I was hoping to post weekly in the new year, but time runs away and I just haven’t managed it.

My plan is that from April I will be able to go back to painting full time.

In the meantime, I’m trying very hard to manage to draw or paint something each day, but I can’t say I am managing that very successfully. I have started playing around more with mixed media and have been getting results, some of which I am really pleased with and then some that are lessons in themselves of what NOT to do. Meanwhile, I temper this a little with my drawing. Drawing really centres me, and I am generally happy with the results.

One thing that I have done is agree to a challenge with a lovely lady on Instagram who is also finding it a little challenging at the moment, to achieve something regularly, so we came to an agreement on a challenge. The challenge is to use one implement (a pencil or charcoal or whatever) and draw something in the house with a time limit of 10 – 15 minutes, and then we send that to each other. It’s really helped me to find my way back to being in a habit.

Interestingly, I used to love hyperrealism. Then, after a while, I changed my mind and thought that if something looked exactly the same as a photograph, you might as well take a photograph, what was the point of the painting. But the strange thing is, whereas, with my watercolours, I like to be more expressive and loose I find I always go to realism or hyperrealism.

Anyway, as always, I’m very pushed for time, so I shall post a few of the pictures I have done so far this year, with the pictures I am happy with.

So, there we are for this week. Take care, hope to see you again.