The ferns are unfurling and bluebells, anemones and other wildflowers are carpeting the verges and woods with soft blues and whites. And the trees have suddenly burst into their fresh green colours of spring. The swallows have returned, not in so many numbers as previous years, but still chattering away, and busy inspecting prospective nest-sites with gusto.
At last, the weather has warmed and we are able to spend much more time out of doors. I took a year off painting while we were renovating our new home but now the project is nearing completion, and I have been able to work in the garden and have begun tidying the studio and taking stock of where everything is. My daily walks continue to provide much inspiration for the paintings I have in mind; it seems appropriate to the time of year to begin with bluebells. I have found that the true wild beauty of them is quite difficult to portray, yet each year I return again and again to the places where they can be found in abundance. This is a painting of such a place not very far from our cottage. It is called ‘Woodland with bluebells’.
