Well – it’s Spring . The birds are singing furiously in my garden. The primroses and hellebores are flowering. The trees are in bud. The sun is shining in a cloudless blue sky.It is hard to imagine that unseen covid-19 clouds hang noiselessly around the garden, creeping stealthily to find a way in; the unseen and the unknown, the dread of what might be.   What a time we are living in! How strange it all is. What else can we do but focus on the positive, find pleasure in the small delights, take each day at a time and live for the moment?  I know it is easy for me to say these things when  I am  lucky enough to live in the countryside, surrounded by beautiful walks and  with a magical cottage garden . I spend most of my time in my studio , garden or on a local walk anyway, so nothing much has changed for me . Together with my lovely husband, we lead ‘The good life’,  and are tucked up here together  at home. We have salad growing in the green house, the herbs are  sprouting in the vegetable patch. I am even  eyeing up the nettles as a potential soup ingredient! In my studio I have gone into wartime mentality. I am using scraps of paper , thinking up ways to re-use, recycle, re-invent. Go back to the old ways . It is what we should be doing anyway- We need to start thinking differently about our time on the planet.  Make each day count. A day at a time.

I am working on a project at the moment that means I am restricted in what new paintings I can post here. But there is nothing to stop me putting on a few ‘golden oldies’!  This painting, ‘In my dreams’, is featured in my book ‘Experimental Landscapes’. ( book-available from the website shop www.annblockley.com)  I pieced together some carefully chosen sections from various watercolours to create a patchwork montage of ideas. Rather than simply painting one image of a ‘view’ it is about inventing a wider, more poetic narrative. So if you run out of paper over the next few weeks-  there is no excuse not to still make some beautiful artwork!    Keep safe, keep positive. Think outside the box…  But- if anyone is feeling  sad  and alone in these difficult times do drop me a line at ann@annblockley.com. I don’t know that I will be able to help- but I’m here and we are all in this together.  xxx

In my dreams

.I