My partner and I commissioned an original painting of the Canal du Midi from Libby in 2016, after we became aware of her work in an article on the “Languedoc Living” website and we have gone on to purchase three limited-edition prints, two of them inspired by her move to Berlin.

However it is still that first purchase which has come to mean a great deal to me personally. A few months before we met Libby to pick up our painting, we had to have one of our dogs euthanised. After years of living with diabetes (at one stage losing his sight to cataracts until he underwent an operation to have his sight restored), his suffering in the last few hours of his life was heartbreaking to see. In a weird way when I look at Libby’s painting it makes me think about him – whenever I look at the painting it gives me a feeling of “joy”, including the sheer joy for living which our dog had, despite his problems. He was a real little fighter. The painting then makes me reflect on my own passage through life. The few falling brown leaves in the top right of the painting are to me a reminder that problems and death are part of life but it is the absolute joy of living which is just so predominant – whether it is the brightness of the colours used or the perspective (almost like a journey forward) which makes me feel this I know not, I only know it is how it makes me feel.

So, thank you Libby, for providing us with a constant reminder of the joy of living.