Monday, 30 July 2018

Going Solo


Daisy Single
7" x 5"
Oil on Panel
Framed
SOLD

Sometimes I think these daisies work well on their own . . . .

Friday, 27 July 2018

Mellow Yellow


Mellow Yellow
6"x 6"
Oil on Panel
SOLD

I am so delighted to be painting again after almost a year having been hampered by this wretched vertigo problem. I have been following a program of vestibular rehabilitation therapy which includes exercises twice daily designed to make patients dizzy or off balance and by so doing training the brain to compensate for the mixed messages it is being sent by the vestibular system. I do the exercises for about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. Its so time consuming I wonder that I have time for anything else. The exercises frequently leave me mentally exhausted as the brain is having to do much more work to keep me upright but 3 months in and I am seeing a real improvement.

I take very little for granted these days and really enjoy a day when I feel 'normal'. I guess you would say I have an attitude of gratitude.

Thursday, 26 July 2018

From the Road Side


Daisy Bottle 1
8"x 6"
Oil on Panel
SOLD


I love painting these ox-eye daisies mostly because they signal the start of the warmer weather. You might know them as the common daisy, dog daisy or the moon daisy. When I lived in Somerset they were in flower as early as late April and finished by the end of May but here in Norfolk they flower in May and can still be found in hedgerows and on the road side in late June early July. They are great news for bees but not so for hayfever suffers as they are top ranked for pollen production. 

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

It's a Mugs Game


Cornish Tea
Oil on Canvas
6"x 6"
Framed
SOLD

I have become a big Tea drinker since I gave up alcohol five years ago. I drink all sorts and lots of it. When I moved into my new home and began unpacking I realised how many Tea Pots and mugs I have amassed to support my habit. They are an enjoyable subject to paint.

Sunday, 22 July 2018

Home Sweet Sweet Home



Daisy Trio
6" x 6"
Oil on Panel
Framed
£145.00


During the heavy downpours in March, the flat roof of the wacky house I have been renting in Holt for the best part of the last five years finally gave in. Rain found its way into the living room, dinning room and bedroom. Damp and black mould began to take hold and parts of the kitchen ceiling collapsed. My Landlady was anything but sympathetic - she refused to make the necessary repairs and put the house on the market as a 'development opportunity' whilst insisting that I honour the tenancy agreement which runs until September. It would come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the house recently that I have simply taken my leave.

So to pastures new - I have bought myself a cottage in Fakenham ten miles or so to the south west of Holt. Fakenham in saxon speak is 'Fair Place or Place on a Fair River'. From a population of 150 in 1086 (Doomsday Book) this Norfolk Market town has grown to just under 8,000 inhabitants.

In "The Nowhere Guide" published in the late nineties Robert Woods listed Fakenham as 'the most boring place on earth'. Apparently he was referring specifically to Wednesday afternoons which is early closing day in town. Woods comment was taken out of context and ceased upon by the National Newspapers who reported that Fakenham had been 'voted'  'the most boring place on earth' which cost the Town Council considerable time, money and effort to prove that this was not the case. No doubt they were delighted recently when Fakenham 'was voted' the seventh best place to live in Britain in Country Life's quality of life survey.

So put that in your pipe Robert Woods and let it be known that the town boasts The Fakenham Museum of Gas and Local History which is the only surviving town gasworks in England and Wales - so there!

So happy and relieved to be a homeowner once more I have steeled in nicely and predictably Elgar and Turner have made themselves known to most of the local community. I have a purpose built conservatory that has become my studio which could have doubled up as an oven in the recent hot weather. Never-the-less I have put a collection of smaller pieces together for my offering in the Holt Festival Open Studios, some of which I will post over the coming days.



All Change!

Excited and nervous but here goes my new blog and website! I'm sure that there may be a few teething problems but these will get ironed ...