Wendy says:

When our children were young, my husband at the time and I bought a canal boat. Back then, in the 80s, there was still a real ‘make do and mend’ mentality, but, on the Cuts, the culture really is one of crafting and making. Some people cruise, but lots of people hand make things to sell. I became really interested in canalware, so I started teaching myself in large-scale. There are lots of common motifs, mainly flowers and castles. But every painter also develops their own style. I paint in the traditional style, building up layers of paint to create the shapes and forms. Initially, I got into miniatures because they were much easier to carry on the boats and took up less space. Now, I love the challenge of miniatures. I loved my time on the boats and all the traditions that went along with it. I suppose making miniature canalware is my way of preserving that for myself, but also of keeping that tradition alive in a small way - literally.