painting

i have missed summerland

i've been busy painting and not just on canvas
this is my dining table it was a painting table in the studio


but a coat of this amazing paint in old white
some wax and now i love it
my small intimate romantic dining table

above it is a painting from a stay at obras in the alentjo region of portugal



i see it and remember


another table



this one i have had for 20years
my twins did their homework on it...its been my studios
a little sanding down and a lick of paint and wax and now its my lovely desk


above it a series of paintings called journey


painted in memory of a dear friend
i think he would like it


and today's little treat

from fabulous flowers who are going to have their own blog post ...soon

sky gardens

maybe its the solstice,
the clear starry skies of portugal
or the spectacular lunar eclipse we saw

or maybe its this cosmic rose link


but i have been painting sky gardens

combining painting and old textiles bought at estremoz market

a new direction for my work...combining recurring themes in a new way

its going be interesting to see the reaction to them

i wonder what do you think?

obras evenings

i’ve been at obras for 4 days and already there is so much to record and show
where i’m staying is a centre for artists and for scientists....more about it here

on friday night we had a shared evening
show the work of installation artist annemie bogaerts (from the netherlands)
and theatre company director miira sippola (from finland)

the installation was made from local materials...earth and marble dust
the whole thing looked beautifully ethereal in the evening sun
here’s a very short video so you can hear it too





collaborations especially between different disciplines interest and excite me....very much a direction i want to move in

and actually am! more about that soon

below is 30 seconds from another obras evening
sunset, bird song and bells

arraiolos memory

arraiolos memory
100 x 100 cms
mixed media

a painting inspired by stitching and churches and walls and music

and grasses and being outside in the sunshine

the alternative name for this painting was

'this is my church'

silver and gold...

in the evening the shadows on the walls were blue....really really blue
we tried to draw them

then i painted the walls

back home in the forest i have been painting to this

from one forest to another...

on friday i arrived in portugal... and now i'm in the beautiful alentejo region famous for it’s cork oak forests

here are some photographs from home...the forest of dean taken last week

and here are some from OBRAS where I am staying now

i am waiting for my paints to arrive...they were lost somewhere in the north...but apparently have been located and will arrive today....

they said that yesterday as well

summer journey....

i am so pleased to be going back to portugal in june...to stay as artist in residence at one of my favourite places in the world obras
and then very exciting news...in july i'm showing my work at the beautiful corte-real gallery in paderne

so looking forward to it...
today the sun shone and spring was in the air i love spring here in the forest
followed by summer sunshine in portugal...just perfect