Moving to Kent
In 2024 Roman and I took the plunge and moved from Bath, Somerset, to Kent in the Southeast of the UK. One of the reasons for the move was because we wanted more space and to move from a flat into a house with a garden. Kent offers loads of space! Known as the “Garden of England” it offers both coast and countryside, great for painting! It also has the added bonus of being near The Shuttle - the channel tunnel to Europe. We can actually drive to have lunch in France, quicker than we can drive back to Bath!
Not Kent but Spain, but the only photo I have haha
Kent is also full of historical towns, castles, Oast houses (giant kilns where they used to dry the hops to make beer), smugglers tunnels, diverse coast lines, forests and nature reserves. It will be interesting to see how these new vistas will influence my painting style.
The process of moving house took about a year if you include the searching, the move itself and the renovations. During this time many of my art supplies were packed away in boxes and I literally stopped painting for almost a year. It was a very frustrating time, but the good news is that I have much more space to paint in now my new art studio is up and running in the new house.
In the winter 2024 - 25, I started painting again. I found with the big break from painting, I was out of practise and had forgotten so much! I started small and found it frustrating but gradually gained back my confidence.
By Spring I was painting larger formats again and my palette was becoming more Spring-like.
WOKAS
I also joined my local art society here - The Weald of Kent Art Society (WOKAS) and have been enjoying meeting local artists in the area. They provided various demonstrations and classes over the winter months too which I really enjoyed, as they often push you out of your comfort zone to try new things. For example, I had a go at creating a clay model from life and doing a pastels class which I hadn’t done since my A’levels many moons ago! In the summer they provide plein air painting trips which I’m really looking forward to going on.
I fully recommend joining your local art society if you have one in a town near you, or let me know in the comments below if you already have. Also let me know if you’ve ever had to stop painting for a while and lost your confidence because of it?
Coming up soon: A group exhibition in a Tithe barn in Kent, and news from my Open studios! Join my newsletter to be the first to hear about my arty shenanigans!