Whatever inspiration you’re after…. a new recipe to wow the family, a little bit of help making the perfect bed, styling a sideboard, some lifestyle articles or what’s new at Provincial, our Journal will bring you stories to brighten your day.
We are absolutely delighted that Melbourne born artist Helen Lovett has given us access to her sketchbook so we can select images to reproduce on canvas, framed prints, placemats and coasters. She utilises the fluidity of the medium to create watercolours that are beautiful fields of intense colour or soft, almost transparent washes of colour.
Her love of drawing was ignited at a young age by an aunt who had her own studio and happily spent time nurturing Helen’s skills and sparking a lifelong passion for drawing. Although she trained as an occupational therapist, her love of pencils and drawings drew her into engineering drafting which required a very precise, mathematical mind and talent.
Her creativity was not limited to drawing and always needed an outlet. After her first baby was born, she started sewing things for the home, moving to clothes then onto making teddy bears before a friend suggested she try botanical art. She enrolled in classes with world renowned botanical artist Jenny Phillips and was encouraged to keep a sketch book – so her daily illustrated journal has grown from there. Her sketchbook and paints travel everywhere with her so whatever inspires her becomes a gorgeous watercolour in her journal.
If her images cover both pages of her book, we have left the fold marks of the pages as a tribute to her journal.
We sat down recently to have a chat with Helen and to have a look through her latest sketch books which was such a treat. She does a daily drawing, sometimes with words as a diary, so they are also a journal of her life and her passions. Turning the pages is a beautiful journey - there’s seasonal fruit and vegetables, flowers, foliage, sailing boats, vintage cars, her dog Lokkie, scenery – it’s hard to choose which ones we want to re-produce as they are all so gorgeous.
Helen is a self-confessed homemaker– she loves cooking and she’s always entertaining - friends, children and grandchildren – the more the merrier. Her other interests include tennis and golf - she tells us she is enthusiastic but not very good – somehow, I doubt that is true! She is also a mad sailor, taking to the water a couple of times a week in a very pretty European boat that is the much admired along the coast.
With all these other interests and hobbies, it’s amazing she has time to produce her wonderful, daily works of art.
If you’re visiting our Mornington store you may see her there – it’s her local Provincial store and she’s always popping in to see what is new. After a recent renovation at her home, and the installation of a window seat with dramatic sea views, she has amassed a collection of our cushions to create a comfortable seat – a place to sit when she gets out her journal.
Keep an eye open in our stores and online for more of the sensitive watercolours of Helen Lovett, beautifully adapted to prints, canvases and our placemats.
