'Queen of the Pansies' was created by Rose Wylie in 2016, Oil on Canvas. A painting of Queen Eliabeth the 1st with purple and yellow pansies surrounding, done over two panels.

The more we stimulate our brains, the more nerve connections we make and the better our brains work. At our Monday group we work with an amazing group of people living with Dementia, where we often look at art and review what we see. Making art is fun but it’s also a workout for our brains! Recently we looked at the painting 'Queen of the Pansies' (2016) by Rose Wylie and here are some of what was said:

"I like the bit that shows someone in a bed. That’s really easy to do."

"Looks different, doesn’t it? Yes, in a good way. I like the flowers."

"Initially it looks like a child has done it, but then, looking at it closer you realize it isn’t. Specially looking at the writing."

"I think it’s Elizabeth the 1^st. Looks like a different version of another portrait. Could be the one after the Armada."

"Not sure if it’s made to be, there’s a person’s head, then the rest is lying down. It’s a bit strange.

If you look, the brown goes all the way down to the bottom. She looks like she’s got her head on a pillow, or two pillows. She’s got her hair ready for goodness knows what! She’s ready for bed."

 "The green bits seem to be something that matter to the person at the top. Some of the writing is in English and some in French."

"There used to be a language of flowers, I wonder what the pansies mean. Six pansies. Blue."

"Totally confused by it. It’s almost like it’s been done on a smallish piece of paper. The shape, it’s short at the edge, like a postcard."

"Looks like there’s something rubbed out. Why does some of the writing go off the side of the paper?Perhaps it’s been folded, you can see a line in the middle."

"I assume it’s painted. I don’t understand that painting. It’s a wonder it survived at all. It’s like something a child would bring home from school that would eventually fall off the wall."

"I wonder if the artist is left-handed. The writing seems strange. More like the writing done the way a left-handed person hold a pen."

"We can see her tiny feet at the bottom. Is she standing on something?"

"Is that a baby in the bed? There’re two sides to it. With the flower on one side, and the crease in the middle. It’s funny having things on top of things. Her hairs are funny. The bed looks like it’s standing up."

These sessions run every Monday and are designed with the needs of people living with all stages and types of dementia and long term neurological conditions in mind, and the needs of the people who are caring for them. We have spouses, children, professional carers, friends and family members who stay and get involved.