A CARER at a dedicated dementia care home has turned her flair for art into an inclusive painting project helping residents collaborate and express themselves.

Angela Thorn, a healthcare assistant at Colten Care’s Fernhill, in Longham, has worked with nine residents on what she hopes will be the first in a series of creative works.

Starting with a blank canvas and using brushes, sponges and acrylic paint, Angela led the group through the production of a giant landscape scene featuring a woodland walk, river and mountains.

The as-yet-untitled work, completed in four sessions, extends to more than a metre wide and is now on display at the home.

Angela said: “We started with the canvas flat on a table and we had four people working on it at the same time.

“I brought in some leaves and pieces of bark so the residents could see and touch them and have a sense of being outdoors.

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“I initiated a background wash and then we built up the layers of paint, the contrasts in the sky and on the ground, the perspective and the shapes of features.

“I showed them various techniques in how to paint bark and leaves with sponges.

“It was lovely to step back and watch them begin to dab on their first touches of paint and take it from there in the directions they wanted.

“I gave them the freedom to be involved and to do what they wanted.

“It was like an ongoing story, created in the moment and with no constraints.”

Angela said she expected some initial resistance to the project from residents, but found thy quickly warmed to the task.

“It was entertaining and spontaneous,” she said. “One lady who I knew likes art brought her own brushes and easel to mix the paint and she was in her element.”

Residents at Fernhill got involved with creating the piece

Angela has worked at Colten Care for just over a year and said she has always been interested in the activities side of her role.

She previously worked as a flower arranger and later as a window dresser at the Bournemouth department store, Beales.

“That taught me to think quickly as I gained my skills in the job,” she said. “Part of being creative is working out how to get round situations and solve problems.

“I knew I would have to guide it all very carefully when I had so many people painting together on one canvas at the same time but when they were all together, they were very relaxed and at ease.

“It was also lovely to hear from the residents themselves what holds them back from being creative and, on the other hand, what prompts them to have a go.”

After painting a tree in the picture, resident Doris Smith, said: “I thought, I can do this. I really enjoyed it and I was surprised with what we were able to come up with and the outcome we achieved.”

Companionship Team member, Ann Marie Knight, added: “Angela has an artistic mind and has built a close relationship with our residents at Fernhill.

“Together they have created an amazing piece of art with the promise of more paintings to come.”

Residents at Outstanding-rated Fernhill have also taken part in a programme of therapeutic art classes by visiting professional artist, Johanna Kennedy-Wall.

Based in the New Forest, Johanna is renowned for her equine art and specialises in murals, portraits and sculpture.