Wild Painting

colour & scribbles along the way

One of the quirky colourful boats on the Kennet & Avon canal.

Hello lovely between the moons friends.

So again I am slipping quietly into your inbox just before the new moon and another Bracken & Wrack newsletter. I hope this finds you well and that you are perhaps enjoying warmer sunnier days than we seem to be having here in North Norfolk at the moment.

Mind you, a week or so ago I was walking the ways in Wiltshire, and wonderful as it was we certainly had our fair share of rain down there too :-)

Today I thought I would write a little about a new-to-me art practice I have discovered. I really encourage you to try this if you don’t already do something similar. If you do, or if you have any suggestions to add, please do put them into the comments below as then we may all glean some new ideas from each other.

So as a little background, and if you don’t know me well, I should start by saying that I have a first class honours degree in fine art, and an MA in fine art. When people hear this, they often ask things like ‘What do you paint?’ Well, my art has never had much to do with painting or drawing. In fact, I grew up believing I could not draw at all - and I still don’t find it natural or easy to copy from life naturalistically. At school I was steered away from art towards academic subjects. When we were forced to make the choice between studying art or learning a second language for O Level, my parents made that choice for me, ticking the box that said ‘German’.

So I entered the world of art aged around 20 through textiles, discovering a love of hand-dyeing, designing and making patchwork wall hangings, mostly inspired by Arthurian legend, wild creatures and my favourite music of the time.

My Joshua Tree, double-layered wall hanging with lots of hand-dyed fabrics inspired by the song Desert Rose by U2.