I have been finding my way back to the artist’s life after a couple of years of very little creative output. In recent times I have been concentrating on The Honeybee and the Hare, the coffee shop and gallery I run with my husband in the lovely historic town of Ayr.

We relocated to a larger premises last year, and decided to include artisan gifts and produce from small independent makers alongside my artwork, prints and cards. This was a huge undertaking as the property needed renovating, which didn’t leave much time for painting or drawing, especially as we did most of the work ourselves.

I am an artist who needs quiet solitude, much space for dreaming, thinking and watching the birds, as well as big chunks of uninterrupted time in order to create. Not to mention lots of cups of tea.

And so, with life being so busy, I had little energy or motivation to create when time was actually available. Thus I gave up trying and concentrated on setting up the coffee shop.

But now we are fully up and running and the studio has been singing its siren song, so I have tentatively returned to my paints and pencils and simply begun to enjoy the process of creating again.

After some years of being a professional artist, I found myself wanting to put all commercial thoughts aside, simply make art and just enjoy making art again. Especially after spending so much time concentrating on the bricks and mortar business. Putting pen to paper and brush to canvas has felt deeply satisfying and restorative.

“Starting to paint, I felt gloriously free, quiet, and alone”

— Henri Matisse

Add to this, there had been ongoing technical issues with my last website (deborahsheehy.com) which became too much of a problem (at least for me!), so this past January I took a deep breath and closed it down.

This actually felt rather liberating as I have always struggled with using my name as the moniker of my website, despite it making good business sense. But an online portfolio was still needed, and so Bramble Hare Studio was born. I decided to name this latest online nook in the spirit of my artwork and the wild beauty that inspires it.

So to those who have been following this winding path of mine for a time, hello again friends.

And to those who are new to my work, welcome. I hope you enjoy what you find here.

A Return to the Studio