To tell you the truth our household has not been hugely affected by the changes brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic. Apart from a stint of home-schooling and a quieter social life, our lifestyle choices, occupations and rural location have smoothed the transition. For this I am largely thankful for.

Our lifestyle choices compliment our desire for living a relatively simple lifestyle. I have long been unimpressed by our society’s glorification of being ‘busy’. It has been intriguing to see people during this period rediscovering simple pleasures such as being in nature, baking, growing food, being creative… all things they were too ’busy’ to do prior. For me all these things are non-negotiable must-dos bringing so much sustenance and joy. Hence my artworks often reflecting these themes.

Yet again I am reminded of why I love living on the land. We are blessed with plenty of space all to ourselves. We are not cooped up on a suburban block and can walk/ run/ ride/ explore to our hearts content. Our out-of-town location has seen our home long double as our local café/ pub/ gym.

Despite the current challenges, something about this strange time, has awakened a personal confidence and acceptance of my artistic practice. I work from home, usually in isolation. I am use to spending large amounts of time on my own and have a largely introverted personality that is very ok with that. Online tools, especially social media allow and empower artist’s to share and make a living from their work beyond brick-and-mortar galleries. Overall I feel positive about the future of the visual arts as perhaps people are steering towards more nurturing values and interests.

I am missing the comfort and love of being with family; a good laugh over dinner and drinks out with friends; the escapism and inspiration found when travelling. However overwhelmingly I am truly grateful that my immediate family is in a position to continue to live largely unaffected and that I can continue to paint and create.

‘Sign of the times’ acrylic on canvas
Stealing moments to sneak into the studio while home-schooling in April I had a lot of fun creating this expressive abstract painting utilising an used toilet paper roll for the final touches!