In the act of observational painting - that is, painting from life - you're forced to focus on what is right in front of you, tangible and real. Day by day, at home in my studio, I watched and recorded seasonal changes, flowers in my garden and local parks sprouting,,blooming and withering, and new buds blossoming. In doing so, we observe the cyclical nature of life, death, rebirth.

To turn inwards, to find appreciation and awe for the local world we inhabit, we can notice what’s slipping away - seasonal norms, community and empathy, human rights only just won, as well as our own individual time on this planet. But like wildflowers growing between cracks in the pavement, we can also find renewed energy from the joyfulness and the beauty that continues to grow back each year, and can channel this to fight for a collective cause. The less we notice, the more we risk forgetting.

To seek joy is not to turn your back on injustice and depravity. I believe it essential to remember how much we have to live and fight for, and how much we have to lose.
Remain joyful in spite of it all.