She wakes up at sunrise, when the baby begins to stir, and prepares superfood breakfasts, comprised of seasonal fruits, quinoa, blueberries and seeds. She feeds the hungry ones, before herself, and prepares everyone for the day ahead.
Finally, she drinks a coffee, freshly ground and steaming hot. It’s her morning pleasure, accompanied by a flick through her phone, to see what the surf, wind and weather forecasts are for today.
If it’s looking promising then a quick dash to the beach, to check for herself. Baby crawls on the sand, finding shells and playing with friendly dogs. Mum laughs and sings, sometimes scanning the horizon and glancing up at the direction of passing clouds.
If it’s a flat day and there’s time to go outside, then she’ll do her best to get everyone moving. To take a walk and to breathe some air. To rediscover the world around us, so full of wonder, if we only stop and look.
In the brief moments, when baby is asleep, she might paint the things she’s seen, or the things she’d like to see. With meticulous lines each canvas becomes a window into another world. Then baby wakes up and daddy gets hungry and it’s tea time and dinner time… the relentless cycle.
But that’s all ok, because some days, when the waves are small and the wind whispers sweet nothings to the mid-morning sun, she’ll make her way down to the spot. A little bit left of the old green house, where the channel provides an easy paddle out, to the gentle lines she loves the most.
And on these days you’ll find her in her favourite place. A silhouette upon nature’s canvas, sunshine raining diamonds upon her. Gliding. Graceful. Free.
Photos by Bradley Hook