100 Patterns.100 Days. Lockdown Italy

March 22 2020 - 30 June 2020

Now the inspiration for a capsule collection by the Swiss textile company Fischbacher Fabrics

Lockdown began on March 8th. On March 22nd I decided to make a routine for myself to distract from the sadness that was creeping so fast across Italy. I am an artist so I do paint everyday but alone in my house, with coronavirus becoming something that fills the mind, painting everyday was a way to make the time pass & to seek a kind of focused peace. 

I was walking with friends at first, when it was still allowed, but later when we had to stay close to our homes, I walked around the nearby vineyards, my garden & small wild slope. With Winter turning to Spring, then to Summer, the countryside here offered something amazing each day & it is this exuberance of nature, that inspired these patterns.

The patterns I painted spontaneously are a record of what I saw & observed, & how my mind made its own vision of what it wanted to keep. They are my own personal visual diary. Completing one each day gave me a sense of great satisfaction, a small success & a marking of each day that passed. The exercise of painting these patterns really helped me to stay calm, focused & positive thorough lockdown.

Rebecca Duckett-Wilkinson

The patterns are arranged in order of the days they were painted. I started the first one on the 22nd of March 2020 & finished the 100th pattern on the 30th of June 2020.

At the time, whilst completing this series…. this is what I said:

“I’m in my Italian Studio, having been caught in the Lockdown. And here for a while more it seems. Painting as much a possible. Lockdown began on March 8th 2020. On March 22nd I decided to make a routine for myself to distract from the sadness that was creeping so fast across Italy. I am an artist so I do paint everyday but alone in my house, with coronavirus becoming something that fills the mind, painting everyday is a way to make the time pass & to seek a kind of focused peace. I painted 100 patterns in 100 days. This has led to the start of another series of work on vintage tapestry design papers. I’ve also continued to work on the second part of my last solo show ‘Forbidden Fruit. Part 2 is titled ‘Capturing Exotics’ & the small parts are starting to come together. I’m planning to show this new body of work in the last 3rd of 2021 (This has now been pushed back to, at best, the end of 2023)

On a lighter note, here in Italy I have started a vegetable patch. The vegetables I have harvested are so beautiful that I felt inspired to start a series of small watercolour’s as a way of recording my little harvests. Peas are the most beautiful things!

I am thrilled that the opportunity has come & I will be able to share my 100 Patterns in 100 Days with the local community here. Updates coming soon.”

The 100 patterns were put on exhibit in the village where I have a house in Rocchetta Palafea, Piemonte Italy, upstairs above the local bar that was run by 2 sisters. It opened on the 2nd of August 2021. Lockdown in Italy for me, went on for quite a while longer after that. I didn’t get back to Malaysia until the end of January 2022.

100 Motivi per 100 Giorni. Il Lockdown in Italia

Il lockdown causato dal coronavirus è iniziato l'8 marzo. Il 22 marzo ho deciso di darmi una routine per distrarmi dalla tristezza che si stava diffondendo velocemente in tutta Italia. Sono un artista, quindi sono solita dipingere ogni giorno nella solitudine della mia casa. Con il pensiero del virus che tendeva a monopolizzare la mente, dipingere ogni giorno è stato un modo per far passare il tempo e mi ha aiutato a trovare equilibrio e serenità.

All'inizio del periodo, quando era ancora permesso, facevo abitualmente delle passeggiate con gli amici. Poi con il divieto di uscire, quando dovevamo restare vicini alle nostre case, ho continuato a camminare per i vigneti nei dintorni, nel mio giardino e nel piccolo pendio non coltivato sotto la mia casa. Con il passaggio delle stagioni, dall'inverno alla primavera e poi all'estate, la campagna mi ha offerto ogni giorno uno spettacolo straordinario e sono state proprio la varietà e la vitalità della natura ad ispirare questi motivi grafici.

I motivi che ho dipinto in presa diretta sono una mera registrazione di ciò che ho visto e osservato, l’immagine che la mia mente ha trattenuto. Sono il mio diario visivo personale. Completare un motivo ogni giorno mi ha dato un senso di grande soddisfazione, è stato un piccolo successo quotidiano e un contrassegno del passare del tempo, giorno dopo giorno.

È stato un esercizio di pittura che mi è davvero servito a rimanere calma, concentrata e positiva.

Limited edition prints of 97 of these prints are available to purchase on Arteesan

Feel free to email me for details <rebeccaduckett@mac.com>

Print details:

Limited edition of 10 prints per pattern per size.

Printed on Archival Hahnemuhle German Etching paper 310GSM - 100% a-cellulose. White. Genuine mould-made paper.

Printed with Canon Pigment.

Each print comes with an RFID + NFC certificate of authenticity, a numbered Hahnemuhle certificate of authenticity, & is embossed with a seal of authenticity.

Print Sizes:

Large: 60.9cm (width) x 84.04cm (height)

Small: 47cm (width) x 35cm (height)

Size includes a white border (c.5cm)

Orientation: Portrait

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Print quality management by ChromaArt