I am exhibiting at The Palm House: Sefton park: Liverpool on Monday 30th..
Details here: www.artisansinthepalmhouse.co.uk
Come and say hello if you are in the area... It is a fabulous venue with lots of other Artisans and Crafters ..

2 Originals SOLD at www.cowleygallery.com today..

I am doing a Workshop over two days in Buncrana: County Donegal, details below, in June..
​Places are Limited to Eight per session so book early!

 On Saturday 7th May between 12-4  I am taking part in the following event.. For my part I will be working on a piece describing a window in the now restored Tower, and will be demonstrating my techniques and encouraging people to have a go...


An afternoon of art themed events in the gardens and restored tower at Gwrych. Thanks to a grant from the Arts Council we are inviting the public to come and use the castle as a muse for inspiring their creativity. The castle will be the backdrop against which our imagination will run wild. Artists featured include Nadine Carter-Smith, Liz Bolloten, Ceri Leeder, Yasmine Boudiaf and Liz Hodgkinson. Each artist will be working on a communal piece that features the castle or elements from its history. Come and have a go. If you are a photographer or a writer, bring your tools of work and be inspired. For those who want something different, we have a 'selfie challenge and treasure hunt'. Refreshments will be available on site and we are asking for people to park in Abergele rather than on site. Adults £5 and donations for children.

Believe it or not, sometimes painting can be stressful!  People look at you wide eyed, as though the only thing to consider is putting the pigment on and nothing more. In actual fact there are a myriad of decisions to make whilst the painting is in progress, and at times this can be so overwhelming it can lead to artist's block, which many painters suffer from at times including me. There is a tyranny in a blank piece of white paper!. However , when I am feeling like that, the only thing to do is paint! The longer you put it off, the worse it becomes.. and besides I am so in love with pigment and the beautiful Watercolour effects I can't stay away for long!
Anyway, going back to the title. Don't put undue pressure on yourself to produce a masterpiece!... Just enjoy the moment.. I find that I don't want to draw so much, but just to watch what happens on the paper and go with the flow, and "Less " is often " More "!

Lovely first afternoon at my little gallery! Every Sunday afternoon between 2-4pm in Eglwysbach in the Conwy Valley. Do call in and say hello... I have also started to do animal portrait impressions, which is fun... I am really enjoying painting animals! This one below is a well loved dog. " Smoky " original SOLD

This terrific Art festival run by the Denbighshire Art Society, is taking place on 12th and 13th August. details below. I know of at least two fabulous artists who are demonstrating, namely; Ann Fellows, s truly superb watercolorist , and Andrew Jenkin...
I hasten to add that I am demonstrating in a very low key way: as in, at my table, talking to people and selling paintings, prints and cards at the same time. Its going to be extremely abstract !

On 26th December last year our village bridge was swept away in the floods, and at a stroke removed one of the most popular village walks. Nationally, it was a terrible time of floods and treacherous weather and compared to some, we didnt fare too badly... but there was a real sense of mourning over the bridge, as some said it had been in place for 2000 years.
Subsequent to this I decided to donate this painting of the Bridge and river to  be auctioned to raise funds for village projects. It will be framed and double mounted, and this will probably take place late in Spring, so message me if you would like to buy any tickets.Meantime I am offering full size Limited Edition Prints for sale at £45 Plus P&P, and I will donate 10% to the village...

Its been a bit quiet on here as I have been working on two new projects. The first of which I can now make public. From Easter Sunday onwards I am opening a small Gallery in my house on Sunday Afternoons.. Details below. Do come and visit if you are passing.... would love to meet some of you!

I thought I would show you a little of how I work, and the processes that are involved....
Each painting is different and it is not always possible to do all these things, but ideally this is how I approach an idea, and then hopefully, a painting...
I see something that inspires me! Here, I saw this small Tortoiseshell on some Cow Parsley , which I love anyway, but it went up a gear when I spotted the dark thunderous summer sky approaching behind. I did a quick pencil/charcoal sketch, and then jotted down some notes, and finally did a colour sketch, trying out shades etc.. Finally I worked on the finished painting..
The point of all this is like a warm up, but it helps me to consolidate ideas/ composition etc before I start on the real thing...
​i have photographed these from my sketch book, so hence a bit blurry! Then the final piece underneath..