RETURNING TO MY ART AFTER A CHALLENGING SEASON

Good Afternoon Friends,

I hope you have all been keeping well. I know it has been a while since my last blog post at the beginning of the year.

Sadly at the end of January 2026 my dear father had a tragic fall and fractured his spine. It was a very challenging time and consequently needed weeks of travelling down advocating for my Dad and supporting my Mum with hospital visits and meetings, followed by his move to a hospice and finally a nursing home. Although there were times where my Dad seemed to thrive and rally, sadly he deteriorated and finally passed away at the beginning of April. Although I am so thankful for his wonderful life of 92 years, as well as the very special time we had together over the last few days, it was still a terrible shock. I believe that no one is fully prepared for the grief of losing a loved one, and, after losing my dear brother several years ago, it was something I was painfully familiar with. However, God gave me the strength to walk this journey with Him holding my hand and leading me through the sorrow, pain and emotions. I am reminded of a very special photo I took of me holding my Dad’s hand while we were in hospital, I am wearing a bracelet symbolic of the “Footprints in the Sand” poem where the Lord carries someone along the seashore as they are too weak to walk on their own. You only see one set of footprints in the sand and that is the footprints of the Lord lovingly carrying the person. This is very much how it felt for me, and I am so thankful to have been given the strength and support from the Lord as well as friends and family to then go on to the overwhelming task of organizing my Dad’s funeral. I was especially honoured to be able to speak and share my memories of my Dad, no matter how personal it was, or how vulnerable and emotional it felt - I’m glad I accomplished it and that we were able to say our “goodbyes” to an exceptional father and husband to my dear Mum of 63 years.

As you can understand, I have since then been giving myself time to grieve, being gentle on myself and, thankfully, I am starting to feel much better. The ongoing wonderful horseriding lessons and hacks have continued to bless me - being around my favourite gentle and beautiful horses in the relaxing countryside was very therapeutic, and I have even started to paint again. I wanted to be able to paint when I was truly ready and not push myself to start until I truly wanted to. As my daughter’s Birthday was approaching I felt excited and ready to paint her a picture which she loves, and I am very happy to share it with you. It’s called “Whimsical Garden of Promise”, and prints will be available to purchase on my website in due course. The title reflects how I was feeling as I painted it. After a season of loss and grief, it felt as though colour, creativity and hope were beginning to return. Rather than looking back, this painting felt like looking forward to new possibilities, new memories, and the promise of brighter days ahead.

Thank you to everyone for sharing my journey with me, including the highs as well as the lows. I look forward to easing back into my art over the second part of this year and sharing more with you.

Have a blessed Summer, and much love.

Valerie x