This painting has been undertaken as a labour of utter joy. The figure sits in stillness, aware and yet part of, the external world. The landscape lies within and without.

An exercise in peace and focus.

For sale £450 for now …. box canvas ready to hang … jump before the galleries do!

Much of my time is either spent looking at nature for inspiration, or looking inside myself but this week I was captivated by some urban landscapes in Shrewsbury. Maybe I should say riverscapes.

Scaffolding is not normally an attractive subject but I can honestly say that it’s reflection here in the River Severn was wonderful.

Great inspiration here for a quilt or a print?

The message is – keep looking. There is beauty in everything.

Today the weather is particularly uninviting but I’ve put a heater in the Summer House down the garden and I will sit in there for a while this afternoon for a spot of meditation. The more I do it the better it gets and the more art comes out of my head.

Today maybe I will revisit the warm summer afternoon last August when we had flocks of dragonflies chasing the hatching flying ants over the pond. They keep appearing now and then  in my paintings.

Yesterday I mentioned the internal landscape and how I love to paint what is there inside. Today, however, the sun shone and I went on two walks with two lovely friends and their gorgeous dogs. It was cold and bright and we walked through fields, along canals and amongst trees as the birds sang their Spring in.

I didn’t see this view of course but when I came back I enjoyed working with the colours of the low light on the fields and the hedgerows. This is acrylic on brown paper with wool roving, cotton and beads. 6″ x 4″ I also love to walk in my mind through imaginary landscapes. At the moment it’s  prairies and barns and wide open skies. I can thoroughly recommend this kind of vacation – the mind on holiday for an hour or two!