Care Home Pays Tribute to Talented Resident Artist

A care home in Poole has celebrated a resident’s lifelong love of art, sharing his talents among their Christmas card distribution list.

Upton Bay Care Home, in Hamworthy, Dorset, has been home to resident Malcolm Watts for almost eighteen months. Throughout his life, Mr Watts, aged 74, has been a keen self-taught artist, experimenting with a multitude of media, but always finding his way back to watercolour.

Capturing the most idyllic scenescapes of picturesque surroundings, Malcolm’s eye for fine detail and appreciation of natural beauty led him to paint hundreds of images over his lifetime.

The home digitalised one of Malcolm’s winter themed paintings, featuring a red-breasted robin perched upon a snowy landscape, highlighting a moment in time so associated with Christmas.

Printing over 100 copies, Upton Bay signed, sealed and sent the card to a multitude of community colleagues, neighbours and resident families. Recipients’ hearts were warmed by the image description on the reverse, where tribute was paid to Mr Watt’s artistry.

Karen Grant, activity coordinator at the care home, commented, ‘We are privileged to have such a talented artist reside with us, and felt it would be a brilliant way of celebrating his gift,’

‘In an age when Christmas cards are more of a formality, we wished to send something truly personal to all the people who have helped build Upton Bay into the home it is today. We have received such wonderful feedback from recipients, one even informing us it brought a tear to her eye.’