How to Keep Creating (Even with Triplets)

My latest painting was inspired by Barbara Hepworth and her lean-to greenhouse in St Ives, Cornwall.

 

Hepworth was a leading modernist sculptor, and also the mother of four, including triplets with her second husband, the artist Ben Nicholson. ‘I’ve slowly discovered how to create for 30 mins, cook for 40 mins, create for another 30 and look after children for 50 and so on through the day,’ she said to a friend. And to a journalist, ‘I decided I must do some work each day. It went on in my head even when I was doing the chores. The result was fewer sculptures, but I believe more triumphs. I never resisted things. If something in the kitchen was burning, or a child crying, I attended and continued my carving without feeling resentful…’ 

 

I wish I could channel Hepworth’s determination and grace in confronting the impossible juggle of childcare and work – but I also liked the idea of painting her without a chisel in her hand or a baby on her hip. Alone, and tranquil, pursuing her gardening. A moment to breathe, free from the juggle.

Hepworth's greenhouse at St Ives