My walks along the River Wandle provided much of the inspiration for this poster

Early in 2025 I was asked if I could create a poster for the River Summit 2025. As I have a keen interest in all things environmental, I said I would as I would love to take part in the art exhibition and have longed for quite a while to do a project on the Wandle.

The scene for the River Summit poster is a series of images that I have collected over the years from my walks along the River Wandle. I live in Carshalton and feel lucky to have such lovely parks like the Grove and Beddington Park with the river running through on my doorstep.

The poster shows wildlife flying over the river and the bridge in Beddington Park. 
The backdrop is a big bright green willow tree in Beddington Park with its contrasting maroon coloured neighbour and their shimmering reflections in the Wandle water. In the foreground my dog Tilly is looking at the swans, geese and a nesting coot. She is stood near riverside vegetation, some of my favourite plants I like to paint, like cow parsley and river irises.

I also wanted to include in the painting some fellow river enthusiasts coming to the summit, so we have fly-fishers on the bank, wild swimmers diving in the water, rowing boats and canal boats.

I really enjoyed painting the River Summit poster; it really made me appreciate how important events like this are for bringing communities together to protect the natural resources we all care for so much.

Some of the inspiration for the poster can be see in this reel I made: Instagram.
I will be showing  the beginnings of a new collection of river paintings at the River Summit and I am looking forward to developing this collection over the next few years, culminating with a Wandle wallpaper – just like my arts and crafts hero William Morris.