No tags yet.
Hello friends! And a warm socially distanced embrace to all my new subscribers. I send you heartfelt greetings from London and am humbled you’ve decided to join me each month in this life-giving community. Here we are seekers of beauty, those who choose to light a candle rather than curse the darkness, we are ‘beagles for beauty’. We hunt for it, sniff it out, create and curate. You are welcome here.
Just as April winds have whisked and whirled through the blossom-heavy branches of spring, so life has continued to unfold in a fusion of beauty with a little battering. We’re emerging further from our lockdown burrows here in the UK, I’ve been so very grateful to enjoy a couple of day trips, one to the Cotswolds (first time!) the other to the south coast. What a tonic it is to see friends and scenes of life beyond the walls of home, escaping to the country or seaside is a privilege I don’t take for granted. I’ve shared some photos towards the end from the Cotswolds and you can spot the cheeky south coast seagulls in my Enchanted April quote. I have the funnest story of how I ended up with a 100+ year old antique in the boot on the way home!
I was thrilled to find a local cut flower grower this month, Where Inspiration Blooms. The lovely Caroline hand selected the perfect blooms for this month’s project and I’m looking forward to a long term relationship for future artworks. I have more info about Caroline and her company towards the end of the newsletter, they have some wonderful workshops coming up.
And now to present this month’s still life -
Flourish
The Voiceless Break into Song: Wilderness and desert will sing joyously, the badlands will celebrate and flower— Like the crocus in spring, bursting into blossom, a symphony of song and colour. Isaiah 25:1-2
My projects seem to show me who they are as I embark on them, it’s a wild, exciting dance of discovery as flowers come together and themes emerge. Having sourced a localish cut flower grower I knew this would be my first attempt at the kind of Dutch master still life I’ve always envisioned. The words from Isaiah perfectly encapsulates this composition, the flowers sing, celebrate and burst into blossom, a symphony of song and colour! The wilderness of lockdown is being carpeted with new life and the wastelands whether social, emotional, mental or spiritual are hopefully now receiving a refreshing rain. A fruitfulness must surely come forth. This piece presents a mixture of subjects; the florals, cultivated and wild, foliage, a handmade bird’s nest with eggs, a snail, butterfly, bird, bee (even a stowaway greenfly if you can spot it!) and fruit. It’s abundant and rich, overflowing with life. Spring, newness, a breaking forth into song after the silence of winter!
Flowers used were: Daffodils, double daffodils, tulips, honesty, fritillaries, forget-me-not, hyacinth, apple blossom, hellebores, anemone, Spanish bluebell - phew! I hope I got them all.
