spring greens

Hello there!

This is a new canvas which will soon be winging it's way to Webbs Fine Art in London along with some other new work, including two I've been working on at home which are rather large if I do say so myself, at least larger than my usual size anyway. The second one just needs a bit more work which I hope to do over the next few days.

I have just come back from a flying visit to the parents, a nice relaxing time mainly consisting of sleeping, eating, cats and crosswords. Despite the recent wintery weather, Spring seems to be 'springing', with daffs up in the garden, buds on the trees, and even an occasional ray of sunshine. To celebrate I have planted mange tout and tomato seeds - never grown veg before, so will have to see what comes of that (hopefully some form of edible mange tout and tomatoes!).

The studio has been reasonably bustling over the past few weeks, which is nice as this is usally the quieter time of year. It's heartening that our Craft Centre may be becoming less of a 'hidden' gem - just 'gem' will do! I have no regrets about taking the decision to leave the Whitworth, apart from missing out on the office banter (and office baking now I hear!), as life has become simpler in a positive way, and dividing my time between the studio and home seems to suit me just fine.

Kathryn of Edwards will be leaving me (noooo!) but only for three weeks while she and her partner Chris tour their new project around Canada - 'We Are Willow'. (More details on Kathryn's blog). I'm sure they'll have fun times. For three weeks I will be full time at the studio, so six days a week. I wouldn't want to do it all the time, but three weeks is a good opportunity to try and get lots of new work under my belt.

In other news, some commissions have been keeping me occupied as usual, and the lovely people at The Art Group who have previously published my greetings card designs in America have been in touch with some new ideas which is great. I'm not sure how concrete they are at this stage though so more about that in the future hopefully. I've also sent some samples of cards and small canvasses to the shop manager at The Butterfly World Project, a new all singing visitor centre with butterfly houses, meadows, gardens, and lots more, opening in Hertfordshire soon, so we will see.