Milk Skin + Roses

At a time when it is dawning on our nation, slowly, in indigestible nuggets, that oppression and human rights violations can be found very readily by those prepared to peer under the Axminsters of just one or two centuries of recent British History, what am I to make of the ‘half–cast’ me? Half oppressor, half oppressed? Post, post–colonial?

Milk Skin 19.06.2020 25x21cm, newsprint and milk

Milk Skin 06.03.2021 25x21cm, newsprint and milk

Brown at first sight, my reality is that of the ‘other’, the outsider. However, there are other worlds where crossbreeding does not have the negative connotations that miscegenation has. One of these is the World Of Roses. In this parallel universe breeding exotic hybrids is a highly valued skill.

The best known of these breeders, David Austin, named his first hybrid English Rose after Constance Spry. She had arranged the flowers for the coronation in Westminster Abbey, and also created that curry flavoured dish, Coronation Chicken. David Austin’s English Roses have all been created in my lifetime.

Left: Oil pastel, acrylic and watercolour on board (30cmx30cm)
Right: Mixed media collage on board (30cmx30cm)

I’m not at all sure where my exploration of English Roses will take me. Desdemona, Sceptre’d Isle, Lark Ascending, John Betjeman and William & Catherine are in my crosshairs. Fragrances, lusciousness, rosebuds and possibly hubris beckon. I’m looking forward to some fun and who knows, a possible epiphany to share with mixers and shakers along the way.

Journeying and Inhabiting