Recenty I did an impressionist style painting of this scene. I wanted to have another go …only this time making a different- more ‘Pointillist’ kind of mark. It had crazy beginnings….but slowly, slowly it came together to create something quite beautiful. It’s always interesting to see if trying a new style somehow feeds back into your work at a later date.

Start by trying to see past the detail. Block in the main shape, using big brushes, laying down brushstrokes in unusual directions with a selection of colours that are the correct tone. This way you can be loose with your mark making, creating interesting marks that would be difficult to achieve if you were to go about painting each petal individually.

I spent my Saturday with 2 other artists oil painting this beautiful live nude model. In just 6 hours we managed 3 paintings , a drawing, coffee and lunch! I was specifically aiming to paint in this loose blocky style… I’m also aiming to get my colours and tones down right first time, with no fiddling, which doesn’t leave much room for error!

Dailiy free demonstrations and workshops with 12 talented oil painters in the new LSA Springboard Studios.

There is something about the simplicity of these images that i absolutely love. Creating a notan collage in just 4 tones forces you to see past the detail and focus on creating a strong tonal image.

Want to give it a try? See the workshops tab for more details.

There is something about sunflowers that make every one feel happy…I wonder if it is because they stare at us - so boldly - face to face? Or is it because we all did that thing in nursery school where we planted a seed and watched them get bigger by the day! Bigger than we were!

I like to paint with rough/loose/slightly textured marks so smooth white eggs were a challenge for me. Once again - it comes down to getting your tones right.

Keep your eye on the ‘Workshops’ tab for more ‘still life’ workshop dates later in the year.

I ended up walking some of the tow path in 'Hockey Heath' last week...it was truly beautiful. i'm not generally a landscape painter but I really wanted to capture this moment.

It has also inspired me to create a NEW ‘Landscapes’ One-Day Workshop. Keep your eye on the ‘Workshops’ tab for dates later in the year.

The tonal sketch: This is where you do your thinking! The key to this painting is the way the light flows into the cut plum and the way the darks cascade down like a waterfall from top left to bottom right. A simple 3 tone sketch forces you to make those decisions up front - are the cut plums going to be a light or a midtone? or in this case one of each.

This workshop was held in at the ‘Sarah Horne Academy’ in Leamington Spa. It doesn’t get any better than painting flowers in a flower shop!

I like the unusual format of the square within a square, the light and dark pastel shades. I can see myself returning to this format again…an acrylic underpainting with oils as a second layer to enhance the Dahlia and create the ‘Willow Tit’.

This is actually my sixth go at this flower…each attempt taught me something that I carried through to the next one.  It’s amazing to both see and feel your work evolving.

Demo for a new workshop which is designed to help students ‘loosen up’ whilst learning the basic principles of Colour Mixing, Composition and Brushwork.  Aimed at those who would like to try oil paints for the first time and those that would like to find ways to loosen up their style and paint more freely.

Trying to work a bit more intuitively… integrating drawing into painting, finding the birds 3/4 of the way through the painting.

It takes guts to work in this intuitive way… to be prepared to loose bits of the painting then find them again…

Integrating drawing into my painting, finding the birds amongst the flowers 3/4 of the way through the painting.

This piece began dense in the Center, then as I painted outwards it felt as though it was exploding and fragmenting I decided to take a risk and run with that feeling, making the marks looser and leaving more gaps towards the edges.

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!’