egg tempera on panel, 24.5 x 30 cm, May 2026
I was leafing through ‘Benton End Remembered’ in the middle of my very untidy studio having just finished a painting, followed by embroidering a name on some infant clothes. It was between dinner and an episode from the box set. It’s a bit like that at the moment, shoehorning paintings into a busy schedule…I came to ‘Quinces and Nerines, Cedric Morris, (1963)’ and knew that I wanted to paint something with oranges and pinks and reds, something dramatic.
It took me about an hour, maybe a little longer to assemble my stage, and I didn’t have the flowers until the following day, but each character I chose had more charisma than the previous. It was a Beauty contest, no, a beauty pageant. For once I knew the title before I had even begun.
I painted the colours I wanted to see, that were almost in front of me. It was one of those paintings that come around about once a year when I was swooning. And yes, I grew that tulip!
egg tempera on panel, 24.5 x 30 cm, May 2026
I was leafing through ‘Benton End Remembered’ in the middle of my very untidy studio having just finished a painting, followed by embroidering a name on some infant clothes. It was between dinner and an episode from the box set. It’s a bit like that at the moment, shoehorning paintings into a busy schedule…I came to ‘Quinces and Nerines, Cedric Morris, (1963)’ and knew that I wanted to paint something with oranges and pinks and reds, something dramatic.
It took me about an hour, maybe a little longer to assemble my stage, and I didn’t have the flowers until the following day, but each character I chose had more charisma than the previous. It was a Beauty contest, no, a beauty pageant. For once I knew the title before I had even begun.
I painted the colours I wanted to see, that were almost in front of me. It was one of those paintings that come around about once a year when I was swooning. And yes, I grew that tulip!
