The Potting Shed

Oil on Board
40.5 x 50cm
 
This painting began with a photograph taken in the potting shed at Sunnycroft, a National Trust property in Shropshire. I was drawn to the jumble of objects accumulated through years of use – the watering can, garden tools, dried flowers and, particularly, the stacks of little terracotta pots. Their repeated shapes and warm, earthy colours caught the light beautifully against the darkness of the shed. I have since collected quite a few similar old pots myself.
 
As with many of my interiors, however, the real subject is light. Falling strongly across the benches, it briefly illuminates these ordinary, well-used objects before disappearing into shadow. I love the quietness of these old working spaces and the traces of people they contain. Tools hang waiting to be used, pots are stacked ready for planting, and the room seems momentarily paused between one task and the next.