Many of the people who purchase my art often ask me, "what was the inspiration behind your painting?" They love to hear the story and see the painting as it progresses. One of my clients, who purchased Autumn Leaves, has been very, very patient. He emailed me before he headed off overseas, "Hi girl…off to Samoa for a friend 60th !...need some R&R, sun & vit D…look forward to your story on return …Cheers Richard"

I love being called a girl! It makes me feel young again. Anyway he purchased the painting at the Joy'ance exhibition and has been waiting ever since - I just want to get the story just right as this piece is very personally significant to me.


This time I thought I would start the story right from the beginning. What is the inspiration behind this piece? Once again I return to joy. Partially it is inspired by my trip to Italy several years ago- the gallery in San Gimignano called "Cassandra" and the sunflowers growing wild in the fields. Partly by the beauty and symbolism of the organic square (this will make sense as it evolves"; partly it is inspired by the joy that cheerful colours inspire. Largely it is inspired by the playfulness of artists like Henri Matisse and Max Gimblett who both paint with such glee.

As one of my favourite artists Mark Rothko once said, “Painting should be ecstatic or nothing.” So I'm planning a solo exhibition and returning to "jouissance" as my theme. This should dove tail nicely into the french lessons I have just started and my dream of living and creating in the south of France.


To add to the joy while creating I'm playing a completion I created called "happy music" Right now the fabulous Bee Gee's are playing, "you should be dancing." I'm doing a wee dance as I paint....just taking time out to keep you in the loop!

Better get back to it now:)


Back now! Here is San Gi - after a few hours in my studio....this time listening to Pink!

The cool thing about this process is I can see at least four other paintings within this painting - so I guess you could say that this is the mother painting from which all others will be created.....the thing I have worked out, about an exhibition is that similarly of style seems to be the way people go. So, unlike the Joy'ance exhibtion where I showed quite an eccletic range of paintings, the Jouissance show will have a similar, unifying theme. However, I will be

exhibiting figure work (my new passion!) alongside the more abstract pieces.....I'm also going to be working in a variety of mediums, including encastic (bees wax). This is another passion, my father was a bee keeper and apitherapist who passionately believed in the curative, healing powers of bees, and who also made his own beeswax polish.

The finished art work: Licorice and Butterflies

As the painting began to take shape I was contacted by a good friend and professional colleague Lawrence Green about having a joint exhibition next year. The theme is "art should make you laugh."

So I began some brainstorming re themes and came up with so many ideas - a key one being children's birthday parties. Hence the licorice theme here with all the cheerful colours. The butterflies were added to reflect the joy of dance and inner transformation that many people go through on the way to joy.


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Labels: Commissioning a work of art, Cultivating Creativity, Exhibitions and competitions, Spirituality in art