I am so delighted to have received an invitation to the private view of the artist Penny White's extraordinary flower paintings at the John Martin Gallery in Albermarle Street, London this evening.

Penny White has organised this exhibition herself in order to raise money for the wonderful Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres which are totally reliant on private funding.
John Martin has gifted his gallery space in Mayfair for the exhibition and Penny will be donating the first £5000 of sales and thereafter half of all sales directly to the charity.

The roses in her paintings were grown on our Hampshire farm so I have sent a large bouquet of our roses and herbs over to the gallery today to help dress the space for the press and private view this evening.

Of her own work Penny says

Curiously, I do not think of myself as a 'flower painter', I am only interested in representing the flower. I try to paint the ephemeral quality of the flower, its soul, its scent, its colour, its pattern, its eroticism, that transient quality that for me is the flower.

The exhibition runs between 30th March and 10th April 2010, although it's closed for Easter between 2nd and 5th April.

Truly inspirational and worthwhile.