Recently, I had a commission for a pair of pigeons called August & Candi, who the owner had found injured, been told they were beyond saving by a vet, and nursed back to health. These two were an absolute joy to paint, with iridescent plumage and their own unique characteristics against a lush, verdant green and pink background.

Anyone who’s been following for a while will know that I am literally obsessed with lemons. For me they are symbolic of concentrated light, life and love. They bring hope in the darkness and we boy do we need that in October! The German poet Goethe on his travels in Italy discovered that anything was possible in ‘the land where the lemon trees grow’. My first tutor at uni doing Fine Art (a super intense feminist, sweary, terrifying, northern Irish lady with a leopard print dyed no 1 buzzcut, who I really admired) on seeing my first attempt at using oil paints to paint one 🍋 from observation described it thus ‘if it’s possible to make a lemon look URGENT Lucy you’ve certainly done that…. this is an urgent f-ing lemon!’