Into the autumn .....

So the strangest summer I have ever known has drawn to a close. The weather at least was wonderful, and I spent much of the time in my studio, with the doors flung wide open, listening to bird song and frog calls, and watching a succession of ravishing blooms bursting out in the garden.

For me, both the positive and the negative aspects of this strange summer have been a source of inspiration. The pervading air of anxiety and unease, especially throughout lockdown, missing the company of friends and loved ones and wondering when we might be together again, has resulted in several sculptures which examine the themes of loss and longing, and time passing. Meanwhile the garden provided a dreamlike oasis, a seemingly magical space, which has prompted a whole series of works in fused glass. As with all my work, these hover between reality and abstraction, between the real and the imagined. Not meant as accurate representations of any particular flora, they are rather about the enchantment nature provides - maybe as a consolation during these sometimes rather dark times?. Of course in their ways, both the sculptures and the glass pieces reference the rhythms of nature; sex, birth and death in their everlasting cycle. I’ve always felt that this is what all art is actually about, at its heart. As is everything else in this world, come to that!

But now the summer has ended and autumn is here. What will happen next? In my case, I will be showing some of my work in Whitstable, in the charming Fishslab Gallery (21st - 26th October, see Exhibitions page) where I’ll be exhibiting with two excellent abstract painters, France Tetreault and Zel Hunt. Unfortunately of course, there will be some restrictions - no private view event, only 4 viewers in the gallery at any one time, masks to be worn etc. And government directives may yet scupper our plans. But we are currently very optimistic, and looking forward to it immensely. Going forward, I’m continuing to work with the ‘enchanted garden’ theme (having become a little bit obsessed with it!), in glass and also in a series of water colours. The latter is a whole new medium for me, but I was recently introduced to water colour inks, which provide a much greater depth and intensity of colour than ordinary paint, and visually this seems to dovetail quite nicely with the fused glass.

And after that - who knows? I’ve a feeling this autumn may be every bit as strange as the summer.…..