‘Why have art in your home?’, may seem like a very odd thing to write about but it saddens me when I see houses with nothing on their walls. I know we are all different and that obviously I have a vested interest in people having art on their walls but the sadness isn’t to do with any monetary reward but to do with feeling as though people are missing out so much as art, like a ticking clock or open fire or the smell of baking, all make a house feel like a home . Whatever we choose to put on our walls or what furniture it says something about us but also about how we want people to feel when they come into our homes.

Paintings can add a sense of calm to a room or be a bright spot in a dark corner. They shine a light on what it is to be human , as to be bothered to paint something is to say that you have taken time to notice how incredible the something in the world is at the very particular moment. I have painted my iris collection above and when painting each one it reminds me of when I bought them, often at the end of a very hard week at Chelsea Flower Show as my treat for having stood up for days! I care for them and divide them and try to now place them where they will look best.

I know some people will read this and think ‘what on earth is she going on about’. But equally I have had people write to me very kindly recently to say exactly how much it meant to them to have my work in their home having waited a long a time or even to just look at my work on my website, without buying anything at all. I am incredibly grateful for those emails as often they arrive on perhaps a rather tough day and so like any words of encouragement it lifts you up.

Painting has helped me in many ways and I love that in turn it seems to , for the most part , make others feel good to. So thank you after a rather hot week of painting in difficult conditions it is good to be reminded of why I paint.

Having more time to spend in our garden means that I have I hope made a better garden and one that is more interesting to sit in and walk around. There are still the corners that I don’t photograph but those are getting less!

Here is one of the paintings i have been doing this week and the reference that it came from and also some of the most recent pics I have taken in July as a record of what is in flower this month.