Tea Time – Greeting Card

Tea Time – Watercolour on Paper

This painting is a tribute to a matriarchal line built on grit and grace. My Nanny was a “wild” woman of her era—an army widow who worked multiple jobs until she was seventy to keep her family whole. She was crass, hilarious, and fiercely loyal, living by a double standard that she simply chose to ignore.
Yet, amidst the smoking and the swearing, my Nanny held one ritual sacred: the art of the pour. She made sure my mother and my aunts were masters of a fancy tea, a skill then passed down to me. It was a non-negotiable mark of class. That ingrained tradition is why my mom and I love our high tea at the Frontenac so much; we aren’t “fancy” people, but we find such importance in the elegance of that ceremony.
I chose these giant peony blossoms because they capture that exact spirit. They are unapologetically loud, bold, and in-your-face, yet they are the very definition of sophistication. They remind me that the women in my family can be wild and loyal all at once—ready to take on the world, and just as ready for a laugh over tea and a cheese & cherry sandwich.