Resignation

Couldn't resist taking this photo, it is just a shame you couldn't hear the deep sigh which drew my attention to this dear old doggy. She lay beneath a benchful of gossiping girl friends all of whom looked as if they had just stepped out of a Beryl Cook painting, each enjoying an ice cream cone and putting the world to rights. Good on you girls!

Village Gossip

This week I thought I would move inland a little bringing a few favourites to populate the village, marmite the cat, a couple of seagulls and of course some water to reflect the cottages. Sheep and farm buildings are next.

A day in the Dales

Yesterday I went with fellow artist Jane Redfern to see Andrea Hunter - felt artist in her studio. Andrea is exhibiting at The RHS Garden Harlow Carr Summer Exhibition with us and we talked about her work how we would hang it, She is making new work especially for the exhibition and I can't wait to see it completed. What a fantastic journey from Wharfedale over to Wensleydale the views from the hill tops were stunning and the higgledy piggledy farm buildings have inspired me to paint some inland pieces next week. Watch this space.

Gatecrashers

Look who gatecrashed my garden party!
These fantastic poppies invited themselves, self seeding right next to my studio window. I just had to share them with you. Unfortunately they have taken a bashing from the torrential rain we have been having but there are still plenty of new buds ready to open as soon as the sun comes out again. I feel another painting coming on!

Animal Antics

Hello again, I am back home after a hectic weekend and couple of days running workshops at an arts festival in Shrewsbury, with a theme of 'animal antics' I taught painting techniques along side a felt maker, batik artist, potter and story teller, children also made puppets and masks amongst a host of other activities, such fun and the end results were amazing. Hard work but very rewarding. I was so busy I didn't even have time to take any photos, which is a great shame.

By the way, if anyone has been having difficulty contacting me through my contacts page, we have had a bit of a glitch which should be fixed now. Sorry about that.

More news soon.

Nikky

Untidy - me?

Hello again, I hope you have all had a good week. I have been working in the studio, refreshed after a week of fresh air working in the gardens. This week has been mostly commissions for galleries but also thinking about what I shall be hanging in The Summer Exhibition at Harlow Carr. Next week I will be teaching workshops in Shrewsbury at an arts festival organised by a college friend, so I am looking forward to encouraging lots of messy play and sharing some of my own painting techniques. I will let you know how we get on. Take care and cheerio.

Here comes the sun

It is hard to believe that only two days ago I was huddled in my coat and gloves and now here I am looking for shade. The weather today has been fantastic and so say the bees who have been swarming around the foliage garden looking for a new home. Rather unnerving but very interesting, we were evicted from our area of the garden at one point until the swarm settled for the rest of the day in a nearby tree. The heat has made painting interesting as the acrylics have dried so quickly I have had to work fast. I have finished the poppy piece that I started yesterday afternoon, so here it is.