Beached, Grounded, Majestic, Solid, Crumbling, Peeling, Cracking, Creaking, Rusting, Timeworn, Threadbare, Tatters, Fragments, Patch, Cover, Mend, Conceal, Darn, Stitch, Layered … PATCHWORKS

 PATCHWORKS is a new series of work I stated at the beginning of 2024.  This is a developing collection of colourful paintings based on the richly layered history of Welsh patchwork and my local estuary at ‘The Patch’ near Gwbert in Ceredigion. 

 When I moved to Cardigan in 2022 I spent a great deal of time wandering, sketching, writing and taking photographs at ‘The Patch’.  It was a way of getting to know my new home and its environs.

 The Patch is a fascinating area of estuary and beach where the Teifi meets the sea opposite Poppit Sands. 

One of the things I love the most are the old boats moored there.  No longer sea worthy, they are like old residents of the river.  I love their flaking paint, rusty bolts and splintered timbers.  Their colours and textures are rich and multi layered and their empty hulls hold a lifetime of stories and adventures.  I wonder where they have been and what they have seen, who sailed in them and the voyages they made. 

My explorations in paint and collage started to make me think of different meanings associated with the word ‘Patch’.  I also started to become fascinated by Welsh Patchwork, with its own rich history and layered meanings.  The beautiful jewel-like quilts were made by women who had tough lives.  They worked using up fragments from their home giving each piece its own signature unique to its maker or community.

Gradually the the two things started to come together in my work.

View the series here.