30. The Plymouth Pidgeon

30. The Plymouth Pidgeon

Oil, Acrylic & love on canvas - £1000

45cm x 60cm

EVERY PENNY OF THE ORIGINAL ART GOES DIRECTLY TO -

YOUR ART CONNECT CIC - Arts For Mental Health

Plymouth was probably the smallest and most lightly attended event of the entire tour. The weather wasn’t particularly kind to us, and at any one time there were perhaps only ten people there.

But Plymouth reminded me that numbers really don’t tell the whole story.

The people who did show up came with some incredibly powerful stories. One lady in particular had been going through a period of physical and mental recovery and hadn’t left her house for over a year. She was also a keen artist, so I invited her to bring some of her work along and have her own little mini exhibition at the event.

And she did.

She didn’t stay for the whole day, but that didn’t matter. She had found the courage to leave the house, turn up and share something she’d created with a group of strangers. I was so proud of her. Sometimes simply showing up for yourself is the biggest victory of all.

We gathered on Plymouth Hoe, beneath the beautiful old ornate building affectionately known as the Wedding Cake. Nearby, I noticed a small community of homeless people who had made their own refuge beneath one of the structures. Throughout the day people came and went, music played, paint was thrown and connections were made. When the event was supposed to finish, some of us simply carried on, listening to music together. By the end, it didn’t really feel like I’d hosted an event at all. It felt like a little bunch of friends playing.

For Plymouth, I painted a pigeon.

I’d been surrounded by these little creatures all week while living in the city and promoting the event. Pigeons are so commonplace that we barely notice them. They’re overlooked, dismissed and sometimes treated as though they don’t belong. But actually stop and look at one. Look closely at the incredible iridescent greens, purples and blues hidden amongst those grey feathers, and they’re absolutely beautiful.

Perhaps that’s why the pigeon feels so right for Plymouth.

It was one of the smallest events of the tour, filled with people whose stories might easily go unnoticed in a busy world. But when you stop, pay attention and really see what’s in front of you, you often discover something extraordinary.

And somehow, this humble little pigeon became one of my favourite paintings of the entire tour.

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