All items by Squirrel Garden Studio

Expressive Landscapes and Miniature Marvels

Hello and Welcome to Squirrel Garden Studio!

I'm Vic, creator of Squirrel Garden Studio... My story begins in my hut at the bottom of my garden, my little space amongst the chaos of life. I have always loved art, painting and creating. It was whilst undertaking my MA in Art History back in 2019 that I began to paint and write more consistently. It was during my MA that the covid pandemic hit the world, and inevitably I caught the horrible virus too. Little did I realise the impact it would have on my health long-term and I was eventually diagnosed with CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) or M.E, as a result. The name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is somewhat deceptive in its description: it is not simply being tired - it is a whole catalogue of symptoms which vary in severity and are amplified by activity including "simple" tasks.
Whilst coming to terms with this new diagnosis, art was my constant, albeit it would leave me exhausted some days as I learnt to navigate a new world of prioritizing, planning and pacing. It was a life change I didn't see or plan for, but given the greater context of covid I am grateful that I still have the health I have.

Anyway.... On my good days I like to go for a nature walk, paint, write and feed squirrels. I take many photos of everything; birds, squirrels, flowers, trees etc. I also take photos of my garden. Nature has given me so much inspiration over the years, but especially recently. I am influenced by Scandinavian landscapes and many of my paintings feature mountains, woodlands and lakes. I would love to move to Sweden, so much so I am learning Swedish and visit when I can. My nature inspired art takes many forms - sometimes I am painting the inside of a shell, other times a miniature canvas, and occasionally I paint on a grain of rice or a much larger canvas, depending how the mood and fatigue take me.

When I started to think about selling my art I inevitably signed up for craft fairs, and did them, but the P.E.M (Post-Exertional Malaise) would leave me out of action for days, sometimes weeks. I had to take the decision to not do them and concentrate on selling online instead. I guess life got in the way sometimes and I couldn't dedicate the time to promote and market my work and shop. But sometimes it takes a stumble to get back up stronger and so here I am... A new chapter: Squirrel Garden Studio.

And yes.... I absolutely adore squirrels! And Fika!

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