On a visit to an arboretum in Autumn 2022 I couldn't resist collecting a bag full of the biggest and most unusually shaped fallen leaves I could find. My favourite was a beautiful leaf from a Tulip tree that you can see included in this design at the bottom left side of the wall hanging. I wanted the leaf shapes to speak for themselves so the spaces between the leaves had to be simple and abstract with the addition of texture created by two single colour stitch patterns.
Calling a large part of the design a background makes it sound unimportant. For me these spaces between the elements of the design are as important as the elements themselves hence why some of the spaces are central to the design with the leaf shapes disappearing over the edge of the canvas. The spaces between the leaves create interesting and dramatic shapes in their own right and pull all the separate elements together to make a coherent design.
I can't really describe how I choose colours because it just seems to happen. I'm quite confident when I'm choosing colours for my work and for my home and I'm not frightened of using strong contrasting colours. I don't follow any trends or fashions, I suppose I just choose colours that I like. You won't find any pretty pastel floral prints in my house.
