Wirksworth works its charms on colourful Pat…

'One-Day-In-May'-from-'Carnival-and-Masquerade'

Painter Pat Shenstone enjoyed Wirksworth Festival so much, she made the town her home! Rosie Gilligan reports

PAT SHENSTONE’S PAINTINGS ARE INTRIGUING, and being fairly large they fill all available space on the walls of her Wirksworth home with exuberant colour.

There’s a lot to see here but my eye is drawn to examples of Pat’s recently completed series of work, Carnival Masquerade, in which figures drawn from a variety of sources, perhaps Venetian, possibly medieval, perform either together or separately. They wear vibrant costumes and some hold masks. Some look out of the paintings to the viewer and some seem to be caught in their own thoughts, making me wonder whether they are actually aware of one another. “Not many people really know you. I was exploring the idea of identity,” Pat says. “And I like the idea of masks, how you present yourself in a social sense.” …