I should start by saying that I am OBSESSED with peacocks. They appear in my art, on the wallpaper in my home, throughout my sketchbook and I've lost count of the photos of them in my phone.
The love affair started when I was really young - about 7 I reckon. We'd regularly head to Walton Gardens in Warrington on a Sunday afternoon. In the really early days, we'd all jump in my dad's kit car (roof unscrewed and left in the back garden if the weather was nice enough) and head across town. We'd wander around the grounds, play on the park and get an ice cream if we were lucky. My favourite activity, however, was heading to see the animals. I honestly can't remember what most of the animals were because my brother and I would spend most of our time mesmerised by the peacocks.
The ways they strut, flutter their feathers and show total unashamed cockiness was so captivating then and continues to be now. These days, I live in the North East of England with my husband and daughter and we still visit the peacocks but now they're in Jesmond Dene. For the last few months, they haven't been there and that's been pretty sad. I look forward to the day when they come out to show off again. No doubt I'll take another thousand photos and lose myself again. I can't wait!
For now, I'll continue to enjoy them through my printmaking, trying to replicate their beauty and mesmeric presence.
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In Sig...
