I am excited to announce that I will be teaching the beginners art classes on Wednesdays at ‘Micklem’s Farm Creative Workshops’ in Berkshire, starting in September.

Painting to a pre-defined, individually chosen colour scheme and planning a composition with distinctive tonal areas before adding detail in either paint or collage.

‘The Porthminster Cafe’ Kitchen Garden. A stones throw from the costal path and one of my favourite places to hide…

The results of a really enjoyable day spent teaching a ‘still life painting workshop’ with students at Clevedon Art Club.

‘Daisy steps’ are rare. I’ve only found 3 in the last 7 years…

So you’re probably thinking - well that looks nothing like the photograph! My answer to that is- GOOD!

You don’t need a fancy studio! Any table in your house will do. No excuses. Just start!

Ikigai. A Japanese concept that translates to "a reason for being". It represents the intersection of passion, mission, vocation, and profession.

Perfect Peonies in my garden this year.

And some peony paintings from the past…it’s hard to beat mother nature but it’s still a joy to try!

‘Impressionist style’ flower painting workshop at Sarah Horne Academy, Leamington Spa. Come and paint flowers in a flower shop with us :)

Creating a colour palette, underdrawing with a watercolour pencil, sunflowers and jam … click here to read more!

Stained Glass Design in the style of Rennie Mackintosh featuring his trademark ‘Rose’. Watercolour Paint & Ink on Watercolour Paper A3

I spent my Saturday teaching a ‘Pet Portrait Painting’ workshop a tent in, in a graveyard, next to an Abbey, in the ‘Quintessentially English’ village of Dorchester on Thames!

The beginners art class will gently introduce you to a wide range of art mediums and subject matter, with a drawing element inherent in almost all 2 week projects.

Charcoal reductive drawing is a technique used to quickly establish dramatic lighting, focus on volume rather than line, while managing complex tonal values.

…Try out lots of different art classes and hear what different teachers have to say. Join one-day workshops as a short introduction to new materials and processes.

Oil pastels on paper…basically these are like adult crayons! they come in a beautiful range of colours (no pre mixing necessary!) and by using one over another you can blend them.

Another commission, another emotional handover! It sounds like Monty was a very special dog to many people.

If you’d like to commission a painting please get in touch.

Whilst being mindful of your objective - you must think about every single colour you mix, the size of the brush mark, the placement of it on the canvas…every painting you see below is a million tiny decisions. It is impossible to get them all right- that’s what keeps us painting!

A fabulous Saturday spent having random discussions and oil painting the beautiful model that is @starofthesea.art with @neilmoorepainter and @julieswinsco. I might add some warm colours to the light sections on the blue one this week if I get time.