Wishing you all a happy new year,

things are getting back to normal and I am very busy painting.

I am preparing to open my studio weekly and want to paint lots of new works to give a lovely display for the first opening.

I am also planning to display other artist's work for the first time, maybe pottery, sculpture, jewellery or other art, this would give a good variety of works for visitors. 

I will publish opening days and times as soon as possible on my events page.

I finished this picture this weekend and enjoyed painting it. It's more impressionistic than my usual work, I tried to keep the brushstrokes loose and not to work over it to much, just go with the flow. It felt good to go with the instinctive first brushstroke and not be critical and work it again. And I am pleased with the outcome. 
Acrylics on board 40 x 40cm, framed

I haven't found enough time for my painting, but made a good start on these Alliums. I feel it is not quiet finished, I will add some more detail and definition. This is acrylics on canvas  91 x 71 cm.

This is my latest painting " White Orchid ", it is acrylics on board in a black frame 57 x 57 cm, with a gloss varnish. I kept looking at the  beautiful orchid on my windowsill, thinking I must paint it before it stops flowering, but I had it since last December and it keeps flowering continuously. It's stunning and now I have finally painted it, I am sure I will paint it again another day.

We had a great day in Oxford last weekend. It has such great architecture, shops and eateries. You can take a punt on the River Thames, visit the colleges or the botanical garden. We discovered a different side of Oxford on a unique tour of the city streets. Bill Spectre tells spine tingling stories and takes you to spooky sites for a very entertaining evening with a difference. A great day out.

I have just  finished two paintings of summer flowers. They are drawings  on paper with acrylics and ink. I was able to add more fine details with the ink , which is difficult in oils and acrylics on canvas.

They look fresh and contemporary and I have displayed  them in black wide frames ( 40 x 40 cm ).

Denmead Art exhibition has also finished. This was my first time  exhibiting over in Denmead. It was very well organised and when I visited the exhibition on Saturday, there was a real buzz and most importantly lots of visitors.

I will keep an eye on the Denmead website to read about it  and hope it has been as successful as in previous years.

And I will have to buy more canvases and paint more pictures. Hope you enjoy the lovely poppies.

Here is the painting I finished during the Hampshire Open Studios.   "Pineapple Lilies", acrylics on canvas 76 X 60 cm.

...and my streetscene, I have progressed a little and feel I am nearly there now. I will leave it a while and come back to it later.

So I am always going on about, how much I love these Aston Martins, everytime we see one driving along. This isn't very often I have to say. So then Nig decided to give me the experience of driving one for my birthday last year. I got to drive the car around Thruxton circuit, one of the fastest racing tracks..... now how excited was I when I finally could do it.  

Lucky the weather was great. First you get three laps around the track in the powerful Mazda3 MPS. An experienced driver takes you around the track at some speed , explaining when to accelerate when best to turn into the corners and so on. Then finally I could get into the Aston Martin V8 Vantage and start driving. The car was just so easy to handle I really got carried away. My instructor wouldn't let me go any faster. I suppose it was fast enough. It  just went too fast. Shame. I thought it was a great experience, when we ordering our own? I better sell a few more paintings first. 

We went to see "Art in the Garden" at Hillier Gardens last weekend. A contemporary exhibition of over 200 sculptures displayed in the gardens. An exhibition with a difference.

We also saw the indoor " Best of Hampshire Artist'sExhibition", showing a great variety of paintings of  different media and subjects, something for everybody.  I really loved the paintings.

The "Best o Hampshire Artist's exhibition is still on until Saturday 27th of September and admission to this part is free. If you want to see the sculptures in the Garden you have to pay entrance to the garden, but it will still be on until the 24th of October. Enjoy....

http://www.hilliergardens.org.uk/whats-on.html

This years Goodwood Revival is about to start again this Friday 19th of September. Just debating with the family, if we should go again this year. We have been before and had a fantastic time.

You go for a great day out watching Grand Prix cars, from the Fifties and Sixties, racing around Goodwood race track. Visitors dress up in period clothes and enter into the spirit of the event. 

We had a picnic last time, the weather was great. There is fantastic choice of food stands , great music and entertainment. You feel like you have step back in time. Have a look at the website:

 http://www.goodwood.co.uk/site/content/revival/Welcome.aspx

 So, the first year of opening my studio as part of the Hampshire Open Studios has ended. During this event Hampshire artists open their homes or studios to the public. Visitors can meet and talk to the artists and can learn where, how and why art gets made.

I didn’t know what to expect.  I am lucky, my studio is on a corner and people could see my pink poster, which gave me a very busy first week. Many people had never heard of or been to an open studio and really enjoyed the experience.

I was happy that visitors showed such interest in my work and I enjoyed talking to them. I also met lots of other artists and had a good time talking and exchanging ideas with everyone that came.

The second week was quieter.  Most people came travelling from further afield, as part of the trail, visiting other artists in Stubbington, Hill Head and Gosport, featured in the guide.  As I had so much more time, I managed to finish another painting.

All in all I enjoyed the experience and I am hoping to do it again. It was a long two weeks on my own, so I am hoping to share the studio with other artists next year, which would give visitors more variety of works.   

Thank you to all who supported me, over the two weeks and I hope to see you all soon. 

Yesterday I visited  the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. My last visit was two years ago, I missed the 2007 exhibits, as we were living in Berlin last year. I loved it in 2006, in the courtyard Damien Hirst's Virgin mother, a huge bronze statue. Fantastic. This year Promenade by Sir Anthony Caro, a monumental sculpture ( see above ) did not appeal to me.

The recently elected Academician Tracy Emin's curated gallery was actually quiet good I thought, seeing as there was a lot of fuss about it in the media.  Very sparse. I loved the Japanese girl by Julian Schnabel and the tall ceramics by Tatiana Echeverr Fernandezi. 

I always love the Small Weston Room with its tightly pact frames, such diversity. As always every room has pieces I absolutely adored and pieces that make you question its merit. Have a look. 
http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/