Since so many of us globally are confined to our homes and gardens because of Covid-19 pandemic. I thought it would be an opportune time for self-reflection, hence the title, ‘Confessions of a Garden Hermit’.
I went out to see if the coronavirus experience had motivated any of east London’s street artists to respond to our current situation.
As soon as lockdown was announced I endeavoured to adapt and continue developing my artistic practice as much as possible. What actually happened was I ended up playing with Lego. In fairness I began in earnest; visiting my studio at […]
Why Louise Bourgeois’ sculpture ‘Quarantania, I’ has new-found relevance in our lockdown life.
Image: Mud. 14.03.20 50°18’49.0″N 3°38’02.7″W 14.03.20 First: ‘why blog?’ The medium seems problematic. This takes me back to art school. I was talking about humans as animals and illustration was my medium of choice, it was and is also my […]
Image: Lockdown 12.04.20 This started in the first week of UK Lockdown, when I caught myself bogged down in the daily mire of scrolling through the newsless news app. What am I looking at? Anguished and tearful at articles more frightening […]
A very proper bumble bee, with a yellow stripe and a white bum, crawled under a log after a lot of dithering about. I had been trespassing and was now nearing the public right of way in order to rejoin […]
I’ve just read a very interesting article in the New York Times by Michael Pollan called Weeds Are Us. In a way, it develops the point I was making last week about having empathy for non-human species – namely, weeds. […]
My first solo totally on line art exhibition with Aleph Contemporary
I was clearing out the bindweed from my garden this weekend when it occured to me that, in a way, it is like a virus. By that I mean that it is a form of nature which, in seeking to […]
In this time of crisis, when normal life has been so uprooted, it’s important to be able to adapt to the changing situation. The same is true for us artists as anyone. For example, when the Williamson Art Gallery’s Open […]
Here in the UK, we are enduring the second week of self-isolation (aka lockdown). I struggle with anxiety and depression even in normal life and this pandemic has just made it so much worse. I really miss my freedom of […]
In this time of the coronavirus crisis, we’re being asked to regularly wash our hands to curb infection. If people are anything like me, this will increase our water usage just when we’re meant to be preserving it to save […]
It is entirely impossible for me to ignore the coronavirus crisis this week… As I type, I’m self-isolating, as advised by the UK government, due to having flu symptoms. I don’t know what it was but it passed on Sunday […]
Last week I began to follow the eco trail of my Winsor & Newton watercolours. As I don’t wish to single Winsor & Newton out, this week I’ve decided to follow the eco trail of my Royal & Langnickel brushes […]
Following on from last week, when I started to follow the eco trail of my art materials, this week I’m going to talk about the packaging they arrive in… Recently, I bought a half pan of Winsor & Newton watercolour […]
In last week’s blog, I wrote about becoming more atune to the ecology I’m part of. This inspired me to look closer at the eco trail of my art supplies. My watercolour paints are supplied my Winsor & Newton. Their […]
As I’ve previously mentioned, I’m collecting rainwater in a bucket to use for my painting and, to stop the wind blowing the bucket away, I’ve placed a brick in it. Well, this weekend, I was surprised to find a snail […]
Last week, I came to the conclusion that no matter what I do, I’ll end up hurting someone. This left me feeling stuck; I felt I had to do something but I also felt I could do nothing that helped. […]
