During the Covid lockdown times, my personal artwork got a little stale. This was just one more thing to deal with during an already tough time. It seemed like the restrictions brought out new creativity for lots of people, whether it was baking or sewing or starting a new business. I just wanted to express […]
My new mixed media paintings have been through quite a process! They started out last summer as six squares on a sheet of 100% rag art paper (the good quality archival stuff used by professionals). I used only three acrylic paint colours (a blue, a red and a yellow), made some big swooshing brush marks […]
I’ve always loved listening to music while I’m doing creative projects. Over the past few years, I’ve become a huge fan of podcasts about creativity, art, illustration and the business of doing all those things. I enjoy and appreciate the friendly voices and deep conversations that podcasts provide. I’m always on the lookout for new […]
During lockdown in January 2021, a plastic drawer unit filled with books appeared outside a home in our neighbourhood. Its kind owner left a simple handwritten note on it: TAKE A BOOK, LEAVE A BOOK. This was […]
The Igniting Writing creative writing club for 11 to 18 year olds at Wokingham Library invited me to add one of my artworks to their Flickr gallery to inspire young people to write creative pieces. This year they are teaming up with the […]
An enchanting new image in my sketchbook every day for 100 days…now there’s a challenge!
Sometimes fate steps in and gives you a big fat clue about what art project to do next. That happened last weekend when Victoria Johnson posted on Instagram that she was doing the 100 Day […]
There is a slightly doom-laden quality to January 2nd. Not only do a lot of people go back to their daily routines after the holidays, but all the mass media images of tinsel, bubbly and celebration have already morphed into bright, hard-edged images of summer holidays, weight reduction and home improvement. After a couple of […]
I had an inspiring visit with Year 7 at St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate last month and I set them a little challenge to write a 50 word story about a nearby spooky place. The prize for the top five entries was one of my Blackhope Enigma notebooks.
The students certainly rose to […]
Earlier this autumn I had the pleasure of visiting Belmont Grosvenor School in Harrogate and working with the pupils on creating stories and illustrations. Here’s a lovely article about the day. We had loads of fun making up crazy tales prompted by character and setting cards I brought along. Sometimes the best stories are […]