Exploring Gardens Through Collage

Heading into a new year, and ready to start creating again, I found myself needing more time to think, to slow down and reconnect with nature in whatever little ways I could. Travelling between Maltese and English landscapes, the access I have to green spaces and things that grow ebbs and flows. And it got me thinking.

Nature ebbs and flows too. I was in England on a cold, overcast week in the middle of January, when not a leaf or flower were to be found, except for those trodden deeply into the frosty mud left behind by autumn. The grey skies were a pleasant reminder to appreciate the sunny days and the warmth that does - eventually - return. And with it, the timeless English love of gardening.

I never had a green thumb before. Not even slightly. But waiting for those first shoots to appear and searching everywhere I could for the first signs of spring felt like a little unlikely pilgrimage. I sowed some seeds and with it, some optimism between these concrete walls.

So as I waited for the first shoots to emerge - both in my makeshift winter garden and in the wider world - I tended shoots and leaves made of paper and fabric instead. I explored the spontaneity and freedom of painting with paper and collage, with a tapestry of colours and inspiration at my fingertips. The garden may not be ready to bloom outside, but inside, there is no such limitation.

These moments, of carefully tending combined with spontaneous decisions, became the heart of this series - Wild Gardens. Slide through the images below to view the collection, or click the shop link below to view the available paintings on my Etsy shop.

Shop Wild Gardens