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perfect solutions . On the positive side , the first lockdown gave many people time to reflect on what was important in life .
Some of those people had dreams that they shone a light on and found that they now had time to pursue them . One of those dreamers was me . Another was Steve , a Barrister who now has 2 Sicilian delis and a range of own brand foodstuffs . TJ was the third , with theatres closed she embarked on her dream of writing Oracle cards . And the fourth was a journalist on maternity leave , finally writing her first children ’ s book .
So , despite the pandemic initially dashing my dreams , I find myself an artist to the dreamers , and that ’ s a pretty good place to be .
During the pandemic you started working out of your studio at Harrow Arts Centre .
What motivated you to make this move and how has it been ?
It ’ s been a great 18 months . My biggest motivation was to be in an artistic community where we could inspire and support each other as it can be a bit
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my studio and I ’ m judging a Jubilee art competition with him next month . I don ’ t think any of this would be happening if I was still painting in my kitchen .
Do you have a favourite piece of art you ’ ve created ?
Yes , a few and strangely enough they are the draft sketches I did for TJ . They were loose watercolour ideas
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lonely working on my own . Of course , having the dedicated space for my art is invaluable and I can experiment with larger and messier work without worry here . Because of the studio , I ’ m now also connected to lots of other artists in the area . We have group shows , open our studios to the public together and are great socially . The local mayor has been to visit |
and really quite messy but , somehow , I prefer them to the final perfect illustrations .
I ’ m going to be illustrating a children ’ s book shortly and I ’ m going to do my best to try and keep some of that loose , expressive style in those illustrations .
Describe how you think art is important to society .
Art is everywhere . The music on the car radio , the posters at the tube station , our morning coffee , films , buildings , food even .
All made by someone with a creative passion , brightening our days . In my personal experience , I ’ ve used it within the hospice environment as a recreational activity .
To help the patients learn a new skill , socialise and enable them to create something that they are proud of , that gives them a confidence boost , a distraction from their illness and treatments . Art is used as a means of self-expression , therapy , culture , political comment and a force for change . Art is a huge part of society .
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