Art with a smile in Eastbourne

Talented artist John Martin, who was born the month before the Second World War broke out, has been staying at Sovereign Lodge since July.

For a while, he gave up on painting because of Parkinson’s; now he is determined to put Parkinson’s to “the back of my head”, with support and encouragement from activity coordinator Tracy Wenham.

“I love doing it. It gives me a lot of pleasure.”

And it is great to resume painting now – a great relaxation as well as a challenge, to get better and better the more he paints and develops his skills as an artist. The pleasure is also in the response he gets.

“I have come back to painting. The pleasure is achieving things.

“I get up some days and I think I will sit and draw, and what comes into my head, I just put on paper.

“When I get the finished result, I get the people around me to tell me what they think. And they say lots of nice things about it!

“We have got some ladies here who have got dementia, and I involve them in my painting. They help me. They do bits.

“I give them a complete part to do or whatever, and I get a lot of fun out of seeing them do it.

“They are arguing one minute and then they are looking at the paintings and they are smiling.

“You see smiles on their faces. It gives everybody a big smile.”

Steps announce Brighton date and new album

West Sussex man reveals "truth" about his sister's murder in 10 Rillington Place

Why pre-booking might be here to stay at Weald & Downland Living Museum

Loxwood Drive-In Movies set for 2021 return

IN PICTURES: Eastbourne Pier turns film star!

IN PICTURES: Images of lockdown across Brighton and Hastings

• Talk is increasing of further lockdowns in the UK. What do you think of the situation? Join the Big Conversation and have your say on everything from healthcare to how the pandemic has affected you personally and how we make our communities stronger: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/bc-worthing