It's All Kicking Off!

​Spring has most definitely sprung. After months of inactivity, my garden has suddenly burst in to life with a full- on display of loveliness and life. It’s a beautiful time of the year and it’s hard to keep up with all the changes – and inevitably, the weeds!
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Similarly, the art year is beginning to kick off. In the summer I’ll be taking part in a few major events and I really need to start organising them now. What artworks do I need to take? How many more do I need to paint? Which ones do I produce prints of? What shirts do I wear? That kind of thing. A million different questions and, well, I can feel a spreadsheet coming on.

​First up will be the Patchings Festival at the Patchings Art Centre in Nottinghamshire (11th – 12th July) patchingsartcentre
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Though I’ve had my work on display twice at the Art Centre as part of ‘The Artist’ competition, this will be my first event as a participant. I’ll have my own mini studio nestled amongst a marquee full of fellow artists and art materials suppliers, where I’ll be demonstrating and selling my wares. I’ll also be camping, so any tips on looking fresh in the morning would be welcome! I’m looking forward to the experience, but I must admit that I’m a little daunted! He who dares, and all that.

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Then in September, if I have any paintings left (!) I’m once again taking part in the Herts Open Studios (7th–29th September). 
​hvaf.org.uk

I’ll be returning to the Baldock Arts and Heritage Centre but this time as one of four artists – the Baldock 4!
I’ll be joining textile artist, Lucy Sugden, abstract painter, Paul Hillary, and sculptor, Dawn Dominic, in the newly refurbished Old Town Hall. We’ll be demonstrating and holding workshops as well as exhibiting, so it promises to be an exciting event!

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​In an extreme case of being ready well in advance, I’ve submitted another article for ‘Leisure Painter’ magazine which will be featured in the February 2020 issue. It is a ‘step by step’ account of how to paint a winter farm scene, which was an interesting one to write on a hot April day!

In the meantime, I continue to run my regular ‘Art of the Landscape’ class at the Letchworth Settlement letchworthsettlement 

We’ve just begun another 10 week course which will take the theme of ‘British Landscapes’, producing scenes in a variety of mediums – from stone circles to castles, mountains to streams, Constable to Lowry it promises to be a fun summer term!
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For those people who can’t make a Friday morning, towards the end of the year I will be holding a similar class on a Thursday evening, as well as my shorter Acrylic painting classes. Details will follow later in the year.

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