Blue sail

Blue sail
8" x 10"

Here's another new and exciting small work that features in my exhibition, one of my favourites. I love the dynamic shadows and the lines of the ropes that appear and disappear, like a dance of sunlight. It's got all the ingredients that keep me on my toes with painting - shape and suggestion, lost and found edges. 

If you'd like to enquire about any of these paintings before the exhibition opens next week please get in touch and I can happily reserve them for you.

Solo exhibition in Nottingham 'A lighter touch' opens on Friday 13th November until Sunday 22nd November, at 71 Friar Lane Nottingham NG1 6DH. I will be in the gallery each day and showing around 70 new paintings. We will have late night openings until 7.30pm on Friday 13th, Saturday 14th and Friday 20th. All other days opening hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm. Ten days only, don't miss it! 

Tethered, Monterey

Tethered, Monterey
24" x 26"

I came across this scene during my last walk around Monterey, the day I flew back in April. It was also the day I lost my cute daisy earring twice, once in my hotel room from where I managed to rescue it and then for the second and final time in the taxi bus on the way to the airport. But that's another story.

I was captivated by these reflections in the shallow water of the harbour. To be honest, everything is a subject here in the Monterey - because of the incredible light! I painted this in the studio on my return. I really got stuck in to the marks and just pushing and scraping the paint around.

It's had quite a pleasant cooling effect on me in the studio, during the mini heatwave we've had this week in Lincolnshire.

Lucky are the artists who live on this coastline in California!

Whisby nature park

Had a good day today painting with some other members of Lincolnshire Artists Society at Whisby nature park. Chatting to people all day painting on the Boardwalk behind the cafe and visitor centre and I managed to get two done! This morning the one with the strange white things in the foreground (which seem to be two silver birch trees chopped in half), and then after lunch I looked down into the water more. I was very pleased with that duck! Sadly the blue shows up wrong on the photo! The blue at the bottom middle isn't how it looks on my photo - it's more of a subtle violet-blue but my phone can't pick up the violet hue at all!

The King of Christmas

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Our journey over to England was an eventful one. We arrived on the mainland amidst enormous waves and drove through rain, sleet and hail storms on the way to Le Havre. The ferry crossing to Portsmouth was rough - luckily I don't get sea sick although many people were suffering on the six hour journey!
Since arriving back in the UK late Friday night we have already enjoyed spending lots of time with friends, we've been to a lovely Christmas party and Fred's fabulous carol concert in his barn which is the village highlight of the year, got absolutely soaked walking Maisie in the rain AND I have made time to paint this festive still life. These are some little Christmas presents for my friends, and my rather regal lion was a fabulous find at a house clearance sale several years ago. I bought him with his unicorn companion whom I have painted many times but lion has been a little underused so far in the still life department!

Maisie on the sofa

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Maisie on the sofa

Maisie says "This isn't what I had in mind when you promised me lots of walks today, to make up for yesterday when you left me on my own for three hours...  sigh....  you think I'm going to pose for you now? ... Well I'm not, I'm going to get up right now and turn around so that my head's pointing in the other direction - ha! ... see what she makes of that after she's already sketched in my outline - sigh - this will probably take ages... when will I get my walk...  yawn, quite comfy actually... did someone say beach? No? Oh...  that painting of Charlie with a pain au chocolat finishes it's auction tonight .... why is he allowed to sit on the table anyway? Can you imagine the trouble I'd be in if I sat on the table? Grrrr ..... who would want a painting of HIM?! Ridiculous! Cats are not worthy of being painted...  cats are not worthy at all....  snooze..."