This year has been full of connections, opportunities, projects, and new ideas. Here they are in [mostly] pictures:

Connections

I have enjoyed painting outside, inside, and alongside some great artists this year. It is always inspiring to see their work on gallery walls. Two friends have built on their own success as artists by opening their OWN galleries. All these people have fed my soul in some way this year, exchanging ideas, inspiration, and shared experiences. I would urge you to go on a voyage of discovery, looking them up. There are some big art names and some ones to watch in this gallery (see below for list)!

L to R Top to bottom (in no particular order!)

Joshua Donkor at the CBPP annual exhibition in Brixton’s Department Store gallery.

Yeside Linney’s “Presence” at the opening exhibition of Casildart Contemporary Gallery.

Huw Richards Evans’ gallery in Clifton

Frances Cooley’s solo show at Cass Art Bristol

Painting trip in East Prawle with Julie Dunster

‘Meet the artist’ event with Frank Harwood (from which I gained two beautiful original FH portraits of Yours Truly in action)

With Jane Bloomer, Jacqueline Hammond and Julie Dunster at the Plein Air Painting competition in Painswick Rococo Gardens

My Art Husband Dave Cooke’s work on show at Huw’s gallery

With Melissa Scott-Miller, and Oliver Winconek at Sophie Skelton’s artist & collector event in Scarborough

Adebayo Bolaji’s show at Bristol’s Arnolfini

A painting trip in Weston with Gemma Lane, Lorna Bryce, and Anne Graham

The irrepressible, inimitable, incredible Curtis Holder at Guildford House.

A painting trip visiting Jacqueline Kilpatrick in Penzance

A studio visit from Clare Bowen

Clare Creed (poledance instructor, bodybuilder, life model) modelling for my Raft painting

Tom Hughes at the Jamaica Street Studios open studio

Studio visit by Jane Bloomer

Aga Kubish, and Weston super-Mare Mayor, Cllr John Crockford-Horley

Jack Hicks (who wrote my solo show curatorial statement), and Keith Symonds

The incorrigible Daryl Hembrough modelling, for me and Ruth Meynell (one to watch)

Andrew Hood and Mandy Smith at Andrew’s show at the Kit Form gallery

Neil Watson (Dubel Prize finalist)

Lee Putman (at the SWLA)

Robert Greenhalf (at the SWLA)

Jacqueline Hammond (holding the beautiful painting from her solo show that is now in my collection)

Artists exhibiting at Aga Kubish Art Gallery & Studio ‘Botanical Vibes’ show

Amit Ghose, Dr Nicola Stock and Dr Maia Thornton of the UWE Centre for Appearance Research

The 2024 intake of Goodenough College Arts & Humanities (postgrad) faculty

Katherine Tyrrell at the SWLA

Public Speaking

I have enjoyed several opportunities to speak this year. Below are some links to associated recordings/documentation:

Standout projects

Some of my most meaningful projects are the work that I cannot share: Painting private clients in the comfort of my studio - understandably not for public view. Watch my TEDx talk to hear the sort of journey that is sometimes taken by artist & sitter in that context.

Here are my 8 top picks of work done this year, indicative of direction of travel for 2025. As you’ve stuck with me this far, I might as well show you my unpublic ‘goals’ page too!

Five portraits (of sorts), a still life, a landscape, and two anthropomorphic pieces:

Books

I have been excited to contribute graphically to these two awesome books, by two very talented women:

Diane Watt gave me the honour of providing the title calligraphy (done freehand on an iPad Pro) for the cover of her book on the life and letters of Margaret Paston.

Caroline Arthur included my illustration as the final swish of her book on how to get more than 1 wear out of your wedding dress.

Click on these images for info, and to buy either of these excellent tomes:

Exhibitions

A solo show at the Aga Kubish Gallery, a 2nd consecutive acceptance into the SWLA at the Mall Galleries, work in Huw Richards Evans’ gallery, the Conference Artist at AM10, exhibitor and panellist at the IWD event at Goodenough College, and with Tom Mead, Oliver Winconek, Florence Yuqing, and others at Sophie Skelton (Behind The Artist)’s collector event in Scarborough’s Woodend Gallery. Click images below for more information. I am very happy too that my painting of Amit Ghose is currently on show in a private business venue in London. I hope to have some concrete evidence of that before too long!

Sales

One of my favourite ever comedy sketches is Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s The Piano Teacher. So here we go, on “the sordid subject of money”: Almost any gallerist or artist I have spoken to has observed that artwork isn’t shifting easily this year. Even friends who are used to selling in London, New York, etc are reporting gallery closures and far lower year-on-year sales. I can see from my own experience that commissioned portraits, landscapes and still lifes are generally the way forward, from a sales perspective.

However, despite this, my collectors (new, and trusty steeds) don’t seem to have got that memo - so lots of my work has found new homes. Including the dead rabbit sketch. And the still life featuring a plastic carton of food waste and some dirty brush dip. Perhaps you have some on your own wall? If so, a huge thank you for taking that plunge, it means a great deal to me. Many pieces are now sold, but there are plenty still available here, including some of my favourites from this year (see above).

I have completed two portraits that were raffle donations (for the benefit of Birnbeck Pier Regeneration Trust, and for Help Bristol’s Homeless charity). I’ve also bartered a large landscape for a cottage stay… just in case that sort of thing floats your boat!

On a personal note

Life changes

You may have noticed from my recent videos that I have been limping for a while, and putting on weight. I finally got (paid) someone medical to take my appeals seriously, it turns out that I had stage 4 osteoarthritis in my left hip. Having submitted to the ministrations of a surgeon “It was knackered, no wonder you were struggling” on 14th December, I’m delighted to be on the path to recovery and fitness.

In other news, Man Of Dreams is retiring at the end of the year. He has shouldered a very demanding job ever since we met in 1997, and travelled a lot over the years. So I’m really excited for him to have less stress, and more leisure (reading and modelling for portraits) time. It is thanks to his job that my hip replacement was covered by health insurance. There is a lot more that could be said about that, but this is an art blog, so I’ll stay in this lane...

Mindset

Last but not least, as if this blog wasn’t self-indulgent enough, I wanted to share with you a new mindset that has helped me this year.

• Gericault’s famous painting the Raft Of The Medusa is a multi-figure epic, now on show in the Louvre. Done as a personal project (not a commission), it was submitted and exhibited at the 1819 Paris Salon to a good reception. It was even better received in London, but was unsold during Gericault’s lifetime. SO many artists, like Gericault, died without knowing the significance their work would hold in the future. Learning that his painting was essentially a punt, and never sold, somehow released me from the guilt of indulging so much time & materials on an un-commissioned piece.

• Who could fail to be deeply moved by reports of people round the world trying to defend their land from invasion, sacrificing their lives for the hope of benefit to future generations? To seek immediate ‘success’ for artwork seems facile, when people under attack are enduring such extreme hardship, fighting for something they may well not live to see.

My inner critic is very much alive, as is my intention to continue building on the successes of this year. But I aim to take more risks, so as not to squander my liberty and privilege on ‘easy drinking’ work.

Your comments are welcome

Thank you for your support and interest in my work. Feel free to leave a comment, or contact me directly with any feedback or enquiries.