IN THE STUDIO LATELY
You've made it. Welcome in.
April
This is where it all happens. I don't think I've shown you my much-loved window seat before - where I literally watch paint dry and ponder my next moves.
The ones in the background are almost finished. It's been slow, careful, intentional - teaching me what happens when you trust the process and don't rush. Learning from every layer.
The one on the floor is just beginning. And because I learned so much from the others, I'm letting myself take every joyful risk here. Loose underlayers. Bold colour. The kind of freedom that comes when you've done the tougher learning and slower work.
And if you missed my last update - here's March...
Painting this felt like an act of faith
Lately on my morning walks, I'm still noticing the little buds on bare trees. Tiny, vulnerable - holding everything the tree will become, before you can see it.
Coming back to the studio to paint this floral explosion felt like paintign the FULL bloom when whilst life still feels 'in bud' at times.
Spring is coming - often we feel it, experience it in our hearts, before we see it.
Even in spite of the 'frosts' - setbacks, delays, disappointments - you're blooming. You've seen the Spring before and it will come to pass again.
I'm thinking of calling this painting 'New Horizon' - what would you call it?
February
The two large pieces from my last artletter are still here, moving forward little by little, in front of me as I work.
I keep glancing up at them. Their warmth is doing something to everything I paint next - I can feel it moving through the new work whether I plan it or not.
Palette knife loaded with colour that's rich, glowing and deep - this one is very much in progress.
I keep coming back to a painting called Resting in your Smile - the feeling I want to celebrate and go so much further into.
Heavenly colour and radiant light - the kind that inspires and comforts, that makes the next step feel possible and hopeful again.
The original 'Resting In Your Smile'
Six years ago - when I was just starting out!
These are more expressive. Looser. More playful than I usually let myself be. I'm following something I don't quite have words for yet - it feels new, tactile, opening things up in ways I wasn't expecting. Usually a sign that something good is on its way.
I sometimes feel nervous sharing work at this stage.
Will the paintings stay this way? Will I keep that initial energy all the way through to completion?
We'll see….
January
Lately, I’ve been exploring windswept trees again - I think it's their honesty I'm drawn to. The way they've let themselves be marked and shaped by the winds blowing right through them into forms that are unexpected, intricate, and captivating.. Each piece is still in that exciting middle stage. Take a closer look...
Recently Finished
Two commissioned paintings in their new homes
