A Year Painting in the Garden

Posted:18 December 2016

We are so thrilled with Garden House friend Mary Middleton’s watercolours of the garden here at Warleigh Road, Brighton, that we asked Mary to tell us something about her experience painting these wonderful scenes and moments:

“This is my third year as a member of the Friday Gardening Group and early in 2016 Bridge and Deborah gave me a very special job to record the garden throughout the year. The title of this series of watercolour paintings is “Chronicles of the Garden House”.

The garden here is a wonderful inspiration and an exciting challenge to paint. My aim was to make work that told the story of a year in the garden to observe and interpret the light, the plants, the seasons, the atmosphere and the magic and beauty of the place. I worked on location from direct observation in the garden. 

In the 1970s I came to Brighton to study painting, and spent three years at Brighton College of Art & Design (as it was then). I then found myself earning my living as a special needs teacher, but when I retired I was able to return to my love of painting. I am a member of the Fiveways Artist’s group, and over the years have hosted two Artists Open Houses.

By September I had completed nine paintings of the garden and am now offering high quality giclée prints (very high quality digital prints) for sale through the Garden House. If you love this garden, or any garden, I feel that one of these prints would make a very special and unique gift (please contact us Bridge or Deborah for prices and to find out more).

At the end of the project we hope to have an exhibition of the original paintings and a beautiful illustrated book about the Garden. A calendar and postcards/greetings cards are also in the pipeline!

Merry Christmas!”  Mary Middleton, Garden House ‘artist in residence’