What a gem of a place! Originally, this unique place was purely vaults to store valuables. The London Silver Vaults is now occupied with small shops selling beautiful silver. I was initially contacted to see if I would be interested in designing the backdrops for three display cabinets in the entrance. What a surprise and a challenge as each one was to be 1.5 metres wide.
I had to draw the scenes to scale, so I ordered a huge roll of Fabriano paper and cut three large pieces of paper ready to draw on. The designs were to represent the genres of silver sold in the Vaults such as the countryside and London. I love adding quirky details to my designs and spent hours measuring and inserting interesting scenes within scenes.
The London scene was to be set in the Docklands in order to form an appropriate backdrop for the contemporary silver. I added people in their flats sitting eating Christmas dinner or admiring their Christmas tree.
I was then inspired to create a large country estate with the focal point of a Christmas tree and children gathered around. Deer, rabbits and foxes also appear in the scene.
Finally I drew out all the windows and doors for a Berkeley Square paper cut. In addition, I hand cut some Christmas trees, people, dogs and cats to put behind the windows.
I had my designs laser cut as time was of the essence. These huge designs would have taken months to cut by hand and I had a tight deadline of only two weeks.
In November, I excitedly travelled to London to see my work unwrapped and to help install the laser cuts.
I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to have my work displayed in such a prestigious location.
My background to painting outside stems from early childhood. No matter what the weather - I'll always try and paint outside of my studio to capture the subject matter be it animals, landscapes or as is often the case - a combination!
Beautiful autumn colouring this year inspired me to capture the cherry trees on the stray in Harrogate - slightly windy conditions made the outdoors challenging but well worth the effort - !
Had a fabulous time at the gardens of Monet in the tranquil village of Giverny. Made all the more exciting when a massive storm hit the village the evening we arrived - ended up eating my Sea Bass in a plate full of rainwater..... as the restaurant got deluged!
Anita Bowerman
Author