Jane Simpson

Jane Simpson spent years sketching the same corner of her London garden until the weeds started to feel like old friends. She painted them the way other people name their cats, no dramatic flourishes, just the exact curve of a dandelion stem or the way light catches a wet leaf. Her watercolor for the V&A’s 150th anniversary album is a quiet rebellion: 84 tiny panels, one for each year, each packed with the overlooked details most people walk past.

Look for the one where she hid a blue bottle in the ivy, real life tucked into a museum gift.