Still Life

“When in April the sweet showers fall
And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all
The veins are bathed in liquor of such power
As brings about the engendering of the flower”

These are the lines from the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. To me, they sum up my own joy at seeing the first flowers coming through, after a long grey winter, the welcome of spring, renewal and rebirth.

Garden flowers and fruits, objects of significance. I gather them together to paint in my studio, in new spring light. They remind me of the transitory nature of life, and like Chaucer and his pilgrims, help me to celebrate a life lived, and journeys yet to come.