Painted Paradise

I've just completed my first commissions for 2016 - three oil paintings of Horse-Shoe Bay in Bermuda, made famous by its pink sand. The beach was formed from coral, and when wet, the sand in places looks blood-red. Having visited this beach on a family holiday, my client asked for three paintings of differing views of the bay. The colours were absolutely amazing, so painting these was like being in my own little tropical paradise! Hope these bring some sunshine into your lives at this grey time of year, enjoy!!

Colour to beat the Blues!

2015 seems to be flying as we find ourselves already a week into February. Despite the cold temperatures we have had to endure, I love sitting in my studio bathed in sunlight and I've had much to do to keep my mind off my cold feet!

December brought in a rush of pre-Christmas orders and I spent the first weeks of January completing commissions that hadn't been a priority. My Landscape commission was presented to a delighted recipient - the subject was very personal to him, so hopefully he'll get many hours of enjoyment from it.

I'm continuing to work in oils inbetween portrait commissions as I'm working towards an exhibition in September, and just love colour! Inspired by the SkyArts TV series 'Portrait Artist of the Year' I plan to start experimenting with a few painted portraits to find a style and technique that I like.

A Most Productive Summer

Well we’re well into Autumn now with the days getting steadily shorter, and our beautiful summer well over. The summer flew with so many projects to get done. I had quite a few portrait commissions which were mostly a real pleasure to do, with a few that proved quite challenging.

I had two group portraits, one with three children and one with a family of four. These are always trickier, as the composition has to be considered, as well as the proportions, particularly when you’re working from different sized photos with different lighting.

Pretty as a Picture

February was a busy month given that I decided to re-introduce my favourite theme: portraiture. I always loved drawing, and portraiture always provided an additional challenge. I have only ever done a handful of colour portraits (mostly in oil), so I just stayed with monochrome on these 'practice' ones. I was happy with the outcome, and found that all the illustration work has definitely helped 'de-rust' my drawing skills. It must be six years since I did a portrait, and still find it very satisfying. The challenge always is not only to get a likeness, but to really bring the subject to 'life'. I've tried a few alternate views with my own kids - photographing them unknowingly, in an effort to get a more natural pose.


My Friday Group is going very well. We've mostly gone back to basics, and stuck to still-life, concentrating on composition, drawing skills using negative spacing, and  complimentary colour. I'm really enjoying it and it's amazing what you learn from their differing styles. It's also a time I get to set aside purely for art, and nothing else. Time is still a resource I don't have enough of!

A space of my own

Here we are almost two weeks into the New Year and already the projects are stock-piling! On a positive note, I have acquired a truly wonderful studio space. 'Claimed' may be a better term for the acquisition, as it was previously used as a dumping ground/storage space, but I staked my claim, and my fabulous husband made it happen over the Christmas holidays. It's bright and spacious and my first adult art class commences next friday. I have two willing guinea-pigs on which I get to try out my teaching skills...so we'll see how we fair. Classes aside, I have plenty of projects of my own that will ensure my studio gets well used, and my two girls have already staked their claim on a chair and easel each, so no doubt I'll have plenty of company!

'Marvellous Miro' Now Available!

The trailer for my second childrens picture-book.

Fall in love with Miro in this vibrantly illustrated, heart-warming tale. Get your hands on it NOW! Now available to purchase online Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Marvellous Miro

So I made my deadline. My second childrens picture-book is out of my hands, and in the publishing-process. We are awaiting the return of the proof before final sign-off. I thought I'd feel an enormous sense of relief as the completion of this one took such a determined effort in time-management! I actually feel very vulnerable. It's the same feeling you'd get after working for months on a body of work for an exhibition. You put everything you have into it, and are so self-absorbed for so long, that when it comes to opening night, and revealing it to the public, it feels like you've publicly exposed yourself!! (Not that I've ever done that so don't know first-hand, but you know what I mean!).

This book, 'Marvellous Miro' (title chosen by my kids) is a tale about a young frog called Miro who, born with only one leg has to over-come his disability to lead a normal froggy-life. He can't hop, so becomes a very adept swimmer, earning the respect of his peers. The tale is in rhyming prose, which helps little kids memorize the text that goes with the picture (I've noticed this with my own kids), assisting with word-recognition and early reading. But, aside from all that, first and foremost, this is a fun book with detailed, vibrant illustrations that will stimulate any childs imagination, whilst being both humorous and heart-warming. I'm hoping this book will appeal to all children from 0-6 and also early readers too.

So for those of you looking for something special for someone little in your life, I'll let you know as soon as 'Marvellous Miro' is available on-line.