2011

Halfway through the first month of the new year already. Working on paper in my studio at the moment (oil and acrylic on indian rag paper). Just playing around really. Sometimes that's a good thing.

Have a couple of projects lined up for this year which are very exciting. Lots of good things for 2011.

Thanks for reading my blog throughout 2010, and hope you'll continue to do so this year too. I do appreciate your comments, so if you haven't done so yet, please feel free to interact. If you have already done so, look forward to hearing from you again!

The Fire Station

Painting's going well! Thanks to everyone who's reading my blog and posting comments - it's great to have your feedback.

More about my studio - my studio's in London, in a disused Fire Station built in 1911 for the GLC. It's in an industrial area of the city, near to the Olympic site. When the building first opened as a fire station a hundred years ago, there were horse-drawn fire engines there. The families of the firemen used to live upstairs too, so there's a real sense of history to the building.

There are five floors of studios, overlooking a courtyard on one side and the A12 motorway on the other. The building is just a short distance from Canary Wharf's gleaming towers which can be seen from the road, but it's a world away in every sense. Indeed, a friend visiting from New York remarked how similar the area felt to Long Island City, a similarly urban environment.

There are concrete floors in my studio on the ground floor, and it's freezing cold in winter. Yet it's the best studio I've had so far. I must say that the two studios I worked in when I lived in New York were some of the worst!

Twelve new artists are moving into the studios upstairs next week, and the decorators have been busy for several weeks getting their spaces ready. The residents upstairs change every five years. They live and work there, but my studio is a working space only - about 600 sq ft, with three big windows and a sky light. Four other artists have studios downstairs near me.

When I first left art school, I used to paint at home (not at the kitchen table, but in one of the rooms in my flat) but I soon realized that I prefer to have a separation between home and work. Everyone's practice is different.

I've posted a photo of my studio at the Fire Station above - it does not always look that tidy!

In the Studio

Working hard in the studio now that the days are warmer and it's staying light for longer. So far this year I've completed two new paintings, and am working on two 60" square paintings at the moment. It's been a good start to the year, and quite productive. I'm using a palette of rose and magenta, and everything glows very nicely when the light hits the canvas at a certain angle.

I'm working towards a project at the end of the year for which I'll need fifteen large paintings, so lots to do before then. More details later. Will keep you posted!