All the Little Things — acrylic painting

In Autumn last year I was asked to do a painting of Norland Moor. Even though it is quite nearby I had never been. I think I went at the best time as it was dressed in coppers against cool grey skies. I did some sketching and took lots of photographs to work from for my painting. The grasses really appealed to me and they looked so peaceful blowing in the wind. There were lots of intriguing paths scattered through them.. This photograph was my inspiration for my final painting. I turned the colours up a bit, particularly in the...

Sometimes you decide to go for a walk and then the weather starts conspiring against you. The skies darken and the horizontal rain says hello. Sometimes you stay in, missing the open space and spending too much time on your phone. Then sometimes you think, blow it, I am going anyway.  So me and my friend grabbed our coats and went up into the hills. And it was glorious. The rain stopped on cue. Curlews, kestrels and bats! Swooped, glided and fluttered around us. Rabbits hopped and little lambs tails shook. And the skies looked like this... They made me...

In Autumn, 2019 I began a journey way out of my comfort zone; filming to appear on the BBC1 programme; 'Home is Where the Art is" . The main premise of the programme is that three artists compete for a commission, but it also gives a window into the world of buying art. Why do certain pieces speak to us? What clues to our personality do our homes give away? We began this process by looking at the potential buyers house, this was called the "snoop" as the buyers weren't there and we had to glean what information we could....

I have been really lucky during lockdown to have a couple of commissions to paint. It meant when the world seemed a bit bonkers I could find sanctuary in my painting. The first which I was finishing really at the beginning of lockdown was the client's house and view across the fields. They wanted a big sky, which suited me perfectly! I really enjoyed layering the colours for the atmospheric sky and introducing brighter colours.   The second was an anniversary present and of the bluebells in the woods. We are extremely lucky in Hebden Bridge to get carpets of blue...