20 June 2026
Looking Back: Artist in Residence at Well Read Literary Festival 2026
What a weekend! I've just come back from being artist in residence at the Well Read Literary Festival 2026 at the magical Wasing Estate, and I'm still buzzing from the whole experience.
Being surrounded by such an extraordinary line-up of thinkers, doers, creators, authors and change-makers — the people sprinkling their magic on this beautiful world and shifting things about for the benefit of us all — was genuinely inspiring. I feel so lucky to have been invited back as artist in residence, soaking up the goodness and trying to translate it all into paint.
Wasing itself is an enchanted land, flourishing in all ways under the guardianship of Josh and Di Dugdale. Every time I step onto the estate, something shifts inside me — there's a particular quality to the light, the landscape and the spirit of the place that feels almost otherworldly.
A festival of words, ideas and creativity
This year's festival was another stellar weekend, with Di partnering once again with the totally brilliant Hungerford Book Shop. The line-up was extraordinary — food from the exceptional Malverleys, real kids bushcraft adventure with Mud and Guts, creative nature creating with Yuval Zommer, and a roll-call of brilliant speakers and magic makers including Sarah Langford, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Hannah Maccinis, Jay Griffiths, FT's Henry Mance and Lucy Cooke.
As artist in residence, I set up my easel among the festival-goers and painted in real time, trying to capture the energy, conversation and atmosphere as it unfolded. There's something so alive about painting in public — it becomes a shared experience, a conversation in itself. People stop, watch, comment, and before you know it the painting has absorbed a little of everyone who passed by.
There really was something for everyone, and the feedback and conversations I had throughout the weekend about the work — and about art, creativity, nature and storytelling more broadly — were some of the most rewarding I've had.
Painting the festival
I'll be sharing more of the work created during the residency over the coming weeks, but for now, a heartfelt thank you to Di, Josh and the whole Well Read team for having me back. It was, once again, one of the most special weekends of the year.
Here's to words, ideas, creativity and the magic that happens when they all come together in one enchanted place ✨