Meadow Moments | Artweeks 2022

My Meadow Moments exhibition, held over Oxfordshire Artweeks in May 2022, was inspired by the 40m wide strip of land at the end of the farmer’s field near my home on the edge of Chipping Norton. It is a place I walk to often, observing and enjoying the plant diversity and wildlife it attracts throughout the seasons. I was inspired by the textures and tangle of the undergrowth, creating a rich environment for insects to hide during the cold, winter months, intrigued at how greens takes over browns in the spring, the colourful display of wildflowers and vibrant bird life in summer and how the wilted, dying plants still had a beauty about them and still sustained wildlife in the autumn.

This was my first exhibition displaying sketches and pieces painted with my own art materials – walnut, coffee, beetroot and tumeric inks, handmade crayons from various plants and soils and watercolour paints made from blue woad, sage and farmer’s field soil. The effect was soft and earthy, perfect for the subject of this beautiful, natural mini ecosystem.