My Studio

My de-cluttered and re-organised studio. It feels so big now and it's such a pleasure to be in there. I've shown quite a few people up there today during the open studios event, I'm so glad I've got it looking really good!

Opening Up the studio requires a lot of work!

Barbara and I are busy getting ready for the Sheffield Open Studios event - (lots of info about the whole event here:  http://www.openupsheffield.co.uk/ ) I have been clearing, ro-organising and de-cluttering my studio - it needed doing anyway, but as usual is taking far more time than I expected, and has left me little time to do new work! I will post photos of my re-organised studio soon - but I don't think I have any before shots to show the transformation!

Playing with Colour - Exhibition at Chesterfield Library December 2011

These show various views of the exhibition I had at Chesterfield Library, the work was well received in that I had lots of good comments and although I didn't make a direct sale from  here "Blue Curve 2" was bought by my friend Jenny as a result of my sending information out to friends about the exhibition. She looked at the work on Red Bubble as she couldn't get to the exhibition itself. 


It was good to be able to stand back and view the work from a distance - 10 foot is about as far as I can stand back in my house and some of my work looks really good from further away - you can see different things in it than from close up. (It's ok to say my own work looks good isn't it? After all I wouldn't paint it if I didn't like it!)

Blue Curve 2

Blue Curve 2

Blue Curve


"Blue Curve 2" I did after my last post ... so I did act on those itchy fingers! 


 "Blue Curve", which I have on my living room wall - is one of my favourites, it is often admired, so I thought I would use it as a starting place for another picture. I just had a good look at it and then went up to my studio and painted my version 2. A colour or combination of colours is often my starting point, blue being a favourite - in fact sometimes I have to work hard not to paint blue pictures all the time. Though I suppose if I did it would be fine anyway! I like this very much and have actually sold it! To a friend, but it is very exciting to sell a work! I struggle with the selling side - particulary as with friends I always want to give them away, but Jenny has insisted that she buy it - as encouragement to take my work seriously, which is  indeed marvellously encouraging. 


I find both of these paintings quite contemplative - almost meditative. Ripples or the surface of water is in some way the inspiration, but not in a straightforward naturalistic way but I have tried painting water and this resembles what I did then.

Painting time needed!

Have just added some more work on Red Bubble- mostly stuff from 2007. Realised I haven't done any paintings for a while (or nothing I like that much!) - busy making mosaics, re-modelling the garden, getting hitched, experimenting with mixed media stuff.... but my fingers are itchy... feel some painting time needed!

Mosaics at last

For years I have been saving broken crockery and having 'rescued' two wooden reels that have had electricity cable on them, and having our wedding as a deadline, I finally managed to do something with some of my hoard. These mosaic tables are the result. I'm really pleased! I added some plastic bottle tops, glass pebbles and broken tiles. The middles of the reels have rope wound round them, and the wood was painted with a blue paint for garden furniture, as they are for the garden. They looked great for our wedding parties!

Red Bubble

I recently started putting my work on Red Bubble. You can buy cards and prints of it from there, but also it's a community of artists who give feedback to each other. I haven't really got into that bit yet, as I'm a bit hesitant as I've only put three photos up so far, but my intentions are good....

This is one of the works - it's a favourite of mine - I was using a knife rather than a brush (or as well as) which is fun as you can get these repeated 'cuts' into the paint.