Freda Paterson: rekindling a lifelong interest

Freda Paterson was in her late 90s when she rekindled her lifetime passion for art. After a long break, she started painting again at Leominster, a Bupa care home in Herefordshire.

Her lifelong dedication shows – one of her watercolours won a competition to become Bupa care homes’ Christmas card for 2010.

Getting started again

“I had not painted or in fact drawn anything for some time before coming into the home as I suffer from arthritis,” says Freda.

But she thought she’d “have a go” when activities co-ordinator Vivian asked if she’d like to do some watercolour painting with a visiting artist.

Weekly classes with the volunteer artist got Freda back into an interest that started when she was a young girl.

A lifetime of colour and inspiration

Freda was the only girl alongside five brothers. “They were all into sport except for one who was an artist,” says Freda.

Her sporting brothers inspired an active life (“I played every sport going”). But Freda was also influenced by watching her artistic brother paint birds.

“I started sketching portraits, which I got from the daily newspaper,” says Freda, “and became quite good at it if I don’t say so myself.”

“Growing up I decided I wanted to travel so I trained as a nurse and travelled to places like Hong Kong and Japan, which gave me inspiration for colour.”

An active outlook

Whether painting or working, Freda has always lived with energy.

At school, she was typically the team captain in sports and later in life “she played a mean game of golf”. When her seafaring husband was abroad, Freda was busy nursing.

That spirit hasn’t changed. “It takes me an age to shuffle along on my Zimmer frame and my eyes are letting me down,” she says, “but I do enjoy playing cards and doing crosswords with a group of residents.”

“I also join in the musical movement exercises to keep the top part of my body going.”

Making the most of care home life

“I have my own room and ensuite, which is very important for my privacy,” says Freda. “But coming into a care home you learn to go with the flow.”

“They give me great dignity here and I can choose what I want to do when I want to do it. If I was to give any advice it would be to be honest with how you are feeling so that all the staff are able to give you what you want.”

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