Like most I suspect, our 2020 holiday plans have already been thrown into disarray. Earlier in the year our much anticipated trip to Valencia was cancelled, as was my masterclass with Alvaro Castagnet, and our regular camping jaunt to France has also had to fall by the wayside. This isn’t to say that I’m not… Read More
After all the restrictions of working on the perspective of last week’s train station painting, I was keen to liberate myself with something altogether more free and easy this week. A weekend or two ago I had to return north to scatter my mum‘s ashes. One of my favourite parts about returning to the ancestral… Read More
There are some subjects that just seem to attract watercolour artists, and I think the fish market in Venice is one of them. Off the top of my head I can vividly recall paintings set here by Joseph Zbukvic, Alvaro Castagnet, Keiko Tanabe and Gary Tucker to name only a few. Often, if you’re anything… Read More
On Saturday 16th May I did my first ever Instagram live interview and watercolour painting demonstration! Here’s how it looked on screen with Philippa (aka @5ftinf) and I deep in conversation! For better of for worse – you can still see the entire interview and demo on Philippa’s IGTV channel. View this post on Instagram… Read More
First off, I would like to thank everyone that sent such kind, warm and supportive messages following the death of my mum on the 16th April 2020. I really appreciate everyone of them and found the support so incredibly helpful at such a difficult time. The funeral was last Friday, the 24th April. Six people… Read More
My dear mum has just passed away. Three days before her 95th birthday. Most of this post was written on her birthday. It’s a little raw. A little rough. And I don’t care. Read More
Looking on the plus side, had I been on holiday in Valencia this past week, I wouldn’t have been able to do as much painting as I have during my enforced staycation! That said, the time I have for painting still feels like snatched moments in between trying to keep an energetic young child entertained!… Read More
In my defence, it’s been ages since I bought a new brush. This still doesn’t mean that I actually needed this latest purchase, but I’m delighted to have been able to add it to my collection. This arrived last week, just as I had to make another mad dash north to be with my mum… Read More
As the repercussions of the Covid-19 virus impact on every imaginable walk of life simultaneously across the world, I can’t deny feeling quite overwhelmed! The trials and tribulations of my watercolour painting seem rather insignificant at the moment, so I’m finding it difficult to work up the enthusiasm or the sense of purpose to write… Read More
This post will be more brief than most for reasons that, at the risk of over sharing, I’ll spell out later. I started this post a long time ago, when I first heard that the fabulous Timothy Spall was to play the role of the artist Lowry. He seems to be making a habit of… Read More
