Happy with the result here, especially given it reached 36 degrees! That’s how it goes with ‘Plein air’ painting- conditions are rarely ‘ideal’! If it’s not too hot - it’s too cold, or windy or wet! That’s the challenge!

A fabulous long weekend spent with @micklemsfarmflowers painting LIVE in their show garden at @blenheimpalaceflowershow. I’m literally in flower painting heaven here! I’m also exhibiting my original floral oil paintings in the marquee.

These photos were taken by photographer Liz Tarren whilst the students painted flowers picked from the garden at Micklem’s Farm.

All ready for ‘Warwickshire Open Studios’, just time for one last flower painting!

8” x 8” oil on board

Staying in a property just behind the Tate Gallery in St Ives.. It had the most amazing views over the town and beaches. The sun rose to the right of my view and set on the left and it was fascinating to watch the light and shadows move slowly across the rooftops.

So called because I purposefully chose to limit my tonal range to only lights and mid-tones. Plus it’s part of a line from one of my favourite songs!

Roses from my garden, Cow Parsley from the lane.

So happy to find peonies in the shops at last :) Whenever I’m teaching painting I stress the importance of ‘working your edges’. Hard edges will always catch the eye more, so they need to be around the intended focal point. Soft edges will help set things into the background.

I dug these 2 blue bottles up from a bottle dump when I was a teenager and cleaned them up (I’m a sucker for coloured glass!).

Enjoying the shadow shapes and the combination of transparent and opaque paint in this simple floral still life.

I’ve been experimenting with different ways of painting this lilac arrangement…painting from life and seeing how thinly i can use the oil paint. This one is as subtle as a watercolour.

“I angled my brush and swept it round to make a mark…their instant observation was: “it’s almost calligraphic”… that’s exactly how it feels: deliberate, with intent, but also (I hope) style and flair.

I’ll be exhibiting my flower paintings @blenheimpalaceflowershow with @micklemsfarmflowers this summer…you’ll find me painting in their show garden!

I realised how much this vase looks like a lovely glass marble! I have to psyche myself up to paint those long sweeping strokes in the vase as you need to get them right first time for them to be effective.

I’m really enjoying setting up still life compositions where the shadow shape interacts with the main subject of the painting. I was super happy with how this one came together.

A chilly but enjoyable afternoon spent painting with ‘PALS’ @pleinairleamingtonspa. ’The Mill Suspension Bridge’ is an iconic landmark in Leamington, spanning the ‘River Leam’, built in 1900.

What a joy to see some spring flowers...it’s always lovely painting personal items, gifts from friends and family.

Spring is just around the corner and first to flower in the garden are ‘Molly’s Helleboures’…I decided to do one close up and one in a jug. Just love pink and green together!

Getting my monies worth! that’s 5 paintings from this £1 bunch of lovelies!