by Molly West
A selection of Marion Lee pieces
Marion Lee is an 84-year-old woman who has always had a love for art and painting all throughout her life, as of recent years she sadly lost that passion a little bit. However, due to being classed as a vulnerable person and forced into strict isolation, she decided to rediscover her love for it and dug out all her old sketchbooks and supplies and started painting again.
Being in lockdown is difficult, especially when you live on your own, but Marion has kept herself busy, she says “I’m really happy that I have got back into art, I feel like because I haven’t done it in so long I all of a sudden have so many ideas and I just spend the majority of my days drawing.”
She has been isolating herself now for nearly two months and has found it extremely tough not being able to go out or see her family, and as a result of having nothing else to do she has created a range of new drawings and paintings from small sketches to canvases full of colour.
I asked Marion how many pieces she has completed since the lockdown, and she said “Oh I’m not sure I’ve got a lot of unfinished sketches from years ago that I’ve been completing, I think there is around 7 or 8 finished ones.” She has no specific style that she sticks to, but she enjoys painting animals and sort of fairy-tale style scenes and she loves using watercolour and acrylic paints.
“The weather has been so lovely recently, I’m lucky that I have a nice garden that I can sit in and paint. I find it very relaxing, time often runs away from me, but I don’t mind because it’s keeping me away from the television.” Considering lockdown has been extended and Marion must stay in self isolation for the foreseeable future, she seems quite happy that painting will keep her occupied.
I asked what she planned to do with all her art as she is building up quite the collection, “I don’t plan on doing anything with it really, I’ll put a couple up on the walls but I have a spare bedroom that’s been home to my hoard of art supplies over the years so the rest will probably go in there”.
It really is great to see someone rediscovering a passion for something they used to love so much. Lockdown doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom, try and start a new hobby to keep yourself occupied too.
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