A local artist has donated one of her paintings for sale in a silent auction, which is taking place at The Hospice of St Francis charity shop in Kings Langley.
Ruby Lewis, 37, an art teacher at Abbot’s Hill School, in Hemel Hempstead, donated the painting as a way of supporting both the Hospice, where her grandad died in 1997, and the shop in the town where she lives.
The painting, which is called ‘Reflections’, depicts how we see colour and light when it is reflected through a surface like water.
“The painting is quite scientific,” Ruby said. “It’s about the way we see light and colour when particles of light slow down as they pass through water. Most of my work is very abstract and looks at natural elements, how we react to them and how they can trigger memory.
“I live in Kings Langley and know the charity shop really well. The staff there are always so friendly and I wanted to do something that would benefit the Hospice as well as the shop. I thought that donating a painting was the best way of doing that.”
Ruby spent two months completing the painting, which was created using layers of gesso, a traditional method of preparing a surface for painting, with oil paints and 24 carat gold leaf applied on top.
If sold commercially, the painting would be expected to sell for around £800.
Sarah Coles, Head of Trading at the Hospice, said: “We’re delighted that Ruby has generously donated one of her paintings for sale - it really is quite a coup for us.
“We’ve never held a silent auction before so we hope it will generate quite a bit of interest and increase footfall to the shop as people pop in to have a look at the beautiful painting and maybe even put in a bid for it.”
The auction will run from 1st-31st March and the the painting will be on display in the shop during that time.
All the proceeds from the sale will go towards helping the Hospice raise the £5million it needs each year to provide care and support for more than 2,000 people across Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire affected by life-limiting illnesses.