Well life is getting back to normal again. Residencies are over for the year, planned exhibitions for this year are finished and tidied away. So I can now take it a little easier for a short while; but that does not mean stoping painting.

Above is view of the boggy area half way between Guildford and Godalming on the Wey Navigation.

A studio piece and it took hours to do, but gave a feeling of satisfaction upon its completion. Enlarge the drawing and you will see that there is very little tradition shape drawing, the majority of the work is all sorts of marks and squiggles, which end up as a representative image. Try it, scratch's, wiggles, circles and sorts of lines, marks and blots, but no actual representative marks; its good fun and it works.

There was a slight omission to last nights blog. I forgot to say where the exhibition was in Guildford.

Well it is at the Guildford Institute, opposite the friends meeting house just off North Street until the 24th of this month.

There are eight pieces on display and the subject is all the about bright things in our lives. Like music, leaves, fossils; many media are used, including water colour, acrylic, ink, mixed media, coloured pencil and the first showing of one of my copper wire sculptures. We need to keep exploring, experimenting and trying new things. Hope if you can get there, you enjoy it.

Oh by the way the institute does super veggie food at lunch time. I am not a veggie, but their food is super; the desserts and cakes are heavenly, I would recommend it to anybody.

Some of you may have noticed my absence over the last few weeks, well, sorry but I was rather poorly. Thankfully now I am well on the mend.

Sadly the exhibition in Fordingbridge had to be cancelled, however the gallery were pleasantly understanding and are giving me a fresh date later in the new year. Thankfully the Guildford exhibition was all framed and ready, so a very good friend hung it for me; thanks John.

Slowly I am getting back to normal thankfully and am back working with Mind and other organisations.

As a cold snap it with us at present I thought that a coloured pencil mountain snow sketch from the Peak District would be appropriate. It was done some years ago whilst sitting in my car right on the top of Stannage Edge. It was even to cold for me. The wind was howling, the snow flying and I just was not prepare to rough it enough and sit outside. So this was produced from the relative comfort of my little Skoda.