“Smile Awhile in the South Shropshire Hills” by Patricia Evans

At the recent AGM of the Society, member Marjorie Cashmore recommended a book she particularly enjoys. She told those present that it comforted and inspired her during a period of incapacitation.

This beautiful book by Patricia Evans is lavishly illustrated, with 36 paintings inspired by the South Shropshire Hills.  Pat is a talented professional artist, with a distinctive style, which she says has been influenced by “both the simplicity of Japanese art and the poster art of the early 20th century.” Her studio, Tankerville Gallery, is situated at Pennerley, in the heart of the South Shropshire Hills. Her love and knowledge of the area shine through in her paintings of the landscape, through the changing seasons, often accompanied by her trademark sheep!

It's hard to resist her closely observed pictures of the landscape that so many of us love from our reading of Saville's Lone Pine books - and Pat mentions him in her own book. The first painting is entitled 'The Lone Pine', silhouetted against a golden sunset, with the Welsh hills in the background. 

The book is available to purchase for £14.99 (plus post and packing) from www.tankervillegallery.co.uk