What makes you excited? Gives you a buzz? A rush?
For me it's horse racing.
I can't say I am a punter - that always ends in disappointment. But the thrill of the chase pumped up by the gradual crescendo of the commentator as they near the finish line fills me with adrenalin. The horse lover in me is always mindful of what the actual horses are getting out of it, but as my brother (equine surgeon and one time jockey) informs me, if they didn't want to do it they just wouldn't. Having a horse myself I know that if another horse is playing up of galloping around it's field while I am trying to school her, the effort required just to get her to listen is exhausting! It's a pack thing! One goes, they all go!
And so it is with that knowledge that I allow myself to be immersed in the thrill of the chase. Of course for me it is not just about the race itself but the visual spectacle that turns me on. The colours of the silks, the movement of the horse, the partnership of horse and rider. These things and more are what have compelled me to try and capture some of that energy onto canvas.
I have just finished a three part series of paintings - all 30x30cms that will be exhibited at The Bear Steps Gallery in the Spring. They may even get their first outing at the Macclesfield Open at the Town Hall in March.
My aim for this series was to use colour and mark to represent speed and energy, and a continuation of my pursuit of capturing animals in motion and exploring the relationship between animals and humans.

It's funny how one's tastes and styles develop and change.
A bit like travelling on a journey to a destination as yet unknown, but taking in everything along the way. Some things you like (probably the food in my case - oh and the wine), some things you don't (cold dull weather and extreme heat?). Immersing yourself in every minute of every day can be exhausting but if you allow yourself to take in the good stuff, the new and exciting seeds of ideas and then explore them it can lead to somewhere you only dreamt of.
And so it was with my last painting that I put on my brave pants and started this 60x60cm canvas. It actually already had a painting on it. It was one of the paintings that I started on Gerry Dudgeons course in the summer....here it is at the stage where I left it - actually hid in the corner of the studio.

Lesson learnt!
If you don't like where you are have the courage to change it! And value the journey for that is where the lessons are learnt...that's all folks! As you were :) 

Having completed 'Our Worlds Collide' and thoroughly enjoying working with colour again after Christmas commissions, I decided to revisit the work that I started whilst on the course last summer with Gerry Dudgeon at Coombe Farm Studios.
It amazed me that after really struggling with it and putting it away for six months, how easily it all came together in the end. 
This was painted from sketches taken on a day sat in a beautiful garden that had the most breathtaking views across the Devonshire hills. The colours were heightened through observing the underlying hues and saturating them for my own pleasure.
I hope you like them! These and more new work will be exhibited 22-24th March in Macclesfield Town Hall, and again in April at The Bear Steps in Shrewsbury - subject to them being sold!

I find that life is about contrasts and the good times are always appreciated that much more if there have been some serious lows.
This painting for me is the narrative of that theory. I have been working with this painting for over a year and during the time it has been on and off my easel it has been through some pretty drastic changes. Friends that saw it through it's various stages have raised an eyebrow, looked concerned, sent me self help links and generally looked out for me!
I on the other hand have been frustrated, fed up, confused and finally relieved that it all finally made some sort of sense. 
I have been striving for a looser and more let's say, abstract handwriting but it is hard to achieve that without having to tick a lot of boxes along the way.
Drawing is the foundation of all good art. Fact. I can't be bothered to argue with anyone that doesn't think this is the case so don't waste your breath. It is my opinion, and that of a lot of other artists that I admire.
​So I have been strict about practising and honing my observation skills. This is of course a daily habit and there is always something else to improve on, but I feel I have really worked hard on this particular aspect of my development - and will continue to do so.
Colour is something that I am obviously drawn to and I have studied colour theory and have a rough grasp of the do's and don'ts so wanted to see if I could put this into practice in a. larger piece of work.
Abstract however is a whole other kettle of fish! It has been one of the hardest things to try and develop! When you are so used to dealing with getting a likeness it is hard to let go and try to represent the 'essence', 'emotion', 'shape' or suggestion of form. A workshop led by the totally abstract Gerry Dudgeon and then day painting with the wonderfully expressive Lesley Humphrey taught me a lot!
So that is why this painting started out as a straight representation of a dressage horse and then went through many different identities including a black canvas at one point, to then come through like a phoenix form the flames and become my first painting of 2019!
Happy New Year to you all and I hope that it is a happy, healthy, challenging (in a good way), and prosperous one for you all! 
Thanks for following me along the way