I am interested in how ordinary objects around us become loaded with meaning with the way they trigger memories.
I have become an accidental collector – watches, letter, shoes, books and, of course, spoons! I love rummaging in flea markets, antique fairs and junk shops to find interesting subject matter. I never saw myself as a collector but that seems to be what I have become.
I collect ordinary things that I hope will resonate with others - subjects need to some kind of emotional pull for them to appeal to me. For example, I’ll hold a spoon and it will remind me of my grandmother’s kitchen or open an old diary and it’s just like the one my mother had. An old letter transports me back in time and leaves me wondering about the person who wrote it.
I love to paint cutlery - silverware is beautiful. I now recognise various styles of cutlery and know the parts of a spoon! I love the elegant designs and then there is that added dimension of the reflection and the tantalizing glimpse of the scene reflected in the spoon. It’s always me of course but it always looks so different depending on the weather, the time of day or the time of year. It is always a challenge to paint.
