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Plan Your Year Ahead — A Three-Part Guide for Artists
Discover my free three-part artist planning series. Reflect on your art year, set 2026 goals and transform your creative intentions into action.
Finding Clarity, Community and Beauty in Imperfection
Reflections on slowing down and asking for help
Inside the Northern Art Fair: An Interview with Artist and Organiser Sheryl Roberts
Discover the Northern Art Fair with founder Sheryl Roberts as she shares the story behind the event, what to expect this year, and why it’s a must-visit for art lovers and newcomers alike.
How to Create an Inspiration Board for Your Art
Creating an artist inspiration board is more than just collecting images – it’s a way to explore, reflect, and organise your ideas, emotions, and dreams.
The Pros and Cons of Social Media for Artists
Artists Sketchbooks
Why sketchbooks are so much more than a collection of drawings.
And an opportunity to join a 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge for Free
Happy New Year
Kick off 2025 with some art inspiration! Let’s make this a year to embrace creativity and joy!
NEW Artist’s Resources
Unlock your creative potential in 2025 with my FREE guides for artists. Part 1 – how to complete an end-of-year review available now to download.
Feeling Festive
A little craft project for Christmas…..
A working holiday…
We recently took a roadtrip holiday to the US…but I made sure I took my art supplies with me and managed to get some wonderful memories down on paper!
Something new and exciting
After a couple of months of hard work I can reveal a new project I’ve been working on. If you’re a fiction reader or just interested in how an artist can get involved in a fiction project, read on!
An Exhausting, but Enjoyable Weekend
This weekend was the Alnmouth Art Festival. Some learnings from the event.
All the ‘ations’
Preparing for an upcoming festival exhibition…see what I’m doing for it and find out about some of the other artists who will be displaying!
Gathering Inspiration
Days out and art exhibitions
New Chapter
My first month as a full time artist
Art Challenges
A word about art challenges and details of my first one for 2024!
Studio Remodel
After lots of planning and quite a lot of a very different sort of painting, my studio is ready for 2024 and a new chapter in my life. Read about what I’ve done and why by clicking on the image.
Happy 2024!
A look back at some favourite arty moments from 2023 and a look forward into what the New Year might bring.
Autumn Update
As we get into October an update on recent stuff I’ve been working on, the first pumpkin soup of the year and some work featured in The Autumn Hampshire Art Fair.
Creativity of a Different Kind
I’ve been working on something very different recently – find out more by clicking on the image to learn about my project involving one of the world’s favourite crime fiction authors…
A Very British Summer
Some summer art pieces, and a trip to London for the theatre, an ad-hock Hockney exhibition visit, and the RA Summer Exhibition
Day Tripper
I managed to have a few days holiday and even took time out of the studio to visit some places…but I still managed to get some artistic inspiration….
Art and Music: The Perfect Marriage?
After a busy couple of weeks of gigs, I’ve been thinking about how art and music can work together and how brilliantly it was done at one of the gigs I went to…
Journaling
Back from my holidays, I’ve been trying something new: keeping a journal of sorts. Find out more about it and how it’s helping my art by clicking on the image.
Sunshine and the Sea
A long overdue holiday, where I got to relax, think about art, and visit some places sure to provide inspiration!
Days Out
Some arty things I’ve been doing on my days off and weekends in the North East.
March Abstract Life
As we move towards Spring, a look at what I’ve been working on, and a couple of things I have coming up soon.
The Power of Play
A post on allowing playfulness into your work.
Creative Boost
A New Year and a New Challenge – all about the Art2Life course and why I’m doing it.
Hello 2023!
A quick recap of what I’ve been up to over the holiday break and my plans for the New Year …
Art on the Go
A few ideas for getting your art fix when time is limited…
It’sssss Christmas!
A trip to Edinburgh and some thoughts on buying art for gifts…or just for yourself.
A New Series of Work
A new post detailing what I’ve been working on recently.
Art Workshops
Some thoughts on the art workshop I attended recently and what I think about workshops in general.
Summertime and the Living Is Easy
A slightly overdue post on what I’ve been up to over the last couple of months
Art Commissions
Selling a piece of your art is always such a buzz. But commissions are very different from selling something you have already created.
Timing is Everything
A project I completed earlier this year.
Well hello 2022!
Getting organised and making plans for the new year…
A Christmas Post
A look back on 2021 – how the year has been for me in terms of art and a few other things! Merry Christmas, everyone.
Feeling a Bit Lost
Between house builds, work and more, things have been a little difficult on the artistic side. Click on the image to find out what’s been happening.
In a Funk
It’s been a little while since my last blog post. Here’s why and what I’ve been up to.
New Work
My sketchbook habit, trusting the process and some kitchen inspiration!
Royal Academy Varnishing Day
A short post about my experience at the Royal Academy for Varnishing Day.
What a Week!!!
I’ve had a couple of good bits of news this week – and some success in the studio!
Bank Holiday Weekend
How the last few weeks have influenced my work over the Bank Holiday weekend
Holiday Over – Normal Service Resumed!
It’s been a busy two weeks including an exciting trip to London and the Royal Academy
Reflections
Reflections and lessons applied from the CVP course
Studio Update
What I’ve been working on
Graduating CVP
Reflections after my CVP course
Spring Break
Taking a breather and learning from others
A Wave of Optimism
And my obsession with CVP
Brrr – It’s April
Memories of Havana
Creative Visionary Programme
The first few weeks of CVP and an introduction to design and values
The Perfect Medicine
Art making can change your life
Concertina Books and Muted Tones
Inspiration boards and enjoying the process
Learning Something New
A beginner’s take on linocut
100 Days of Creative Play 11-20
Why play is so important in the process of art making
100 Days of Creative Play
Art challenges, getting started and the importance of sharing to keep you going
Out of Boredom Comes Creativity
Art on TV from Grayson to Tony Hart
Mixing Things Up
When you need to try something new to kick start your creative process
January Giveaway
Taking part in the #oneofmanypostcards challenge and sharing your art
New Year, Same Me
My art plan for 2021
Happy New Year
And my 12 days of Christmas art challenge
Happy Christmas
2020 festivities
Enjoying the Process
Reflecting on the year and what I’ve learned
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
From the early stages of play, through to resolving a piece and knowing when to stop
The Wisdom of Others
The value of a community and how feedback makes you stronger
Well That Was Unexpected!
The pros and cons of entering art competitions
Another Online Art Course
Art2Life Spark – a 21 day online course to kick start your art
A First Time for Everything
Trying my hand at making inks
Studio Progress
From sketchbook to painting, how nature is the perfect inspiration
Perfectly Imperfect Take Two
The continuing saga of dealing with lockdown and creating handmade books
Explaining Paintings
A bit about the creative inspiration behind my work
Perfectly Imperfect
‘Perfectly Imperfect: Discovering Your Visual Language’ – a lesson in making handmade brushes, mark making and expressing your self creatively
When Will This End?
Art as a means to coping with lockdown and how to address the issue of creative block
“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words”
We all know a single image can convey complex ideas and meanings but how much should an artist try to articulate the meaning of their work?
A New Adventure
The launch of my new website