Happiness State of Mind
Happiness State of Mind, egg tempera on panel, 30 x 30 cm, May 2025
“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind” Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier.
When I set off for Kenya my mother made me some clothes. We were told we couldn’t wear trousers as those were worn by women of ill repute, so she fashioned me long cotton skirts and dresses that were more about the colour than the style. My favourite was made with some fabric we had bought together in India. It was floral with pinks and greens on magenta. There are many pictures of me wearing it – it was absolutely my colour palette. Just putting it on made me happy.
This painting has echoes of that skirt that I crocheted into a rug towards the end of my time in Kenya – it was faded, and my back pack couldn’t fit everything I’d acquired, so it had to stay in the little cinderblock house in the Kerio Valley.
Certain colours make me happy. This is this month’s happiness altar.
Happiness State of Mind, egg tempera on panel, 30 x 30 cm, May 2025
“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind” Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier.
When I set off for Kenya my mother made me some clothes. We were told we couldn’t wear trousers as those were worn by women of ill repute, so she fashioned me long cotton skirts and dresses that were more about the colour than the style. My favourite was made with some fabric we had bought together in India. It was floral with pinks and greens on magenta. There are many pictures of me wearing it – it was absolutely my colour palette. Just putting it on made me happy.
This painting has echoes of that skirt that I crocheted into a rug towards the end of my time in Kenya – it was faded, and my back pack couldn’t fit everything I’d acquired, so it had to stay in the little cinderblock house in the Kerio Valley.
Certain colours make me happy. This is this month’s happiness altar.
Happiness State of Mind, egg tempera on panel, 30 x 30 cm, May 2025
“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind” Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier.
When I set off for Kenya my mother made me some clothes. We were told we couldn’t wear trousers as those were worn by women of ill repute, so she fashioned me long cotton skirts and dresses that were more about the colour than the style. My favourite was made with some fabric we had bought together in India. It was floral with pinks and greens on magenta. There are many pictures of me wearing it – it was absolutely my colour palette. Just putting it on made me happy.
This painting has echoes of that skirt that I crocheted into a rug towards the end of my time in Kenya – it was faded, and my back pack couldn’t fit everything I’d acquired, so it had to stay in the little cinderblock house in the Kerio Valley.
Certain colours make me happy. This is this month’s happiness altar.