviated from those of classical realism. Also hunting for flora and fauna in the garden for resource photos! (The use of photos of the swallowtail caterpillars, however, was kindly gifted to me by a nature/ photography enthusiast).
We are part of a great mystery and knowledge which science seeks to explain and perhaps control. More and more, some of our living and working spaces seem to resemble machines for living in- but we are not machines and these spaces and expectations cannot bring us happiness in the way that connection with nature can. My fear is that as more of us live apart from nature, we forget our home and cannot protect it, as we do not recognise its value. Until it is gone, that is. These portraits are embedded in cycles of biology, in nature, as we humans are, even if we think we’re above all that. The moon (or sun?) is a constant and ties the works together.
Our journeys are bittersweet, and I’ve included elements which to me hint at this- in “Bloom”, the caterpillar spoils the roses, the blackbird eats the caterpillar which has not yet reached its spectacular metamorphosis into butterfly…. In “Fruited”, the insects may spoil the fruit in which the seed is yet to ripen. Then again, The goldfinch may spread the seeds -these may be the results of our ideas, actions, inspirations- in ways we cannot foresee.
It doesn’t matter whether you have had children, by the time you have reached menopause, you have inevitably mothered and served humanity. The journey doesn’t end here of course…I am working on a kind of “Wintering” painting!
Mother (artist) and daughter (also models!) at the preview
Related Images:
