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New work December 2020

I have finally got round to creating new work. I made my lino print Christmas cards and now I am doing a series of Victorian shops in my local area, Holloway.

I am hoping to go to the studio soon to proof my 4 new prints, I use acetate to transfer the image from the photo, flip it over and then transfer it to the lino. I like using Japanese vinyl better than lino, I find it easier to cut.

My little studio in Islington

June Walk on Hampstead Heath

Sunday 28 June; Subs and I got the bus to Kenwood and got off just before Whitestsone Ponds so that we could walk down on one of the dog walks into the trees. We met some amazing trees we call them the Tree Giants, they have been there for over 100 years, and a very overgrown part of the Heath. What a lovely walk.

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June walk to the reservoir

Subs and I walked through Finsbury Park again to the reservoir.

The silver blob with our reflections

The ducks and cooties fighting

The pumping station on the river

Walks and Lockdown

1st June 2020: Well it has been 3 months for lockdown. I have lost a bit of work but online teaching is taking off and proving really okay, and not as difficult as I thought, my partner Subs has most of his work, although our jazz club is closed for the present.

Subs and I are surviving very well in my opinion, we have cooked lovely food, gone on lots of walks around our local area; places we have rarely visited. and our big project was to clear our garden and have a shed constructed, which we did. We are now gardening, finding plants and creating a lovely space to sit in the summer. We had a shed warming barbecue with a friend last week and enjoyed the garden in the late spring evening.

It took 2+ weeks to clear the garden thanks to lighting fires, the council removing huge bags of weeds and dead leaves, and we cut a branch that had fallen from our cedar tree.

before the clearup : so much work to do but worth it

Our little shed 20th May 2020

We have started planting and creating borders, June 2020

Walks and Paintings

I did a lot of paintings from our walks during the first part of the lockdown and I sent two of them to the arts depot for their exhibition, they posted them on their exhibition page

https://www.artsdepot.co.uk/paintings-local-walks

Subassa and the duck, at the reservoir

Queens Wood, Highgate

Grenville Gardens

I am trying to compose my pictures better and use quadrants to see where the details are. I have also added some fine details. It is all a bit twee though and I need to eventually loosen up.

Grenville Gardens, Our local Park in Islington. We are lucky to have lots of parks, green spaces, Hampstead Heath, Waterlow Park and treelined streets.

Grenville Gardens, Islington, London

A sunny cycle ride

Today I went around my local neighbourhood, all the parks are closed to the kids, yesterday I painted a local street: Zoffany Street, named after the famous British painter of the 19th century.

Crisis walks

Sunday 5th April: I haven’t included more recent walks as they weren’t very interesting, we usually combine a walk with a shop, now we have to queue for ages outside shops to keep our distance. However today I cycled to Waterlow Park and took some photos to do a painting. The park was sunny and warm, a few people were walking with their dogs, it is such a magical place. Charles II’s mistress Nell Gwyn lived here in the 1600s.

Friday 28th March: Walked to Crouch End, queues outside all the shops, managed to buy lovely veg in our favourite greengrocers. Had home made sausages for lunch, sunny day, the squirrels up four times for nuts today. I spent the day painting in the kitchen, it’s a still life using layers to build up the colour and form. It took me 3 hours

Wednesday 26th March: I went out on my bike to get stuff and pay money into the bank as some shops only take cards.

Tuesday 24th March: We went all the way to Hampstead Heath, had coffee and buns on the heath, bought home made sausages and eggs !!! Subs got a nice loaf. Sunny day, I cycled back, Subs got the bus, I chased the bus all the way home.

Monday 23rd March: We went into Crouch End for shopping, some queues already. I got some veg and health food in the Haelen Centre

Saturday 21st: Today we went up the old railway track to Finsbury Park. Lots of dog walkers, then off to Tesco to buy stuff. No queues at this stage, that comes later.

Friday 20th: We are going for a long walk every day. This Friday Subs and I went on a up Holloway Road and back the other way, 2 miles we reckon. My legs ached by the end. Managed to find some toothpaste!

Saturday 21st: A couple of miles around the Holloway area. I picked up my bike which had had its brakes fixed

Sunday 22nd March: Up to Alexandra Park near the lake with the plastic swans and the geese mating and making loud squarks. We had tea and coffee and had to be careful touching the money, cups, etc. Also where to sit on the bus to avoid people.

Bought some lovely artisan bread in the organic shop as we don’t shop in supermarkets any more. We are both apprehensive as we have serious hospital appointments this week.

Ally Pally park

Spring Crocuses

Spring Hyacinths in our kitchen

Spring Crocuses

The lovely crocuses on our balcony this wintry February day.

Kings Cross Walk

4th January 2020, Subs and I went on a walk around Kings X to see what is happening with the development there, it’s almost finished and is a really amazing architectural achievement of shops, cafes, old history of the area and the gasometers, not to forget the Grand Union Canal running through it. We had a coffee in the lovely waitrose and a guy at the next table gave us all crackers!

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Holloway History Series

I am doing a series on Victorian shops in Holloway Road, north London. I have found a few photographs at the local history centre but no more than that. This is Suttons Opticians. It’s a first draft of a lino print size 12 x 16 inches. I will be selling prints on my etsy shop and my website later in the New Year. There is a bit more work to do on this

2020 Sketchbook challenge

Here we go again, the 2020 sketchbook challenge which I have done for the past two years. I’m hoping to be more experimental this year, using various media, ways of working, seeing, going out more , walking, thinking…..

Christmas cards

Getting ready with my xmas cards, these have taken 4 printings so far including gold, they will be cut in half and folded into a concertina booklet with a cover which has the letter M in Gold on red card.