AMULETS

This is an ongoing series that explores treasures and trinkets and the importance that we place upon these amulets.. An inanimate object can represent much more than one might guess, and the poetry we see in these items fills me with awe.

This began with a painting of my late Grandmother's hands, holding on tightly and yet gently to my, then three-month-old, son. Sadly my grandmother died only two months after that first meeting with her first great-grandchild, and inspired me to create paintings of my own hand holding beloved Cornish pebbles. These stones had been treasured for years after my teenage self naughtily collected them from the beach next to my Grandma's house in Widemouth Bay.

The project continues with portraits of my sister and father, both choosing things of great significance to them. As I have painted, I have listened to music that reminds me of that person, so that the whole process feels full of their aura and presence. Those same songs have inspired the titles of each piece.