do you mind if i knit

My dirty little secret.

I've always liked flowers. Not cool when you're at art college, or at least, that's what was made clear to me by my peers at the time. So it was something I slowly eliminated from my art work. But now I'm thirty-six years old, I'm able to let flora and fauna back into my work, without any embarrassment or guilt............ well almost. To a certain extent, painting flowers does feel like a dirty little secret. Being into gardening, and flowers, wasn't the same as painting them. I think I was seen as a little eccentric............ someone my age gardening, just another of Vanessa's strange little ways, but acceptable because it had an element of mystery to people in their early to mid twenties. I could name plants, like Auriculas, and grow them from seed. I'd give away plants I'd grown, all most hilarious and endearing. Well, I'm not in contact with any of those people now, so I am utterly and totally free to be my own person. I am............... defiant! And I will set my passion for painting flowers free. That will explain why my studio is becoming a little cluttered with flowers. Not just the freshly cut, or potted variety, as it turns out. Something which has wierdly surprised me. I seem to have been collecting flowers of one kind or another for years. From silk flowers, to swimming hats. I love this swimming hat. I found it in a charity shop, and it reminds me of a photo of myself at about the age of eight, trying to look very grown up, sporting a similar hat, while swimming in the sea. And, it has flowers on it. This tray was another 'find'. Much too valuable to be used......... in my opinion.............. Hand painted plates, by someone unknown. Even this candelabra didn't escape being entered into a collection of objects I was in self-denial about......... Flowers. For goodness sake........... I even bought washing-up gloves with huge pink flowers attached to them.......... How was I kidding myself? A paper weight with a flower in it.......? A tiny dish in the shape of a pansy...........? Who, exactly was I trying to fool? It took about fifteen years, but my affliction has finally resolved itself. I am now doing what comes naturally to me............ ......... I am doing what I enjoy, maybe even love to do. I am painting flowers. I've come full circle..... isn't life strange?

Open studio.

'Take a look at a writer's home,and you might get a glimpse inside their mind'. I read these words once, and wondered if I could apply it to myself. My home is neat and tidy, my studio is a 'flood of disorder', as Jean cocteau once described one of his residences. My studio was once an old coal shed. I had it lined with wood, and installed electricity and cold running water. The reality of having a wood burning stove did not live up to the romantic idea of going in each morning and stoking a fire, so now I have a heater timed to make my arrival a warm and welcome one. It's a haven and an office. My little world, which I cram with 'stuff' to inspire and make me happy. People rarely get to step inside, I have never done an open studio before. Those who have come in, suddenly go quiet, and just stand there looking......... and because it is my place of work, and it's probably a bit overwhelming, I don't get asked to justify anything on display. And then they leave, and don't say a word, and I choose not to probe or question. After all, what can you say when you've just been hit with visual overload. When my niece, Millie, visits, she insists on sitting next to me and painting while I work, sometimes offering to improve on my colours or drawing. Or she just points and asks to examine things. Which makes me think, that's probably what some other visitors would love to do. So on your way out, you might spot mole holding up my books. He's the cuddly toy creation from my 'mole' series of books. If you're interested in seeing the books I have illustrated in my studio, here are some links: Walker Books amazon uk Images of Delight