All the Little Things — woodlands

The idea of forests as a child was tangled in fairytales for me. The woods at the back of my friend's house a place of mystery and danger. This feeling was carried into my college years due to reading Angela Carter's "The Bloody Chamber". These twisted versions of already dark stories set my imagination off and I filled sketchbooks with these tales. Much later I started drawing woodlands and bears; my first screen prints after a long break.  I had moved to Hebden Bridge and rather than the woods being places of trepidation they were places to calm my mind....

I have been really lucky during lockdown to have a couple of commissions to paint. It meant when the world seemed a bit bonkers I could find sanctuary in my painting. The first which I was finishing really at the beginning of lockdown was the client's house and view across the fields. They wanted a big sky, which suited me perfectly! I really enjoyed layering the colours for the atmospheric sky and introducing brighter colours.   The second was an anniversary present and of the bluebells in the woods. We are extremely lucky in Hebden Bridge to get carpets of blue...