A Seasonal Sensory Smooch

September has always felt like the true new year to me. The air shifts, the light softens, and there’s that unmistakable feeling of fresh starts. Perhaps it’s the echo of school days - new shoes, pencil cases, and timetables - but it feels like a time for setting intentions and making plans, far more so than January.

For those with children, September is a milestone month. Mine are stepping into Year 8 and Sixth Form - taller, busier, and more independent than ever. Their growing up gives me the freedom to follow my own dreams, but I find myself missing their little selves: the school run chats, the World Book Day costumes, the piano concerts and cubs squeezed in after tea. In hindsight, those were golden years, and I feel grateful that my career could flex around their rhythms.

As they step forward, so do I - into the second and final year of my MA Fine Art. It feels like a parallel journey: theirs into young adulthood, mine into deeper creative exploration.

September also pulls us back into our homes after the long light days of sunlight.

After the open, outward energy of summer, there’s something grounding about returning indoors and refreshing our spaces.

Suddenly, the indoors matters again. The kitchen becomes the gathering spot, the sofa the anchor, the walls the backdrop to our daily lives. It’s often the time I want to refresh things - rearrange furniture, swap paintings, or bring in new colour and energy. Nest. After all, what we look at every day shapes our mood. A painting can carry light and joy through the darker months, or evoke memories of warmth, gardens, and growth.

And I Rose Above oil on canvas 60 x 90 cm

This piece is about looking to the light and the blue skies. It reminds me of the colours of my garden in Autumn, the smoke tree and Virginia Creeper as they turn all those glorious colours. It was painted a few years ago but I somehow couldn't quite resolve it until recently. It's now available via my shop.

This September, I’m leaning into both: nurturing my family as they move forward, stepping further into my own creative path, and refreshing my home and studio for the season ahead.

If you’re feeling the September shift too, perhaps it’s time to shake up your own walls or carve out space for something new. If you need some inspiration, come along to the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea in October. I'll be there on stand H4.

I’ll share more soon about workshop plans, new works, and my MA journey as it unfolds.

x Lara