We are in this month's Welsh Border Life magazine! Every month they have a feature on artists who live in the Marches. In the August issue I talk about Shrewsbury and how living in Shropshire is so inspiring.
Above is my drawing of Shrewsbury: 'Life can be so sweet, on the sunny side of the street, in Shrewsbury'. Do you know the old song? I have lived here for about 25 years. You might get lost wandering through the winding streets and 'shuts' in the old town centre. There is such a variety of architecture. I love the shapes of the buildings. The initial inspiration for this drawing was the street names; Wyle Cop, Dogpole, Bear Steps, Grope Lane. They are so evocative. The town sits within a loop of the River Severn. It's a powerful river that can be so tranquil and serene but when it is in flood it's another story. (during one flood we lost two cars in half an hour - drowned!)
Of course Shrewsbury is Darwin's birthplace and he lived here during his schooldays. The tree picture is Darwin as a boy interwoven with a quote from The Origin of Species, though I can't claim to have read the whole book! He was fascinated by pigeons as a boy, so I have given him some to talk to in his tree.
I've also made a series of drawings of some of our favourite places in Shropshire. The place names are brilliant and the landscape so varied; hills, meres, rivers and valleys. 'This is where we love to stray, over the hills and far away in Shropshire'.
We make mugs and cards and art prints from my drawings. They are available from lots of lovely shops in Shropshire - please see our stockist list here. Compost & Gooseberry in the indoor market has the full collection of prints to browse through. If you are not in Shropshire we are currently working on our online shop. I will post here when it is ready!
