This painting is a Spell for the thing we ALL want. Our most basic human need and creating it has been a real journey through the seasons, from the Suffolk Coast to the hedge in my local Community Orchard, and even into Cambridge Nuclear Bunker: the storage facility of the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. (Read about that unforgettable visit here).
There is only ONE original, so get it while you can!
Without further ado... here is my Spell For Love
It starts, of course with a rose. The rose-hip from a dog rose, a native uk wild rose that grows in the hedgerows. The glossy orangey hips are rich with vitamin C and have been used medicinally for centuries, but perhaps only widely appreciated during WWII, when rose-hip syrup was given to a whole generation. Weight for weight, they have 20 times the amount of vitamin C that oranges do and for me, they represent the health tonic that love can also offer.
I revisited this rose in Spring, a flower from the very same plant. Painting this took a crazy amount of time. The beautiful rose petals wilted very quickly, but that didn't stop me fiddling! It is very pleasing to include the same plant at different times of the year, deepening my understanding of the plant and all it can be. "Under the rose", or in Latin, "sub-rosa" denotes secrecy or confidentiality. Those feelings you hold close to your heart to protect your own vulnerability.
The Treble Lines Moth was caught in the moth trap in June in the garden. It’s common and widespread in the UK, but spends much of its life underground, overwintering as a small larve and feeding at night under the soil. Its whole life purpose and the reason I was able to catch it, is because it’s flying to look for a mate. Whilst it might not be driven by love, it is driven by pheromones. The chemicals that act like hormones and also drive our human behaviour. They can be intoxicating and powerful and prompt us to find what feels like love in unexpected places.
I also painted this Barren Brome Grass at two different points in the year. You might recognise it as a grass that grows on disturbed waste-land. Those delicate fronds and fine stems create such beautiful shapes- and require such a fine brush! They dance with such gentle and graceful movement with the slightest breath of wind in the same way that you can feel like your heart is soaring to a secret choreography unseen by others when you’re in love.
The heart-shaped stone was found on the beach in Suffolk. Once you get your eye in, it’s surprising how many heart-shaped stones you find. Such a sweet, universal symbol and a tactile object, smooth and heavy.
When you think of a gull, what comes to mind? Their soaring freedom over land and sea? Their shrieking cry? Their chip-stealing impudence? Bobbing on the waves, or perched on rooftops? And perhaps just how big they are when you get up close. This feather only just fits onto this composition, full of mellow browns and salt stained yellows. I wanted it to frame the other Spell elements with a wild, salty flash of freedom.
This ring started off as an impossibly delicate and fragile medieval ring, drawn in situ at the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology store. It was found in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. But the dark colour of the copper alloy metal wasn’t working for me, or pulling together the rest of the painting. So I used my creative licence (yes I’m fully licensed!) to inject a little gleaming gold into the scene. I knew that it would be a challenge. Circles and ellipses are pretty much the hardest thing you can draw, but many hours later and with some liquid gold leaf to help animate the piece, I’m quite pleased with the results the twinkling gold ring symbolising commitment, unity, loyalty, and tying together this Spell nicely.
Use this painting as a Spell to call in the love you’re looking for. As an invitation to stop and contemplate the love you have. Or to consider how really behind the flash of attraction, infatuation or lust, love is really about being seen, understood and accepted, just as you are.
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