Flowers and all things floral are still my greatest passion, but with age and the related issues comes change, for the most part an acceptance of ones advancing years are conceded as inevitable along with those constraints. I still garden in a very slow and methodical way, but for the most part it is a case of shuffling along on a cushion, stretching and reaching for the stems that need to be cut and scratching with my onion hoe, chopping off rather than digging out the weeds. This hoe is a blessing when the ground is so solid, it is easy to slice and drag. I also do tying in and deadheading as long as kneeling and stooping is at a minimum.
So now I paint more than I garden, even when I should really be writing or editing but I am fortunate in that I can make my own choices.
Many wonder why in my 8th decade I still feel the need to create, to remain busy instead of taking afternoon naps, like so many of my other similarly aged friends, though I know that many are far more active than me, with walking and swimming on a regular basis, but I do have my excuses; but without daily creativity I feel idle and unfulfilled.
One of my newer ventures is to combine two of my loves, painting and pressed flowers into mixed-media studies, mounted on wood, either as solo studies or triptych. No two backgrounds are the same, the triptych will have similar colours on the backgrounds but all are completely random.
One such solo mixed media work entitled ‘Muted Meadow’ was selected for judging by the SAA website for their Artist of the Year, sadly it wasn’t shortlisted, but to know that a closer look was taken is kudos enough for me at the moment.
Another confidence boost for me was the acceptance of my watercolour ‘Autumn Fruits’ chosen for the Battle & District Art Group calendar for 2023. Last year I was also chosen for the month of April for my acrylic work of ‘Battle from the Battlements’. For now I am more than content.
Penelope S Hellyer - Author 