I was staying at Selworthy Farmhouse, a National Trust property in Somerset. I felt a bit twitchy, as I do sometimes – and sat down to draw because that helps.
I’d noticed, as soon as we arrived, a wall covered in framed pictures – peered at them, thought about the selection briefly, and felt a bit unmoved: it seemed random, as if somebody at head office had popped out to a charity shop and hauled in whatever happened to be there.
I wasn’t convinced, as it were, by the interior design.
But (as usual) I found that sitting down and drawing something made me love it. (Not too strong a word.) One thing that particularly contributed to this effect was that instead of simply drawing the framed pictures, I drew too the bright reflection of the garden.
Noticing the play of light seemed to give the pictures a kind of unity. They became “the pictures that happen to reflect the garden at Selworthy Farmhouse, as the sun moves across it / them”.
After the sun went down and the curtains were drawn shut, I drew the assorted pictures again – to capture the very different light.
And then again, the following morning:
I liked these two, and created a single A3 poster.
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Line drawing, on paper, with ink and digital colour.
Available as a print, framed or unframed.
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