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To Be Free Again

I decided to name one of my latest works, ‘To Be Free Again’, to celebrate and look forward to the end of lockdowns and restrictions and to explore a place of peace and serenity within my work. Yet we now find, with this new Delta variant, that this may be far from the case.

I, just like you, have no idea what the future holds. What I do know is what ‘Now’ holds. Now holds the opportunity to live life one day at a time. To take in and be present in any given moment and therefore, to live life to the full.

Creating my artwork brings me much serenity but it is not just the finished article that provides this. It’s the journey, just as in life, where the true serenity lies. After all, as humans, we are not born to be merely happy. We must experience the full gauntlets of emotions we encounter on a daily basis if we are not to fall into the happy trap!

Wherever our paths take us I hope we can continue the journey, through my artwork, together. We all walk our own path, heading towards our own destiny but it is nice to meet up with you from time to time. Until we meet again friend!

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Just for Today

<p class="has-drop-cap" value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">It's been some time since I last blogged so first let me say a very belated Merry Christmas and happy New Year!It’s been some time since I last blogged so first let me say a very belated Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

I’ve found it, particularly since the lockdown was reintroduced before Christmas, extremely difficult to get myself motivated. With the children no longer at school, and being 5 and 7 and needing a lot of my time, it can often feel like a groundhog type of day. Having said that I am grateful for having a number of sales come in over the festive period but more importantly I am grateful for my lot. I often hear the ‘slogan’ we are all in the same boat but that’s not true. We are all in the same storm but different boats. Some will find it fairly plain sailing. Others will continually patch and bale to stay afloat. Some, sadly, will sink and drown. We only ever really have a daily reprieve from the possibility of sinking too.

February 3rd also found me reaching my 1st birthday in recovery, an achievement that once again leaves me with gratitude and humility. I have only been able to reach this initial milestone with the support of fellowship and by simply keeping my focus on ‘just for today’. I only ever have any given moment to live in so I choose to live it. My latest painting, of David Bowie, is dedicated to a man, who whilst no longer with us, knew how to choose to live and enriched so many others lives.

May you weather this storm, and any others which may arise, by living Just for Today!

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Spirit of Creation

It’s been a while since I last blogged, mainly as I’ve been putting a lot of work into my other creative love, working with wood. There’s something about a feeling of spirit, of connection, of a natural interaction when working with nature.

This contrasts so sharply with my latest artwork. A Rainy Day in London. A theme I’ve been thinking of trying for a while but also something away from my usual style. The overlapping bustle and oppressiveness of an urban landscape as opposed to the simplicity and calm of a natural backdrop, a being I focus on to keep me centered on this journey called life.

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When Life gives you Lemons…Paint them!

When Life gives you Lemons…(the title for my latest work) why not paint them! In these unusual and unsure coronavirus times life seems to throw curve balls at an incredible and completely unpredictable speed. It sometimes seems like one problem after another to be surmounted. But then that’s what we do, we adapt. we look at the lemons and decide to make lemonade.

Someone once told me, “Treat every problem as a challenge as every problem has an answer.” And they do. Sometimes the answer is simply there is no answer at the moment! But every cloud does have a silver lining, there is always a positive to be found. Even when we don’t want to find it. Just for today, when life gives me lemons, I’ll damn well paint them!

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A bright Future

It’s strange how going with the flow can make such a difference. Only a few days ago I was struggling with self doubt. Worried about the choices I was making. Whether I’m creating the ‘right‘ kind of art. Should I be commercialising my work? Wanting to stay true to the styles I create that are meaningful to me.

Two days later and I have four commissions and a request for a print! Whilst this request is away from my usual work a commission is a commission and I’m always extremely grateful to receive a request. Whilst creating for the sake of doing so will always come first it is nice to feel appreciated and it does help to put food on the table!