July 2024 Newsletter

Hello again, and it looks like summer has finally arrived in the UK! I hope you’re all enjoying the sun, wherever you are. It was a busy June for me, with plenty of painting done, including the donation of a Lowry to registered charity Martineau Gardens in Birmingham. They carry out amazing work, managing gardens and wildlife and offering a therapeutic space for adults, young people and children to connect with nature and improve their wellbeing. They help so many people with a range of horticulture and related programmes, including the development of transferable skills for vulnerable people, and I’m glad to say my painting helped to raise £16,000 towards their on-going costs. If you’d like to find out more about Martineau Gardens and what they do, here’s the link: https://martineau-gardens.org.uk/about-us/

I also visited the National Gallery in London to study ‘The Last Caravaggio’, which was actually an emotional moment for me. Two months after painting it, Caravaggio died in mysterious circumstances, but this, along with other paintings he completed in his final tumultuous years, are perhaps some of his most striking, featuring his characteristic cropped scenes and dramatic lighting. It wasn’t his way to idealise, he used models with dirty feet and grimy fingernails, and every detail given to us is nothing less than sublime. I urge anyone who’s considering visiting the gallery to do so while you can.

As for July, I’ve heaps of research to carry out on Modigliani, so look out for a new set of paintings after Modigliani, focusing on the nudes which broke all records in the auction houses in the early 19th century, causing such huge controversy – they’ll be adorning gallery walls soon and available to purchase. More news on that in my next newsletter.

Let’s hope July stays sunny for us too! Enjoy!