Sharon Drew

🌿☀️ What a beautiful day exploring green spaces, community gardens, artist studio and ancient woodland edges of #Walthamstow and #EppingForest A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Nature & Art in the Neighbourhood #guidedwalk as part of the Urban Tree Festival. Together we discovered how #biodiversity, creativity and community action are helping re-nature our urban spaces, and how we can all play a part to help protect what we have and help nature thrive. Thank you so much @drew_sharon who led the walk, shared stories about local community gardens, and opened up her artist studio in her wonderful wildlife garden, provided us with a behind the scene glimps on how nature has been an inspiration. Also a massive shout-out to @timhewittgardener for sharing knowledge and insights of the amazing work at @stmaryswalthamstow church yard in creating fantastic wildlife haven. The walk ended with a circular trail in Gilbert Slade where we visited some of the oak pollards and veteran hornbeams of Epping Forest — a reminder of how important these spaces are for both wildlife and wellbeing. Thank you again to everyone who made this walk special 💚 📸 Swipe through for photos #urbantreefestival

UPPER WALTHAMSTOW ROAD 'Scruffy-Dynamic Wildlife Garden' I want to encourage the idea that front gardens as well as at those at the back should support as much biodiversity as possible and so help form green corridors along our streets. I always wanted a rural feel to our front and back garden near the forest edge of the borough. We arrived here 30 years ago and the entire front area was a concrete driveway and so was first on the list to be changed. We dug it up, added soil and organic matter, planted a native mixed hedge, trees and flowers to help bring nature back into the space. It was an immediate transformation from the grey, static, bleak and dead surface to one that was forever changing and full of life and colour. A similar approach was applied to the back garden where native hedges were planted along the existing chain-linked fencing to provide substantial food and shelter and Birch and Hawthorn trees were also added to give a variety of canopy layers. Otherwise it was pretty much a grassy play area for our young children back then however the basic structures were in place and maturing and already doing a good job. Consequently the garden has been more than ready for the nature-focused approach of recent years where planting for pollinators and constructing a range of wet and dry habitats has driven all the decision-making. We have introduced three small ponds at the back and two in the front for waterborne insects, frogs and newts plus several bog gardens with tall bee-loving purple loosestrife spires. Other interventions include standing dead wood - the drivers of biodiversity - with drilled holes and bee posts, butterfly-caterpillar nettle patches also brick and log-piles for invertebrates. There has been much experimentation and improvisation to the planting and structures and the result is a rather scruffy but dynamic and thriving ecosystem. Open Saturday 13th + Sunday 14th June Art Trail Venue 161, 162, 163, 164, 165 @drew_sharon

NATURE & ART IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD -SAT 9 MAY. Discover pioneer renaturing, artist’s studio and ancient woodland all rolled into one biodiverse walk. @eppingforestht - Part of the Urban Tree Festival @urbantreefest . Join us on this exciting and varied route, an urban wildlife-supporting theme with significant trees highlighted along the way. Visiting churchyards, residential and community-led street gardens plus artist’s studio visit and Epping Forest walk. Discover how renaturing is growing momentum in Walthamstow. Meet artist Sharon Drew, inspired by this ethos and showing paintings and landscape/forest studies in sketchbooks. Explore the secluded grasslands of Epping Forest borders with veteran Oaks and Hornbeam pollards. Accessible by public transport (recommended). Book Eventbrite Epping Forest Heritage Trust. @eppingforestht @urbantreefest #contemporaryabstractpainting

A stunning morning Green Sketching under the giant Redwoods at Whitewebbs Park. Thanks to everyone who came along and helped to make this such an enjoyable event. This site is under threat from Tottenham Hotspur who want to take over much of this public land which is currently rewilding and turn it into an industrial training facility. See @guardians.whitewebbs for more info. @whitewebbspark #greensketching #sharondrewartworkshops @guardians.whitewebbs

GREEN SKETCHING 11:00 SATURDAY 25 APRIL Whitewebbs Café NOTE! : Google Maps can take you on a much longer route than is necessary. Please enter the destination below and this short lane will take you to Whitewebbs Café Beggars Hollow, Enfield, EN2 9AJ BOOK-TICKETSOURCE > WHITEWEBBS I am delighted to be collaborating again with Guardians of Whitewebbs for another Green Sketching event. We’ll be outside in the stunning Whitewebbs Park under the truly spectacular giant Redwood trees. The aim is to enjoy connecting with nature with an experimental approach to drawing rather than being concerned with perceived artistic ability. This event is suitable for adults and children, complete beginners and those with experience and materials will be provided. Sessions will run whatever the weather so warm weather-proof clothing and footwear is important, particularly at this time of year. Booking is required as numbers are limited . Note: Children must be accompanied and supervised at all times. #whitewebbs #greensketching #sharondrewartworkshops

Absolutely delighted that ‘Loop-the-loop’ (130 x 170cm) has been selected by interior designer Brian Woulfe @houseofwoulfe for his Little Venice apartment and featured in April’s Elle Decoration magazine @elledecorationuk . Thanks also to @mahgallery_london and @benandersphotographer photography #ualalumni #contemporaryabstractpainting #interiors

Brilliant TOGETHER Demo today 💥💥💥500,000 people on the streets who believe the there is a better way❤️❤️#together

Sketchy diptych looking very happy in this East London home. Also really enjoying the view and connection to the wonderful garden - planted to support pollinators and a thriving ecosystem. @ual_alumni #contemporaryabstractpainting #interiors

Delighted that Loopy 9 (60x150cm) is part of the new @varley store in Boston, Massachusetts. Thank you to @cramerandbell for this introduction. @ual_alumni #interiors

Detail of ‘Restore and revitalise’ 2025 acrylic on linen, 105 x 130cm is the second of two paintings submitted to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. The first round is digital only. The title refers to the hugely beneficial effects of renaturing a depleted landscape and so increasing complexity and biodiversity, essential for a thriving ecosystem. @ual_alumni #contemporaryabstractpainting #restorenature #interiors

‘Natural disturbance 3’ 2026 acrylic on linen, 170 x130cm is the first of two paintings submitted to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. The first round is digital only. The title is an ecological phrase referring to the positive effect of disruption on the landscape by wildlife or weather, essential to thriving ecosystems. @ual_alumni #contemporaryabstractpainting #interiors #naturaldisturbance

PEOPLE-POWER MAKES THINGS HAPPEN! It was a privilege to collaborate with Garden Designer Laura Hogg @fortheoutdoors on this brilliant neighbourhood project to support wildlife in @walthamstow and Laura describes it here so well >>> “Community spirit came out in force over the weekend for the installation of our community flower triangle which we adopted from @lbwalthamforest which was a bit of an unloved patch of grass under this tree…such great energy from everyone wanting to do good stuff, it really was heart warming, all the little hands creating beautiful leaf sculptures, finding worms, digging, and just being together! Along with stopping having our street sprayed with pesticides we’re hoping we can keep creating these patches of thriving ecosystems. Inspired by the brilliant work of @grassroofco @bennyhawksbee @letsbuildanark and so many brilliant people doing good stuff in the community @wildcitystudio @timhewittgardener @hellotherelinda (and so many more!) - so thanks for the motivation / inspiration for us to do this 💚 We can wait to see this area flourish and bring people together over the years ➰ Thank you also to the following people that helped bring it all together - @drew_sharon @nannodesignstudio @lbwalthamforest @meristemdesign @baps_e17 Michal 💪🏻 And all the hands on deck for getting the bulbs and plants in” #community #communitygarden #biodiversity #bees #flowertriangle #communitysupport #walthamstow #e17 #walthamforest #flowers #pollinators #habitats #creategreenspace