Stories & Art: Why the two are INSEPARABLE
Ever since the cave paintings of the Stone Age and probably before, art has been a form of communication. Images were drawn on the walls of caves to preserve the stories of tribes to be retold for years to come. Portraits were painted of Kings, Queens and Nobles with symbols telling the stories they wanted portrayed - stories of bravery, riches and achievement. To this day, art continues to tell stories. Some are simply stories of beauty while others educate, politicise and provoke.
I have always wanted my work to tell stories of joy and of happy places. I believe that art has a great power to raise spirits, inspire and enable people to dream. It’s sometimes thought of as the finishing touch in a room or an untouchable thing in a gallery but art is so much more. It’s a vehicle for the soul and it connects us regardless of language or lifestyle. The stories in my artwork are very personal but that doesn’t stop people connecting their stories to them - quite the opposite.
The Skipping Bridge
This original linocut reduction is a love letter to the family holidays we took in the Lake District. Come rain or shine, we’d head off to a lake with a backpack full of sandwiches and my youngest brother in the carrier on my dad’s back. Mum would be plastered in bug repellent and we’d all pull on our walking boots and set off on an adventure for a few hours. Around ever lake were streams and over those streams were bridges of all shapes and sizes. Some were stone while others were simply a plank of wood strewn over the gap. As we got to a bridge, we were challenged to come up with a new way to cross it - my favourite was skipping. How would you cross this one?
Conker Hunt
Autumn is a magical time and I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t enjoy collecting conkers as a child. The joy of finding a shiny treasure amongst leaves and branches still hits me today - better still if it’s still in its spiky, green casing ready to be popped open. Sharing that fun with my daughter makes it all the more magical so I had to create a scene where you could hunt for conkers too. There are 5 copper gems hidden amid the leafy floor. Can you find them?
Birch Trees in Bluebell Woods
One of the great joys of early spring is the day that I see my bluebells emerge from the ground. It’s a sign that winter is done and sunnier days are on the way. It’s a return of colour - a carpet of blues and lilacs. I grew up in a place called Birchwood so the silver trunks with their tell tale horizontal marks are a nod to the silver birches that names that borough. The combination of these two elements creates a truly fairytale setting bring calm and serenity.
Staring up AT Trees
How many of us actually slow down enough to look closely at the world around us? We’re always so busy working on something or going somewhere. This piece is a meditation on carefree days when I could lie on the grass and stare up at the trees and the sky. It has a dream ethereal feel because of the colours and pastel elements but it’s based on trees that I photographed in Heaton Park in Newcastle on a walk with my daughter. We stopped at a picnic bench to sketch for a while and I picked up my camera phone afterwards and looked up to see these trunks sway and seemingly reaching for each other and the heavens above them. I hope that this pieces encourages people to stop and take a peaceful moment.
If you love to lose yourself in artworks and allow yourself to daydream a while and love creating a home filled with beauty, colour and stories, my free magazine The Curated Nest shares ideas, inspiration and behind-the-scenes stories from the world of art and interiors.
