September newsletter

Welcome to my newsletter, keeping you up-to-date with the latest from my studio.

During the summer I took part in two art exhibitions - the first a Junction 12 Group exhibition at the wonderful Gardens Gallery in Cheltenham, and the second with fused-glass artist Debbie Smith at Dove Gallery in Winchcombe. You can read more about how i curated my work for this second exhibition, and view the virtual exhibition, in my Curating myself blog. I am now planning what to include in my next exhibition, with Living from Art, which will take place at the Parabola Art Centre in Cheltenham, from 19-22 October.

As well as taking part in these two art exhibitions, I had a busy summer of camping and walking holidays with my family. This left little time for creating art, although I did take some time out while on holiday at Thistledown and in the Peak District to relax while painting pen and watercolour studies in my field sketchbook. I enjoy looking back at these sketches as a reminder of the holidays. I also use them as references for colours and patterns to use in larger pieces of work. I now have lots of ideas for future paintings, so am keen to get back to my paints.

As well as my own collections that I will be working on, I am delighted to be involved in a project with Art Shape at Westonbirt Arboretum. During the project I will be creating artworks to exhibit next year at the arboretum, alongside other artists who also face disabling barriers. These works will aim to interpret the landscape at Westonbirt in diverse ways. We started the project by going on a guided walk around the arboretum, led by the wonderful Liz and Pauline. During the early September heatwave, it was a perfect day to enjoy the enveloping shade of these trees, to stroke leaves and bark, to listen to the birds and the branches moving in the breeze, and to smell the pines. I can't wait for the next visit, and to hear what ideas the other artists involved have about how they will react to the landscape in their pieces.