Colour and light make my heart sing. I am caught by the way the light falls, bringing colour and form to life. I have a box of vivid inks. Every time I take off the lid, the colours strike joy in my heart.
If you talk to me, don't be offended if I drift off. It will be because a shape or a colour has stolen my attention. I become mesmerised. A friend of mine wears wonderful patterned woollens and big jewellery. I am lost.
I work pretty steadily as I'm always switched on to my environment. I see houses. I see flowers. I see bare trees silhouetted against the evening sky. I see the view from a window, framed as an abstract by each pane. I see the rippled, distorted pebbles in the rock pools. These are more than starting points; they implant themselves in my memory. I can bring a colour to life and use the shapes and patterns. They are a constant inspiration. If life intrudes, I itch to draw. If life overwhelms, I have to find the space in my mind to give creativity a nudge. I love the way the ideas flow and develop in a series of drawings on a theme.
These drawings fulfil my need for detail. I can happily work on a small scale, using a tiny nib and lots of concentration. Some drawings work better in a simple format and for me, with my obsession for detail, huge self-restraint is called for, but I enjoy that too.
Art is my life, it feeds my soul. I hope it feeds yours too.
