Beginning with

I now have a studio space and it has utterly transformed my life!

Simply by having space and time to create has bolstered my enthusasm for just about everything (though I still don’t like red meat!). It feels as though things are flowing again.

It does seem to make a big difference having space outside of home. Perhaps its something to do with being able to actually take a break. Even if i keep thinking about a problem with a painting at least its not there staring at me all the time!

I have also been teaching at The Art Academy in London, and its proving to be immensly enriching for my practice. Through trying to formulate things for others to understand I begin to understand them better myself. I am constantly humbled by my students, learning just as much from them as they do from me.

Its been way too long since I last wrote something.

I have been busy, very busy but not with painting. I’m not managing to squeeze out enough energy and time to work on all the ideas for paintings thats keep jumping into my head.

I have been temping. Stuffing envelopes, updating contact databases and pressing buttons to open and close a shutter and some doors.

I’m reaching breaking point and am so relieved that tomorrow is my last day.

Next week I head to Perugia for a few days to join some friends on an artists retreat in the hills. I haven’t decided what to bring, or what I will be doing, but hope that in those days I have a bit of space and peace to make some clear decisions.

I feel like I’m at a stepping stone and waiting for a green light to take the next step.

Lets hope this little break helps!

I have started life drawing again and am loving it! Its wonderful, to stop thinking and just enjoy drawing.

This week was particularly good I left buzzing with enthusiasm. It was only two of us and the model drawing for most the night in complete silence.

We leave the lights off. As the daylight fades things begin to loosen up. Perhaps its because you can’t fix things in the same way, and can’t get caught up in detail. Its bad for our eyes I’m sure, but we love it only stopping for our beer break when the charcoal on the page is no longer discernable!

The breaks are special too and this week the other artist started talking about what he was trying to go for in his drawing. for the first time in ages I heard someone speaking about a very similar inspiration to my own. I just sat there while my friend spoke nodding and grinning with excitement.

Its so good to share our thoughts sometimes!

Its been an intense week trying to get in a loads of proposals…organising all those forms and editing what I’ve written over and over to make sure its really good at times drove me insane!

Its good to do I’m sure! Whenever I write about my practice I often feel like I’m just boxing myself in…but after about a billion tries it somehow simplifies and I finally managed to find some words that actually get me more excited about what I do, helping me focus in an unlimited kind of way…its a good place to have reached.