| I wasn’t a particularly “artistic” child, other than between the years of 2 – 10 (but they are the formative years of course). I was always happy to be drawing or painting back then (always in very bright colours) – and, of course, small children are always encouraged to be creative…… |
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But this sort of encouragement tends to evaporate once you hit secondary school, and art just becomes one more exam to pass…. I did take my art O & A levels, but I don’t remember feeling any creative excitement during this time, so I stopped bothering. Rather a sad period this; how many of us lost a childhood passion during our teens? |
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| During my 20s I didn’t really give art much thought. An A level in the History of Art had killed all interest in museums & galleries, and art didn’t really enter my life in any way – other than that I was an inveterate doodler (still am)…… |
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But suddenly I was asked if I could design a cover for the monthly Toc H magazine (I was working for this charity at the time). I took on the challenge with some delight and had fun with delicate pen and ink illustration. I do vaguely remember going to an Aubrey Beardsley exhibition at the V&A round about this time, so the influence probably came from there….. |
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The cover I came up with (for “Light”) proved to be unsuitable for the magazine, but the kind editor loved the design and suggested printing them as Christmas cards. This started me on a roll! During the late 1980s & the 90s, I did no drawing at all during the year, but every Christmas I would design a new card. Friends and family would say how much they looked forward to the new designs – so I carried the practice on for about 10 years all in all! |
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And then stopped….. life tends to get in the way....... But I recently revived my interest in this very fine style of drawing – and so Ornately Cards emerged. |
But how did these black and white illustrations evolve into the brilliant colours I now paint onto glass? |
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The glass painting really is entirely separate. In early 2000 I was recovering from a spell in hospital, where I’d had a brain tumour removed. I had no energy, poor balance and developed very severe headaches if I tried to read or watch television. |
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So my wonderful mother suggested that the painting I’d enjoyed so much as a child might prove easier on the eyes – and returned from a shopping trip with paints, brushes and a How to Paint on Glass book! |
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(Looking a bit battered now, 20 years later!) |
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My very first experiment was a simple Chinese character painted onto a small IKEA lantern. I loved the flow of the thin, slippery paint – not to mention the glorious colours! I don't have a photo of that one - but here is another early IKEA lamp |
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And, of course, I had time to devote to the painting, as I was on long-term sick leave........ |
So often the big events of our lives come wrapped in small coincidences – just as simple as actually having some time in my life to pursue something important to me…… |
