LUCY SOMERS

Being a wildcard was bonkers. The day started misty and cold, wondering if I should have added a coat to my wagon of paints, canvasses, wool and tufting gun. An hour in we were scorched, sweaty, dazzled, and by the time the final whistle was blown my arms were scorched! It was crazy fun using my tufting gun outside, making art outside always comes with unexpected challenges, and this time it included my wool trying to tumble down the hill towards the ferries! 
Our episode was at the White cliffs of Dover, overlooking the port. Such a complex view. My hope was that I could capture the vertigo of the sideways tilting landscape, like the cliffs were trying to shake us off. 
I broke the ice with some piercing pink, thinking I wanted a frame to be a stark contrast to the rest of the scene, and to set the tone for the vibrancy and intensity of the light. In went a frame of bouncy circus curves. It was around this moment that the production crew wanted to film what I was doing and to hav a chat with Stephen. I had no idea where to take the painting at this moment, but chit chat with Stephen was a welcome interruption!

I think we had 5 hours in total to make our piece, and it was a wild rush the whole time. I love how my piece turned out, but I did unpick a piece in the middle, can you spot it? I know Dover well, and couldn't bear that I had accidentally tufted some sea where I knew there should be a glimpse of Dover town! I havent filled it in yet, maybe I need to revisit the spot next June and fill in the gap. I find there's an inescapable honesty about painting outdoors; the liveness of the scene, the wind in your face, it thwarts any attempt to be deliberate and considered, instead you grasp at whatever you can. When I fill in that tufty gap, it should be from life again sometime.