I was trying to balance both light and shade, warms and cools, and areas detail with areas of calm.  I could have chosen so many different versions- but in the end you have to commit to just one idea then run with it.  A ‘Balancing Act’ in other words!

This painting was inspired by a beautiful bouquet made by a student in one of @sarahhornebotanicals flower arranging workshops. Initially what caught my eye were all the stalks. I think its got a lovely vintage vibe to it.

‘If at first you don’t succeed….chop out the best bit!’

A fantastic weekend celebrating the arts held in Jephson and Mill Gardens, Leamington this summer. Thankyou to everyone who came to visit or bought a painting. It was a lovely event to be part of.

Stunning ‘Machine Embroidered’ pieces made by the students today in class @oxford_summer_school. Each student chooses their own colour scheme and uses the different stitches on their machines to sew it all together.

Amazing results from the students @oxford_summer_school who were painting sunflowers picked yesterday at the fields of ‘Lodge Farm Sunflowers’ (Next to Compton Verney art gallery). Each student produced a unique interpretation of their floral still life.

A great exercise in colour mixing, application and softening the edges to create distant branches, fluffy feathers, and the illusion of depth and movement.

The Key is knowing when to stop!

An unusual colour palette that reminds me of those sweets I used to love as a child…’Rhubarb & Custard!' So much so, that Richard Boyes left some in my desk on Valentines day!

My aim here was to paint each iris petal in one big brush stroke. By dipping my brush into a few different shades I can create interesting ‘streaks’ running through the petal that give them texture and interest.

Focussing here on increasing the saturation levels around the focal point as well as the placement of warms and cools within the picture frame.

Simple but effective - this was going to be an underpainting using up paint from a lily painting, with lily buds in mind… there is something about it that I love just as it is as an abstract. It feels like an empty vessel.

Using a muted palette, focussing on the placement of warms and cools within the picture frame and trying to find interesting ways to link them up.

Back to a muted palette for this one - really focussing on the placement of warms and cools within the picture frame and trying to find interesting ways to link them up…

Boy did I do battle with this one! I think I won in the end though but it was hard fought! Love the colour scheme here - it’s quite unusual. Inspired by a beautiful bunch of flowers given to me at the end of a day of teaching ‘flower painting’ at Micklem’s Farm.

Focussing on keeping separate areas of warm and cool colours…with the greens and blues in a kind of ‘spider’ shape and the pinks and purples grouped together and dotted around.

My paintings are so affected by the shape of the brush I choose to use - you can tell this one was done primarily with a flat brush (my favourites for sure!)

An intentionally unusual colour scheme for this one. I got 2/3 the way through it and thought - STOP RIGHT THERE! I liked it just as it was so resisted the temptation to continue.

When I work as muted as this it gets me itching to use more colour next time!

The name felt ‘apt’ for this one - like you could spiral round the roses then slide around the jug sitting in your hessian bag!