Farming Year
Thank you once again for all your support over last year.
My last post was all about 2021 pledges and I hope that you are continuing to make yours and to keep on track. Don’t get downhearted if some days you lose your way, just determine to refocus the day after.
I wanted to let you know about a new collection I am working on: ‘Farming Year’, which builds on some of the paintings currently in my ‘Warm Grey Series’, for example, ‘Cowslips’, shown below. The new collection will eventually include 10 paintings, all centred around farm life.
‘Cowslips’, Original oil on canvas, 20” x 20” deep edge canvas
Cowslips is a large square painting in warm grey hues on a deep edged canvas. The soft faces of these lovely beasts, Charolais Cows with their soulful eyes and large, oversized bodies, shows their curious natures. The painting invites a sense of calmness and warmth. Painted in neutral tones to complement modern homes in pinks, greys and cadmium yellow. It will soon be available in prints too.
‘Cowslips’ would look beautiful in a country kitchen (approximate scale)
Living in rural Kent, and as a regular visitor to farms near my home, they offer a wealth of opportunity to see how animal-farms works (how animals are rotated among different fields, how animals are there for a season and then gone the next, presumably for meat), to see the lambs in spring, the shearing at the end of summer, to hear the cockerels, goats, pigs, cattle, as well as many varieties of birds which love the sprawling countryside and hedgerows, to collect sloe berries to make sloe gin (which my daughter and I did last year – it was delicious!).
Farm near my home in Kent
What is near your home that you can find inspiration from? If you don’t live near a farm, you can observe wildlife wherever you are. You may find inspiration from the buildings around you, or observing people, children, parks nearby. You may live near the sea where there is a wealth of inspiration from shells, seagulls, boats, seaweed, etc.
Whenever there is need for inspiration and thinking time before beginning a painting, I take a walk outside. The soft light dappling through the trees and hedgerows, we all long for during the cold winter months, the interesting patterns created by leaves and the softness of the landscape are things that make us feel that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.
Keeping a diary, sketching out images you observe every day, is a useful pastime, or scribbled thoughts and observations, to follow the changing seasons. I shall be watching the farming year develop to find inspiration, but I would love to hear your thoughts of what you are interested in over 2021. Even if our lives are restricted because of Covid, we can still find time outside on our daily walks. Email me at patriciajvalentiart@gmail.com and let me know your inspiration.
Warmly,
Patricia
‘Love, Joy, Create’ Blog – My love of nature inspires my art practice. Learning from nature, seeing animals and birds fills me with joy. Please follow along with me and create your own inspiration for your art by learning about nature and the world around us. art@patriciajvalentiart.com
Patricia Valenti is a representational contemporary fine artist and life-long painter, based in Kent in the UK, beginning her artistic studies as a young girl. Her passion for nature and the beauty of animals and wildlife can be seen in her work, transforming familiar animals and wildlife into stunning, realistic interpretations with emotional impact. Her walks around the surrounding countryside near her home inspire her work.