With open studios close at hand, and a commission needing thought and work, the time has come to dive back into gathering and developing ideas. To get the juices flowing, I opted into an online course published by Paintbox Studio, using the subconscious, memory and imagination to create starting points for work, involving sound, spoken word and movement.

Music and singing have been a lifelong passion, and I am sure they play a large part in the marks I make. Here’s a slideshow of a set of postcard sized pieces made while listening to Idomeneo on Radio 3 and employing both hands.

It was fun, freeing and a discovery: never heard this music by Mozart! They will probably become lively, unique hand made artist cards. I want these monthly jottings from the studio to be short, but I’ll give you a glimpse of how I’m going with the commission. My customers liked an oil painting, but love my watercolours. So the challenge is to tackle the same subject in watercolour, and the same palette. Its proving a challenge to get watercolour to provide the rich depth of oil paint. This is my most recent effort, alongside a detail of the oil.