I took part in the Creative Lincs Art Trail and opened my studio for the weekend of 27th – 29th June

If you’re going to put on an exhibition, the best and most fun way to do it is with friends!

For years I’ve been saving posts of people making massive paintings, I’ve got a Pinterest board devoted to it.

I built on this first layer with thick paint, watery glazes, brighter, darker colours, hard lines, soft edges – trying all the things, not thinking too much and responding to what was happening.

I’ve thought about trying this medium for quite a while.  It seems like a good bridge between the acrylics I use and oils – which I also think about.

I decided to go to the big Mark Rothko retrospective at Fondation Louis Vuitton.  An early train to London, then caught the Eurostar

Last year I wanted to grow more flowers in my garden and supply myself with blooms all Summer

I ‘d taken Nicholas Wilton’s free workshop before on the recommendation of a friend, back in 2016 maybe 2017. I’d watched her take his paid course and seen the transformation in her and her work, and always felt that I would love to do it but to be honest, I could never see me paying what felt like a hefty fee.

Whenever I get outside like this, I think I must do this more….. It’s a real slowing down, noticing what you’re looking at, I find it quite meditative.

When I’ve completed a body of work or come to the end of an exhibition, I’m ready to give my studio a good clean and tidy and create space for something new to happen

For the last few years at the start of January, I have spent some time thinking about what I would like the next year to bring. Imagining, dreaming, visualising, manifesting, call it what you will. I have also thought about a word that encompasses this.

Over the Summer I have been working on three new paintings, I had two events planned and I wanted to have some big statement pieces. Two of them arrived at their final destination, the composition coming together quite quickly. The third one…. not so much.

I hired a gallery space for a week in Lincoln, for about 6 months I had been working on a collection that would make up most of the exhibition. I gave myself a month to frame all the paintings and get ready and publicise it.

I have been really enjoying my studio time and have taken a moment to think about why things feel so good.

At the end of January 2021 I started the 100 day project. I had thought about doing it before but hadn’t taken the plunge. This year seemed like a good time to try, especially as we were in another national lockdown and I find the dark days of January and February quite hard going.

At the end of January 2021 I started the 100 day project.