!Happy New Year!

'Soup Ladle and Bowl'

6" x 6"

oil on board

It's very nice to be wielding a paintbrush again after ten days break! The break was longer than anticipated but it was worth it...it's been a great Christmas with some brilliant moments! One of those moments was spent at Lincoln Cathedral attending the carol service on Christmas Eve...the choir was spellbinding! 
I hope you too had a memorable Christmas  
Best wishes for a Happy New Year and good luck with your new year resolutions whatever they might be!

'Poinsettia'

'Poinsettia'

10" x 12"

oil on board

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In celebration of Christmas I have painted my Poinsettia. It feels almost indulgent painting such wonderfully rich crimsons and cadmiums and so beautifully accentuated by the deep complimentary greens...a vibrant contrast and a perfect combination! I scaled up a little for this painting so that I could portray the leaves life-size. 
It's a busy busy week but I won't be hanging up my brushes until Thursday evening, then I will have to get down to the Christmas prep! 

'Mince Pie and Coffee'

'Mince Pie and Coffee'

6" x 6"

oil on board

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I seem to have eaten more than my fair share of festive mince pies just recently! For the last couple of weeks we've managed to munch our way through quite a number in our 'run up to Christmas' classes! So I thought it appropriate that I should make a painting of the humble but very traditional mince pie! I spent an hour and a half on the painting Wednesday afternoon and finished it this afternoon (no painting yesterday as I finally went Christmas shopping having decided that I couldn't procrastinate any longer!) I'm happy with the painting and at last am becoming used to painting on a small scale. It's been tough to acclimatise to scaling down as my natural way of working has always been large (at one time I was working to the scale of 12' x 4'.) But making small work has alot going for it, it's fun and not so precious as it's quicker to make and therefore you're always moving on to the next piece...and that means more practise and more practise means of course faster progress.  

If you're celebrating this weekend, have fun!!

'Pomegranate and Fork'

'Pomegranate and Fork'

6" x 6"

oil on board

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Phew...this one took all my powers of concentration! The inside of pomegranates is something I'm not that familiar with and on cutting it open I realised just how complicated it is! But...oh so beautiful! Literally crammed with colour and pattern. I hope I've done it justice. 

'Spotted Umbrella with Apple'

'Spotted Umbrella with Apple'

6" x 6"

oil on board

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Sadly I have to say goodbye to my lovely spotted umbrella :( It has without a doubt seen better days. But I must say, it has served me well. (Thinking back to the water-logged non-summer just gone it's no wonder it's worn out!)  I'm happy with the painting. It's the first one I've made using my new shadow box. The box keeps the light constant so it's now not a race against time as the light moves round or disappears altogether! 

A fun afternoon mono-printing!

Today I was making preparations for a mono-printing workshop that I'm running tomorrow and when I was putting together the equipment and materials I couldn't resist but ink up a plate and make a print or two myself! I love the way mono-printing has so much potential for experimentation!...and it's fast!  I used an earlier drawing from 'Dance Series' as a starting point and quite quickly developed a series of prints. At the moment they're all over the floor drying off! 

'Pomegranate and Spoon'...done!

'Pomegranate and Spoon'

8" x 8"

oil on board

As promised, here is the completed version of 'Pomegranate and Spoon', finished this morning with glorious morning light filling the studio through the window. Now I have to get down to preparing and painting frames for the two pieces going into the LAS show at Stamford as they have to be delivered on Thursday...not that I'm cutting it fine of course!!!!...but I really must get a move on with it now...so no more procrastinating!