Like almost everybody I stayed at home from 23rd March at home until after the Easter break. I’d brought some supplies back home with the view to improving some skills, getting back to basics and exploring some mediums I hadn’t had a chance to get into in a meaningful way for a very long time.
Needless to say, it didn’t quite work out that way.
Not only was I at home, so was everyone else. Where we live is quite a spacious apartment, in theory. Four adults certainly make it feel a bit constrained and I’ve always found it hard to do much with an audience. The thing I’ve learnt about myself is that I’m a loner. Consequently not much experimenting and learning went on.
So instead I took the opportunity to explore the parks nearby. On my own or with a companion from our house I wandered around The Alexandra & The Queen Victoria Gardens and The Kings Domain.
There are sculptures, fountains, a fernery and The Pioneer Women‘s Garden, ducks and bush turkeys. And some the best landscaped public toilets.
Taking my time to see the same gardens repeatedly gave me the opportunity to see things I’d missed, to be amazed and fascinated by the way things grew together and apart, to see the repetition of the planting, how it all coalesced into such a glorious and enjoyable space.
The lush leafy foliage, got ticking over in my brain and so I sat and doodled in a sketchbook with no expectations or rules. It was lovely to play with perspective, interpret what I’d seen, stylise the lush leafiness and image landscapes.
The results were a fantasy, but drew on the experience of the walks and waterfalls seen and explored.
These simple doodled sketchbook drawings have given life to a new project. Now back in the studio I’m creating something new, from something I created from walks I did, enjoying the creativity of the gardeners.
Keep safe and cheers to you all,
