I had been sketching and painting lemons following a stay in ‘The Golden Lemon’ Hotel, on the north coast of St Kitts in the Caribbean. The very definition of English style, the hotel was full of beautiful antiques and a collection of ‘lemony’ ceramics. The subtle greys and shades of chalky whites are inspired by this beautiful tranquil paradise.

I did however need some lemons, and had been searching for fruit with leaves on. On a visit to Paris in April ’08, I foundsome on a market stall in the centre of the city.. a fabulous display offresh fruit, stacked in boxes on the pavement. In my tragic French, I asked the stall holder to choose 5 lemons with leaves on and carried them all the way home to my studio (most leaves still in tact!).

Pages from an elementary book on the French language and grammar and definitions for lemon are collaged along with traditional lemon recipes, French stamps and post-marks. The receipt from our visit to the golden Lemon is also within the image along with patterns inspired by beautiful fabrics at The Golden Lemon. The grey tissue paper is from a french fashion shop, a pattern which captures the essence of our hotel, which had decadent designs everywhere.  I have to admit the Indian postmark, foreign stamp and butterfly images are there just because they happen to be a lovely shade of yellow!