I began my latest series of paintings during the lockdown period in early May. I took my daily exercise walking in nearby Richmond Park where the respite from traffic noise highlighted the birdsong and I even heard a cuckoo on one occasion!

Many people used their lockdown time to gather in family groups for picnics in the park and these scenes reminded me of the way that artists such as Antoine Watteau and Jean Baptiste Pater portrayed Arcadian scenes in the 18th century.

So this latest series is in part a reinterpretation of 18th century Fête Champêtre paintings and in part picnics in lockdown.