March: Jan Leamon will show her exhibition of paintings

Artist’s bio

I never dreamt of painting.

Like many my age (now 77) I left school at 14 and went to work – as an apprentice florist.

All my Christmas’s had come at once, I learnt what to do with those flowers I’d been cadging from our neighbours’ gardens. My Dad died of a heart attack when he was 47 and I left my apprenticeship to help Mum in the family grocery shop.                                                                                   Marriage and children took up a fair slice of my life but I managed to return to a retail nursery in about 1980 – with flowers. I became part of a wholesale nursery in 1990 with lots of orchid flowers. Hard work for just two of us, but happy to be tired at the end of day.

Being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2009 was a shock.  We gradually closed our nursery after 20 years, shifted home to Berwick and discovered Anne Atkin and ‘Painting with Parkinsons’.     I found that I could draw and paint.  I am a very ‘lucky’ that I am one of those 30% of Parkies without the typical hand tremors.                                                                                                                 I began painting in 2014 and though I have tried a few birds and animals I think that flowers are my favourite. And chooks.                                                                   My husband, (and wonderful carer) Andy is a dab hand at framing and cutting mounts, making for a great team effort.

I love my painting.