As I have mentioned before- we moved to a house in Devon in November 2020 that is a renovation project – the day before lockdown and here we are in lockdown again! However, government guidelines allow the builders to still come and work- and there is plenty of work to do. The house has been neglected for many years and needs every inch restoring. I have been getting away from the dust and mayhem by disappearing into the wilds of the garden where every twig and flower bed needs serious attention.  Brambles, nettles, dead trees, piles of fallen branches accumulated over years, overgrown shrubs… nature has taken over and intervention is needed before all the light, air and life are squeezed out of the garden.

 I have been hiding from the world in my new wonderland, having given myself permission to absorb my new environment, literally getting my hands filthy in the rich, Devon mud. The plan was to start painting in the New Year but disaster has struck. I fell over badly and my painting hand is now strapped up and incapable of anything more strenuous than typing with one finger on the computer. 

It is irritating when there is so much to do, but it will heal with time and I know that there are far worse things happening ‘out there’. In the meantime, I can still go to the beach for my daily exercise and to connect with nature, which is so healing and therapeutic. The cliffs, rocks, patterns of the water and changing light are very inspiring. It is going to be incredibly exciting new painting territory.

I am already collecting bits of flat shale and sand to incorporate into artwork and planning a series of works.  Foraging is one of the many themes within my new book ‘Creativity through nature’, to be published in May 2021 by Batsford. It is a book I feel passionate about. It is not meant to be a ‘How to Do ‘book, although there are lots of ideas in it. The underlying message is more to do with ‘How to Be’, especially in these difficult times for the planet- but more about that in my next post.