Winter approaches and with the shorter days and darker evenings, it's time to crack on with my crochet. I come from a family of makers, stitchers, knitters & crocheters. My early education didn't include museum & gallery visits, in fact I was 23 before I went into an art gallery. But I did learn to sew, crochet, knit & handle most woodworking tools by the time I was 13!  Creativity comes in many forms & it's fantastic to see Fibre Art gathering popularity, not least because i

What follows are my notes on a guided tour of an exhibition of Louise Bourgeois' work at Compton Verney, 6th September 2024. Exhibition Notes are my way of recording and reflecting on exhibitions I've visited. They aren't polished by any means, but act as an aide-memoire, with photographs and comments, as well as links to the best rabbit holes I've enjoyed exploring. So grab a cuppa, sit back and be inspired. Louise Bourgeois' (LB) fraught and complex relationship with both p

As we draw our brain, informed by the eyes seeks a label of recognition- a shape, a form, a colour. Then we file the labels, according to experience into neat preconceived expectations. We predict the sea and sky is blue and clouds white. This is what life has taught us. Yet in doing so we limit our growth and art. To truly observe is to activate the muscle of dissociation. The challenge is to approach what we draw with curiosity, as if never encountered before. In mark makin

Here are six tips I use to inspire and develop my work..... Tip 1 - Look for colour combinations around me. I seek out the colours I'm...

August 2025 National Portrait Gallery London Exhibition Notes are my way of recording and reflecting on exhibitions I've visited. They...

Life's been a little manic lately, so it's been kitchen table creating when I can't find much studio time. So this mark making exercise...

If your character or aspiration, or life even could be captured in a painting, which one would it be? I knew instantly which painting I...

My Go To Place! Do you ever get that feeling? That the landscape is just too big, too vast and expansive to possibly capture in a...

Before beginning a new series of work I'll spend time creating a colour palette that fits with what I've observed in the landscape....

'I have a horror- once lost in work, of being disturbed. If I could barricade myself within a ring of rocks I would be pleased! But I can...

I have never watched Landscape Artist of the Year , which just kicked off again here in the UK, but it got me thinking about the pressure...

The British Museum, London October 17th 2024 - 9th February 2025 Notes from an Exhibition - We Have Lots of Loot!!! The British Museum...

Yesterday, January 25th we celebrated Burns night! Hard! I hosted, friends gathered and we spent the joyful evening sharing the usual...

How many projects are you juggling right now? At the moment, I'm working on small woven pieces, papier-mâché sculptures, several crochet...

If you receive my newsletter you'll know I've been gathering creative inspiration like a demon over the last few months. There's so much...

Unravel - The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art - Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam September 24 I learn so much from examining other...

Exactitude is not truth - Henri Matisse In my June newsletter I wrote about the sketching materials I take out with me when I'm out in...

Link in some pics and insta posts. I have been immersed in sketching landscapes over the last few months, in preparation for my...

This year, as Worcestershire Open Studios takes a break, some of Clent Village artists and members of the North Worcs Artist Collective...

These stormy seascapes revisit places and memories of the Welsh coast. I never checked the weather forecast growing up in Pembrokeshire ....