I'm back on poppies again....and other studio updates

I don't normally get too excited about frames, or framing companies. But take a look at this.

I have just taken delivery of this gorgeous gold frame from PictureLizard and I absolutely love it.

I recently completed this painting of a poppyfield which I wanted to give an iconic feel by adding gold leaf to the edges and parts of the picture. Gold leaf is extremely fiddly to do. You have to paint size where you want the leaf to go and then get the gold leaf and brush it over. Sounds straightforward enough..hmm....unless you have a draught in your studio.

I had searched everywhere for a customised frame to set it all off and stumbled across the PictureLizard website and I would definitely recommend them.

This represents the latest work I've completed and there are loads more still to do before I launch my new website later this month. I have a lot of projects on the go at the moment. Very exciting.

I recently took a few orders for childrens' paintings....for nurseries and bedrooms. These are very different to do from my usual big florals and in their own way, a real joy to paint. Here are some examples.

They are all based on briefs which originated from the prospective owners' favourite nursery rhymes and songs. I've got this thing about turning fields into patchwork quilts....

This is the latest childrens' work in progress. This is a coloured sketch/paintlet about A4 size. I spent this evening painting in the dusk sky onto the canvas which is twice the sketch size.

A break away from florals and another work in progress is.....bamboo. I love the structure and order of bamboo. This one also is a 'paintlet' which is going to become a triptych. A big one. As you know I love painting big.