Dear Future Self Painting

The title of the painting comes from a letter Artemisia Gentileschi (born 1593, Artemisia is one of the great baroque painters of Italy: she had an incredible life both in difficulty and triumph and we have many fragments of her voluminous correspondence with collectors, friends and family) wrote to a lover. The rest of the sentence from that letter is embedded into the painting via collage in the small 'boat' shape and reads [Dear Future Self] may there live in your heart sweet peace, sweet quarrels, dear replies - and-- ". The ambiguity of the thought is purposeful as far as the painting goes. There are other words imbedded in the canvas, but these too are very subtle and require close viewing to see. This is a work that many read as an ocean shore, green fields and a house and lighthouse with a boat. And perhaps it is all those things, as well as what those things symbolise. Or maybe it is something completely otherwise. This work was the only large work I was able to complete during the difficult lockdown periods England experienced in 2020 and certainly was part inspired by the Devon coast I briefly was able to visit during gaps in those lockdowns. Normally as I am a London-based painter with a very urban situation it was indeed a letter to a possible future self.