Shades Of Grey

 Two of my latest paintings have just come back from being framed, ready for the Ely Arts Festival and Cambridge Open Studios events. You can see both on my latest Facebook and Instagram posts.

'Memento Mori' was always going to have a black frame, though I did wonder whether it should be shiny, rather like a Chinese lacquered cabinet?

'Eggheads' came back with a darker grey frame then you see  now. I felt it was too dark and asked for it to be lightened.

I always work on the truism, ' If you notice the frame before the picture then it is probably too strong'

In Need Of A Plan

 I woke at 5am last Saturday  wondering what I was going to do to my current painting 'Dreamtime' while I was working  at Haddenham Arts Centre as their Artist in Residence, later that day.

In truth I had got a bit stuck (this is normal and doesn't matter unless you are appearing in front of lots of people!) and wasn't sure where to go next.

I decided to stay calm and really THINK what I would physically do - as I knew I couldn't just stand there  for six hours! 

Having painted the disintegrating theatres over the top of the landscape, the next step was to    make the background more integrated.  I started the day by working on top of a large pencil sketch (based on drawings and photographs of my cycle ride to Wicken Fen). This helped to calm my nerves but also reacquaint me with this part of the design. 

By the end of the day I was beginning to feel more in control again. Phew!

Imposter Syndrome

Recently I 've returned to  preliminary canvases to work out how to portray the animals in my current painting 'DREAMTIME'.

Currently,   I'm going to make them tones of one colour, possibly yellow. I did try blue but felt it was too bigger contrast to the rest of the picture.

I'm trying to get this stage sorted before I set up a  studio at Haddenham Arts Centre ready for Saturday. I don't want to appear clueless while trying to look like the Artist in Residence.

My pop-up studio  is there for a week and I'll be working  on both Saturdays.

A Surreal Moment

It was a surreal moment when I returned to Tiptree after 38 years for the unveiling of a blue plaque for the puppeteer, Joy Laurey.

Last week we were invited to the event and when we arrived in was swarming with plain clothed police. It turned out that Priti Patel (Home Secretary) was about to do the unveiling alongside Mr Turnip - a puppet from Childrens TV in the 1950s.

He had inspired me to make two of my family paintings (which is why I visited Joy in the first place) - DIAMONDS (1987) and THE ENIGMA OF THE CHINESE MASK (1998)

You can see both paintings (and the unveiling) on my Facebook page.

What Makes A Studio?

 I've just been to London, to the Whitechapel Art Gallery to see an exhibition entitled ' A Century of the Artist's Studio'. It proved a fascinating look inside different types of spaces from the kitchen table affair to the converted aircraft hanger.

I was reminded of my first artists 'space' after we were married, when I had a corner of our living room to paint in.

I inherited a large designers drawing board (which I still use today) and kept an old tea trolley underneath it with all my paints on.  This was handy when we had three young children, as not only could I keep looking at my work in progress when I was rushing by to change a nappy or stop a fight but also I could snatch a few minutes to paint, once I had pulled the trolley out.

When we moved to Ely I was able to have my own studio by converting half the garage (see photos on my latest Facebook and Instagram posts) but to begin with, I missed all the noise and chaos swirling around  that comes with family life.

It was like being sent to your room to do  homework.