This December I was commissioned to create a painting and to make a video, to be broadcast as part of my church Christmas carol service - and I thought you might like to see it too! It's called 'A moment in time'.
Set to the beautiful harp and voice of my talented friend Lucy Bunce, a track called ‘In Dulci Jubilo’ from her Christmas Album.

This week I painted a triptych called AUTUMN SONG. This was part of my monthly project ‘Paint me a picture’ where I ask my social media audience to choose what colours they would like to see me paint with and then I share the process in a video.

The colour options I gave were taken straight from a colour and design course that I did with Mark Eanes back in August - all the secondaries this time. The greens and purples got a fair number of votes but the fall colours were the favourites.

I worked with warm Cadmium Red Hue and Cadmium Yellow Hue (for those who like technical details) and only allowed myself white & black in addition. It’s not monochrome but is a more limited palette than I’m used to, a welcome challenge to stretch me. No fluorescents, no blues or complimentary greens!

Here is my movie of the creative process behind this fiery trio

My subscribers receive exclusive early access to purchasing these beauties.
If you’d like to be a subscriber…

These paintings will become available for sale to the general public from 1st November - when you will able to click on each picture above for further details.

I’ve really enjoyed the nudge to paint with a colour combination that I wouldn’t normally use.
What do these colours make you think of? Falling leaves, pumpkins, cosy fires?

I love inviting you into my process and my studio. Use the comments below, I’d love to hear your questions or thoughts about my process and this project.

This month saw the start of my new feature called ‘Paint me a Picture’ in which I ask my friends on social media to choose a colour palette for my art. I then painted a trio of pictures on paper and recorded a time-lapse video to share my creative process.

Following the colour workshop I attended recently (see previous blog), I thought it would be an interesting challenge to paint a monochrome picture - just one main colour. Being such a lover of bold vibrant colour combinations in my art, I realised that this would be an unusual avenue for me to venture down! I offered blues, red/pink or green but the blues won with a landslide victory! Great choice!

I mixed phthalo blue, white, black and allowed myself a bit of raw umber to create a warm grey. No fluorescent pink, no yellow or red, not even some complementary orange!

I’ve affectionately named this trio the Blues Brothers, giving them names from the band: Murphy, Mack & Malone! Here they are:

My subscribers receive exclusive early access to purchasing these beauties.
If you’d like to be a subscriber…

These paintings will become available for sale to everyone else from 1st October - when you will able to click on each picture above for further details.

I’ve really enjoyed the nudge to paint with blue - not my normal ‘go to’ colour at all. Whether it’s the intrigue of the deep sea, a sense of soaring the clouds way up high, a fresh mountain spring or a warm bubble bath - blue brings such tranquility and peace with it, such a calming and nourishing colour. What does it make you think of?

I love inviting you into my process and my studio. Use the comments below, I’d love to hear what parts you enjoy most about seeing me work.

I had the joy and privilege recently of working in collaboration with my lovely friend Sheree Wright, a gifted singer/song writer from USA, and thought you’d like to hear about the project.
Sheree is working towards the release of her new album ‘Whatever is’ and she commissioned me to create a painting inspired by her music and the album colour theme, that would be available to people as a limited edition print as part of her crowdfunding.

I love Sheree, I love painting inspired by music and I love a challenge, so I jumped at the opportunity!

I decided to paint a trio, as this keeps me playful and loose as I work, and it would provide Sheree with three to choose from.

I created a time-lapse video with her beautiful title track to help with her publicity and to share my process with you.

Here are the final pieces...

 Sheree chose number 3. I gave number 2 as a gift to a special friend for a special birthday.
HOWEVER, number 1 is available for purchase - saved just for you!

It will be on sale from September 1st (when I will add a link to click from the picture above), HOWEVER there is a special early release today for subscribers to my monthly newsletter! [edit: sorry this has now sold]

If you would like to be the first to receive exclusive access to my new work, and hear about my news and offers in my monthly email newsletter - then please sign up HERE!

If you would like to discuss a future collaboration project with me, or know of anyone who would, I'd love to hear from you! Drop me an email: [email protected]
Or if you'd just like to see my painting inspired by a particular colour pallette or type of music - why not drop your ideas in the comments below?!

Way back in October I took part in a doodling challenge on Instagram, I realised that I have a variety of footage from it that I've never shared in my blog, so I thought better late than never!!

This challenge was perfect for me in many ways.

1. It was in the middle of a season of admin, so it created a welcome excuse and nudge to be creative at least for 5 minutes every day.
2. It was using crayons, which to me felt unthreatening, something I could be playful and unprecious about.
3. Pat Butynski, the artist who set the challenge turned out to be part of my mentoring programme - a wonderfully inspiring, brave and provoking abstract artist who I'm now honoured to call a friend.
   
   

I say I have a variety of footage but I actually told myself at the start of doing this that I could be free to play without the pressure of ever having to show anyone what I produced! This was very releasing and meant I could explore to my hearts content.

Here's a little timelapse video of one of them:

So the challenge was to do a #30daycrayonworkout, basically playing with crayons in any way I chose every day for 30 days and posting it as part of a group who were all doing it too. Search #getyourcraycray_on to see the other 1500+ responses.

In December I shared a selection of my sketches at my Open Studio event and even sold a few. Then in January I had the opportunity of exhibiting 12 of them at City Church Cambridge – hoping to inspire some playful 5 minute creativity in others.

Last month I posted about the online workshop I'm currently taking part in - Nancy Hillis Studio Journey. Well the most recent exercises I've been doing have been based around colour mixing.

Choose 2 secondary colours and mix with white and black. I chose purple and orange which I have learnt make the fabulous colour RUSSET. I then create some studies in my sketch book by playing with the colours I'd mixed.

See my painting process build around each picture above and in the movie below.

Named after an artist called Zorn who painted with just red, yellow, black and white and all the combinations between them. I mixed yellow with red (2:1;1:1;1:2) red with black (same ratios) black with yellow (same ratios) then add white equally to all. Finish by adding in the 'missing' third colour (red in the black and yellow mix/ black in the red and yellow mix etc). Then I had some fun playing with the new colours I'd created. See timelapse below.

This time last week I was at Butlins Skegness working as the artist in residence at Spring Harvest #SH2018. It was an amazing, stretching, encouraging, very busy week and I loved it! I got to work in the Creative Arts Team alongside the talent of Kees Kraayenoord from Holland, 4front theatre, NGM dancers and the fantastic Luke Aylen (who heads up creativity across all 4 SH breaks), in front of an audience of 3500! I thought you'd like to hear what I got up to.

Next thing on my programme was my favourite part of the whole week, creating 6 foot paintings live in front of 3500 people in the big top each night! I love working big and working messy, I love combining worship and the prophetic with paint, I didn't feel nervous I experienced a tangible grace as I co-created with the Holy Spirit for my Daddy God and did what he made me to do! I was projected live onto the big screen on and off through the meeting for folks to see, and hopefully my visual/creative response to the biblical themes of the day helped people engage further in their worship of God. Once dry, the pictures were hung up around the venue.

I'm an abstract painter and 'sing with colours', I studied and prayed about the themes for each day in advance of the week so that I could help people engage with God and with the teaching, through my art. Each night I started with a title, a colour palette, a plan of which shapes and details I would bring in related to the theme and then worked whilst praising and praying, partnering with the Holy Spirit to discover where these ideas would take me and what picture would result. Clicking on each painting will take you to my Etsy shop where you'll find an explanation of the picture as well as being able to purchase a print if you wish.

Another significant part of my week were the Big Start sessions each morning at 9am – all age 30min meetings in the big top using drama, art, dance and music to engage with the focus of the day. We had a fantasy theme running through this so I dressed as a butterfly art pixie alongside a unicorn, some trolls and other fantasy dressed folk from the fab Creative Arts Team. I planned, prepared and led the art activities each day for ~100 children, each activity was stuck to a huge letter spelling out KING. My highlight was rolling paint onto the hands of tiny little children.

On the Tuesday afternoon I decided to do one of my BIG LIVE ART pieces on the floor of Skyline, the shopping arena in Butlins, to music. Although I painted live each night in the big top, this gave people of all ages the chance to come up really close to see me working and chat with me, and hopefully I inspired some 'wanna be' artists to give it a try. Here is a timelapse movie of the creation of this picture. Music is by the fabulous Kees Kraayenoord - one of my favourite songs from the week: 'Saviour's Song' (used with permission).

On the Wednesday afternoon I offered an abstract art workshop called 'Sing with colour' and 146 people turned up! It was like feeding the 5000 trying to find everyone a place to sit and to make the resources stretch to double the expected number. Everyone did a great job of embracing the 'thinking in colours' and 'drawing with eyes closed' exercises. I intentionally whetted appetites, leaving people wanting more, sending them away with a desire to continue experimenting. I was thrilled to see the results of their playing with paint.

On the Thursday evening as I was praying before I painted, I felt God nudge me to offer my picture as an interactive creative element on this occasion. After dialogue with the event hosts we agreed that during the ministry time at the end of the evening once I'd completed my piece we would invite people to respond to the challenge of surrendering their all to God by coming up and putting their thumb print on my picture, like a physical statement of individual commitment. As people queued to do this I prayed for a pouring down of heaven over them as they gave their all afresh. It was a really poignant and humbling moment. On returning home my 6 year old helped me count the thumb prints using kidney beans - we discovered that over 230 people had responded that night.

At the end of a wonderful week of flinging, throwing, splatting, dribbling and flicking paint to my heart's content, I left a few marks behind! I had so so many people come up asking me about my work, thanking me for the impact my art had had on their week, interested and inspired by a way of working that they had not seen before. I've not done anything on this scale before but genuinely found grace and courage to REALLY enjoy myself!

I had a fantastic time at Arbury Primary School last week and wanted to share with you what I've been up to.

Each year the school spend a whole week studying an artist and one of their paintings. This year they took it a step further - they invited the artist into the school to paint the picture in front of them. That artist was me!

My picture was called 'Take my hand' and was inspired by one of their favourite songs 'Right to be Loved' by Song Academy. I started painting the picture on stage in their assembly, projected onto the screen with all 450 of them singing along! I worked on the picture all morning as classes took turns to take a closer look and I invited each child to draw a circle round the edge. Here is the video (using a different song for copyright reasons).

Once finished, my painting was hung along with other examples of my work in an exhibition in the school entrance. I created a montage of some of the layers used in the picture to aid follow up written and art work.

Next I visited each year group to introduce myself properly. I showed them my tools and materials, they asked me lots of very good questions, and I planned with them the pictures we would create later in our workshops.
I gave them the titles of Happy, Love, Peace, Kindness, Excited, Thankful & Hope, and they decided which colours, shapes, lines and marks would suit their theme. 

Each year group (60 children) collaborated on a giant painting which they created in 6 groups of 10 that worked on 6 layers over the course of an hour, using the same techniques, tools and materials I use.
1. pencil lines & squirting paint 2. squeegees & handprints 3. sticker stencils with sponges
4. shape prints 5. sticker stencils with sponges 6. pencil lines & squirting paint

I videoed them at work from above and created mini timelapse movies for them, set to music like mine.
Links to these are on the school website side menu bar here

We ended up with 7 big beautiful paintings each measuring 1.5m square.

I provided suggestions of cross curricular lessons that teachers could do during the week in response to my visit and was thrilled to hear of the extra work I inspired - a couple of boys choreographed a dance, children discussed what colours different emotions would look like, one class bought a canvas to paint together, another responded using batik. Parents were talking about art activities developing at home throughout the week, and even some of the teachers were prompted to start painting in their spare time!

I was definatley in need of a rest by the end of the week, but it was such an encouraging & rewarding experience

This Saturday I did a LIVE ART demonstration at the Town & Country Show (Parkers Piece, Cambridge), as part of the Cambridge Open Studios publicity stand. A select few of the 350 artists taking part in COS this year were there with me handing out guides and balloons, while I got to play with paint in public! Actually it wasn't until I arrived that it dawned on me that I'd not only be watched by passers by but would also be observed by the other artists (who seemed fascinated with my techniques and process)!
Next to where I worked I had one of my completed pictures on display and also the video of the BIG LIVE ART I did in town the previous Saturday playing on my ipad.

I really enjoyed interacting with people as I painted. Dialogue ranged from sharing my simple techniques with children and encouraging them to have a try at home, to giving business advice on an interesting idea someone had, to discussions about potential for my art in community projects, to apparently solving someone's bathroom decorating dilemmas! As well as cool conversations I hope my efforts also result in increasing the number of visitors I get at my Cambridge Open Studios event - on Sat 1st & Sun 2nd July.

I painted 2 pictures over the 3 1/2 hours (adding finishing touches at home), these paintings are part of my Serendipity series (#3&4) and will be on sale in my exhibition in July. I took a timelapse video of my experience so I could share it with you. It's pretty fast moving so if you have any questions about my art process, just ask : )

Here are the finished pictures (acrylic on canvas 16x16")

I will be painting LIVE again in 2 weeks time on Saturday 24th June in Cambridge city centre: from ~1.30pm around Sidney Street creating BIG LIVE ART (a huge floor piece to music) and then from ~3.30pm in the Cambridge Open Studios publicity gazebo in Market Square, working on an easel. Come and say hello!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to make sure you don't miss my future art videos.

On Saturday (03/06/17) I did my first street performance art piece, my 'BIG LIVE ART' in Cambridge city centre (Sidney Street). I won't lie, I was a little scared, but I've had such a good response to the videos of these big pieces, and I love doing them so much that I thought I'd share them in a public setting.
I see painting as singing with colours, and wanted to paint a 'freedom song'. A visceral, rhythmic piece full of vibrancy and fun. A heart response to the music and engaging with what I am created to do!

Once we'd arrived and found a good spot my nerves went. There was a lovely anticipation from passers by as I set up and once ready I just got on with my 'thing', what I love to do, and could feel people crowding round, leaning in, intrigued and bemused! Some settled down to watch me for quite a while, others beckoned there friends/family to come and see, others walked on by with a smile. Of course all the kiddies were drawn in (and held back!), fascinated at the mess this lady was making on a giant sheet on the pavement. It left me a little concerned that I would be inspiring inpromptu floor art in people's homes from the little ones later that afternoon, and wondering if there was potential in the idea of BIG LIVE ART kids birthday parties in the future!!
A kind friend came along to support me, which I discovered was a real necessity. Not just about having some company and someone to video me, I found that creating a performance piece doesn't lend itself to dialoguing with people, and folks wanted to know what I was doing and why - leaflets for them to pick up and a video of a previous piece playing on my ipad were OK, but having someone to ask is always better.
I was able to chat with folks while setting up and packing down, and I took a couple of short breaks in the middle so I was available for some of the time. Once nearing the end of the piece I work less 'with' the music and the pace relaxes, I found I could create and converse then too.
People seemed to really enjoy watching me, really interested in seeing how I worked, many took leaflets so they could follow up on the piece on YouTube/social media and come to my Open Studio in July.

I actually really enjoyed myself and definatley plan to do it again soon!