A busy, but colourful summer. Back from a creative weekend at West Dean College 'Exploring Colour'. As ever the garden came up trumps. Nestling in the heart of the South Downs these beautiful gardens have been restored, created and nurtured by Sarah Wain and Jim Buckland. Awaiting us, a bucket of the most wonderful flowers full of colour and perfect for exploring the watercolour palette. Rich magentas, dazzling scarlets, deepest reds and gleaming yellows and golds. Paintin

December sees the end of the term for classes - and for me everything slows down, giving me time to spend time on my own work which provides a great time for a bit of playing around and experimenting. It's also a good time to explore new ideas as well as revisiting old sketchbooks looking for inspiration for the new year. Digging around in my plan chest I came across some old experiments with earth pigments from Roussillon which were given to me by a friend on her return fro

The diminishing colours of autumn and the reduction of bright intense colour to the soft subtle neutral tones, lead on to the study of mushrooms and woodland litter. Never boring, these subtle shades force one to experience the beauty of tonal shading. A busy month teaching; firstly a course at Moncrieff-Bray Gallery, Petworth on the Hedgerow. A great space to work together with a great group of budding artists, this was followed by an exhilarating weekend with equally ent