During our escape to Dublin last month we encountered many distinguished taverns. Every avenue appeared to have a beautifully aged watering hole (or two). We fell into this one with weary feet, having padded the city streets for most of the day. Turns out we found one of the most celebrated locations in the Temple Bar area; The Palace Bar is a 200 year old heritage pub found on Fleet Street. We certainly enjoyed our pints, with the warm service and fantastic decor. Once back in the studio it felt like an excellent place to start with a little pub painting! Here are some photos of the piece I ..read more

Back in February I posted a new colouring page featuring our local steam railway, the delightful Mid Hants that runs working engines along the Watercress Line. It’s a composition I was keen to get back to once I had completed my big commission canvas (You can check out my Kingsgate Rooftops scene here). Having cover the subject a few times before in theatrical wintery hues… this painting needed to be more lush and Spring like. I therefore present my green toned ‘Springtime on the Watercress Line’ created with acrylic and ink on A3 acrylic paper. The view, as it usually is for me, is an imagin ..read more

A new sporting addition to my colouring page collection! Featuring a touch of lycra and a good steep incline. The event itself is held later in the Summer, but with a little Spring sunshine it seems like everyone is getting out on their bikes at the moment. So here is my Tour de France colouring page. Free for anybody who needs a little mindful colouring time between rides! I’m developing this one with my Etsy shop in mind (the sporting ones seem to make good gifts). But anything with an extensive mountain range in the background has extra arty appeal for me! I’ll be adding this one to the ea ..read more

Phew! Some of my canvas compositions can be more of a marathon than a sprint. This original Winchester painting certainly tested my endurance. I’ve painted plenty of scenes from the East and West, where there are natural viewpoints in the landscape, but this one took a view from the South of City. The vantage point is an imagined one, somewhere above the water meadows and the area around St Cross. It looks along the Kingsgate Road that leads towards the Cathedral. Despite the level of possibly confusing detail there is a nice zig-zag of houses. It’s definitely not 100% accurate to the lay of ..read more

We picked Bristol as our first explorer day of 2024! I was accompanied by my friend and fellow Winchester creative Jez Long (AKA SpookyJelly) who helped me capture some reference shots as we wandered. The weather was a little gloomy at times, but the city offered so much in its mix of architecture and culture. Around every corner there was something interesting to find. Lots of lively small shops and cafes. Not to mention plenty of wall art/graffiti that really brought the streets to life. Below is a quick video sampler from our Bristol Explorer day! I purposely (but perhaps also lazily) ref ..read more

One of the lovely, sometimes unseen, characteristics of Winchester is the classic shop signs in the city centre. One of my favourite examples is situated at the top of the High Street. It belongs to Warren & Son and it happens to be one of the oldest businesses in town. Their pen and quill stationers token is part advertisement and part sculpture. It obviously caught my eye a while back, as it features in my growing collection of paper cut paintings! Warren & Son have also been a regular stockist for my cards and calendars. So I was delighted to be asked to contribute artwork to a new ..read more

A simple commercial artwork made for the food & drink industry. With March and the turn of the season fast approaching I was given this Mother Day brief by David and Jayne over at Yarty. I was able to create a hand drawn piece, featuring elements from an afternoon tea and their fruit cordials. The illustration was used for a email promotion and was sent out to their newsletter subscribers. For inspiration there are plenty of references available for classic Cream Tea spreads. But I also found some wonderful examples of vintage illuminated wallpaper. The blossoms and branches seemed to fit ..read more

If you’ve seen any of my artworks before, you’ll know just how much I enjoy my building studies. Architecture is a passion, or rather a fascination, as well a focus for many professional projects. But if you were to join me in the studio one afternoon you might be surprised to hear that I also love a good musical. There’s often a good soundtrack keeping me company as i’m painting! So it’s truly a delight to share a project that brings those two things together. This new artwork is a paper-cut/diorama of the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London. Standing at the Sky’s Edge The theatre is hosting ‘Sta ..read more

Looking for signs of Spring? It’s a little dreary and wet out of the studio window today. But at least I have my palette of colours to cheer things up. One of the commercial pieces i’m working on at the moment is this view of Alresford Station and the Watercress Line. I already have a couple of snowy versions of this platform, but the Mid Hants Railway has some truly lovely events throughout the year. This one will hopefully be a bright Springtime scene with a lively steam train and vibrant bunting! I thought i’d create a Watercress Line colouring page from the composition sketch… in case you ..read more

We recently went for a stomp up Old Winchester Hill in Hampshire. It seems rather incredible, having lived in this area for well over a decade, that we’ve not visited the site before! It was my 40th Birthday and the weather was perfect for getting out on the South Downs, before celebrating with a hearty pub lunch. Here are some photos from the top. Up on the Hill The hill is actually around 10 miles out from Winchester, lying to the east of Corhampton in the Meon Valley and opposite Beacon Hill. It became part of the South Downs National Park in 2009. The South Do ..read more