Making time for beauty

As a great fan of the daily walk to connect with nature and reset my mind and body in a busy world, I’m always surprised how no walk can be repeated, even when we follow the same path.

So it was a joy to be invited to the recent opening of a neighbor’s art exhibition at the Garden Gallery at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden.

Margaret Taylor and twelve other National Art School graduate artists took part in the Different Views Interpreting Landscape exhibition, which closes on 12 May.

In her opening speech, Margaret noted that “landscape is never still. It shifts with memory, bends with feeling and gathers meaning through the eyes that meet it.”

I’m in awe of artists, whose works conjure time and place and moods and memories out of thin air – much as composers and musicians can move us with their soundscapes.

I loved Margaret’s observation that the work of each artist is unique, even when they capture the same landscape. In the same way, every novel is unique, even when one tale is essentially similar to another, as is so often the case in romance.

What a lovely surprise, too, to reconnect at the exhibition with Vivienne, who recognised me after attending the recent launch of my ninth novel, The Chase at Brighton Court!

I am grateful to all creative people for taking the time to create, for widening our appreciation of the world, effectively supercharging our existence. Brava, Margaret!