Original artwork description:

'Moments in Time', is a large statement piece painting which brings a warm, mellow atmosphere of relaxation to a room.
Its tones of gold & amber, soft blues & greens are soothing on the senses & lie comfortably in a very wide range of interior colours.
I had so much pleasure in creating layer after layer of undergrowth with translucent leaves & seed-heads mixing together on a background of dappled late afternoon sunshine. .
I began ‘Moments in Time’ in a complete whirl of frustrated energy. One of my neighbours had taken Christmas Day as a good time to ravage the trees & hedgerow growth on the edge of the Haha in our communal grounds. It was due to be tidied sensitivity in the Spring, so the carnage done came as a shock.
It made me think about how differently we all see things… or should I say not see things?
Where one saw a mess to be removed, I saw beauty. Where the neighbour saw a rough patch of rubbish, I saw a gorgeous tangle of seedheads & bramble sheltering the hibernating little creatures of the countryside
As always, compromises have to be made when living with shared land but sometimes peoples insensitivity utterly amazes me.
My response was to instantly start on this huge canvas to immortalise that little patch of Nature, which I found so inspiring. In the morning the sun would hazily glow through the distant trees & illuminate each blade of grass & golden leaf. In the evening the sunset would make it come alive with golden light.
As I painted, a sense of calm took over as each seed head took form & bare winter branches stretched their way across the painting. I came back to the thoughts of how, if you look closely, you can find beauty in the tiniest, simplest things. Just looking at the abundance & variety of Nature brings such a sense of peace.
I feel sad that some can’t even look, let alone see how wonderful everything around us is. Simple moments in Nature bring the mind clarity & the soul inspiration, the body a breath of fresh calm.
Opening our eyes to one leaf with the sunlight glowing through it can open the mind to creativity & wonder. All we have to do is to down a moment to really see. Slowing our pace & seeing all the tiny pockets of beauty around us is a wonderful way of healing the soul. When it comes to brambles & grasses, you don't have to be in the countryside to find Nature taking over. Even in an inner city you will find the wild things taking hold. A dandelion growing between the pavement slabs, brambles or convolvulus tangled in railings near railways & bridges. Just take a slower pace & notice what is there.

Materials used:

oil, acrylic

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