If you feel you may like to have a commission done please give me plenty of notice ie - before December starts! canvas printing will take up to 14 days as i hand finish and glaze them - if they aren’t being framed with a moulding [traditionally] they will be stretched over bars creating the modern ‘box’ look ready to hang… this takes a few days to get sorted as the bars are made up to order. Traditional framing will take up to 10 days as the specific mouldings have to be ordered. I have several sections of mouldings at the studio - these are the ones that I think look best but call if you’d like to discuss what you’d like.

the groups are going really really well, I was ill for one eve so they are now behind the others but my goodness what talents are unfurling! It’s so lovely to see the delight when they stand back and see that evrything on that canvas is entirely theirs, from conception - it was all there locked away!! hurrah!

the monday group at Enville are now ‘mastering’ watercolour.. this is a double challenge as i’m not a watercolour artist although I have sold a few - and I do mess about with very fluid watercolours and inks.. however this bunch are determind and really persevere  with some pleasing results.  the difficulty arises when  those that want to paint  ‘realistically’  don’t really get my loose approach to painting, getting them to let go and just ‘be’ is what I’m hoping to do, and not worry about lines, about detail and finished pieces.. I want them to let the work evolve… humm i’ll keep trying!

we took the kids to a lovely little place near between New Quay and Aberaeron, had it been sunny and warm it would have been heavenly as the beach was perfect, the cliff, rock pools hills etc etc … just so beautiful. The cottages are painted all colours from deepest reds through the New England pastels to vivid primary colours, the traditional Welsh stone ones looked pretty dull in comparison! it’s a part of the country we have never ventured to but it’s only 3hrs away and that’s in ‘Alan’, our fab old hymer campervan. I did loads of sketching and have plans for some big paintings -although I will add the sunshine I think! I got back to see the high St is chaos again with road works right outside the studio… joy… I will be there tho as I have 2 huge commissions to complete by next fri.

we’re off to Wales for the week from Tues 19th… no doubt it’ll rain so i’m hoping to do lots of drawing and reading… sleeping and drinking!

hi I have finally got sorted with a blog - now I am trying to work out what to do. I plan to put all the recent info about work shops and evening classes, new work, news and events, accolades and honours!!! oh and when i’m on my hols of course!

I reopened 3 weeks ago upstairs above the new rather lovely gift shop, ‘More than words’, on Kinver High St- and so far it has been fabulous! visitor numbers are daily more than I used to get in a week and the response has been wonderful. I have lots of new work for sale, originals on canvas and prints and I’m busy working on commissions and new ideas…in fact today I had to muck out the studio as I had completely trashed it after only 3 weeks!!

last night[4th aug] we started a new art class [ECG - Enville community group, but being a trained nurse I now see them as my cardiac group.. and that's not because you are all middle aged and over ...honest]. I was apprehensive as to how i was going to motivate the group as there are 12 and some on holiday -..but I think it went really well, they are all starting with the basics in drawing skills, line, tone, perspective etc and then we’ll advance to the fun stuff and get creative, which they all believe they can’t do.. but we’ll see!!

let me know if anyone would like to join any of the workshops that I will be running from September, they will be mon, wed, fri am, for 2 or 3 hrs at a cost of £7.50 per hour for tuition in groups of 3-4, these will be very much geared towards the type of painting that I do which is all about using my life experiences, memories, thoughts and feelings to create a painting with warmth and humour or sentiment.

meet with friends!