Home and Studio

After many years hunkered down in the quiet rhythms of the countryside, downsizing for us was about shifting seasons. As we moved to our cozy new home in nearby Crosshaven, we were no longer surrounded by rolling fields, but by the sound of seagulls and the chatter of neighbours close by. Life has slowed down in a different way, not through solitude, but through simplicity and connection. Our latest chapter is about honouring the past while making room for something new.

We’ve filled this new home with joy and colour. Walls crowded with paintings, shelves crammed with beloved books, and every corner alive with memories. The joyful art of our children and grandchildren brings warmth to every room. Handprints, collages, wild scribbles, and proud school projects now framed like treasures. It’s joyfully maximal, a kaleidoscope of family, memory, and creativity

The biggest challenge for me was leaving behind my beautiful, spacious studio, filled with light and room to create. It even once hosted a 21st birthday party—complete with a full band! But this transition has taught me a valuable lesson: art can be made anywhere. Art loves limitations and a big room isn’t a prerequisite. All you really need is some natural light, a few essential materials, and the willingness to create.

Desk with art supplies, a framed photo, jars of brushes, pens, and craft items, and decorative dried flowers in vases on the window sill, with a view of trees outside.
A colorful pastel chalk set with photos of vibrant orange flowers on top.
An art workspace with a paint palette, a yellow note with a quote, a watercolor painting of a bird, and a magazine featuring a coffee cup and a drawing by Pablo Picasso.
An elderly woman with gray hair and glasses, wearing a white embroidered shirt and jeans, is looking at a stack of framed photographs or artwork on a table inside a room with a window showing pink and purple foliage outside.
Array of paintbrushes in a wooden container on a windowsill, with a blurry background of trees outside.
An art studio with a large painting of white daisies in a green vase on the wall, surrounded by smaller artworks and sketches, with a shelving unit holding drawing supplies and sketchpads.
A table with colorful paint tubes and tools, some covered in dried paint, in an artist's workspace.
Colored paper scraps on a notebook with landscape photos in the background.
Person drawing abstract lines on a sketchpad with a yellow pen at an art workspace with watercolor paints and colored markers.
An art studio with multiple paintings of faces, including a large dark portrait of a person with large eyes, and smaller colorful portraits of children and adults on and around a display board.
A white bookshelf filled with books, framed photographs, and artwork in a room decorated with colorful pictures and a tall vase with artificial flowers.
An elderly woman with short gray hair, wearing glasses, earrings, and a colorful tie-dye blouse, is smiling as she draws on a paper with a pen. She is in an art studio with paintings and art supplies in the background.
Gallery wall with multiple framed artworks, including abstract and portrait pieces, and a green potted plant nearby.
Decorative arrangement on a white shelf with dried flowers, a small metal religious statue, a pine cone, and a blue hydrangea flower.
Watercolor painting of a woman's face with eyes closed and a contemplative expression.
Living room fireplace with framed photos, artwork, a sign reading 'Happy Father's Day,' potted plants, and a small stove, with a white couch on the left.
A brown ceramic vase holding a dried flower with long, thin petals, surrounded by pinecones, placed on a white windowsill with sunlight.
A smartphone screen displaying a colorful collage of abstract paintings and pieces of artwork, with some artworks featuring vibrant green, blue, yellow, and orange hues.
Shelf with art supplies, including notebooks, folders, and paintings, in a cluttered art studio.