Red Door Gallery in 58 Cinque Ports Street opened with new exhibits from Linda Chappel and her daughter Lara. It lasts till December 24. Inspired by her mother, who battled with bi-polar disorder, but when well achieved so many wonderful things, Linda was inspired by her mother’s mental health battle to work within her community to create mental heath awareness, support mental health projects and help erase the stigma around it. She hopes that when people look at her pictures that they will feel some inner calm.
Linda has been painting most of her life though in her past, her professional career was as a Director of Saatchi & Saatchi. Her work celebrates the beauty of nature and she uses imagination and colour to convey a sense of peace. She feels that it can enhance one’s mood and that an atmospheric quality of tone can evoke a sense of tranquility.
After a break of a number of years, Linda’s daughter Lara has just recently also come back to her love of painting and drawing.
Linda divides her time between the Kent countryside and a delightful village in the Spanish mountains, Mijas Pueblo, where she paints, sculpts and teaches art in the Community Art Center – Centro De Artes. There are many images of her work on her website.
Linda mentioned that the Mental Health Foundation was very informative when she was looking for helpful information for her mother. They hosted a Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) in May. 2018 focused on stress. “Research has shown that two thirds of us experience a mental health problem in our lifetime and stress is a key factor in this.” The 2019 MHAW will be held on Monday May 13 to Sunday May 19. The theme will be announced before the end of 2018. Anyone interested in getting involved go to the website
Image Credits: Heidi Foster , taken from website/permission by Linda Chapple http://Mija's%20website .