Helen Anderson said of her watercolour paintings, “The garden is alive with fleeting moments. Petals dancing in the sunlight, the promise of ripening summer fruit, rose hips catching the dying evening light, the vibrant glow of autumn leaves. Most of these moments pass us by in our busy, complex lives. Drawing and painting makes me stop, look and wonder at the ebb and flow of life all around me. I usually paint with oils, but chose to use watercolours for this series for their fluidity and translucence. The challenge I set myself was to work with speed and spontaneity to try and capture a sense of transience and evanescence.”
Sally D’Orsogna described her work and processes, “The world of cyanotypes opened up to me over the Covid years. During the extended lockdowns, I found myself immersed more and more in my garden, replacing a busy work/social life with the company and industry of caring for plants and removing swathes of lawn for a forest of fruit trees and other plants. The camera-less photographic process of Cyanotypes gave me a pathway into celebrating my domestic garden as a place of solace, creativity and endless curiosity in the form of shapes of all things botanical.
Cyanotypes evolved in the 1940s when photochemistry experimentation was underway in multiple locations around the world. It uses an iron rich compound which is applied to a porous surface, such as watercolour paper, fabric or wood, and then exposed to UV rays. Images are developed in water and the photogram is revealed in the famous Prussian blue end product. Cyanotypes blend photography and printmaking. All prints are unique due to the variables of working with sunlight, chemical changes and exposure times.”
