Before and After

Sadly, before Christmas, Lucy, one of the two family cats (sister to Minnie) passed away after struggling gallantly with heart disease for several months. She has been sorely missed as she was part of the family for over 16 years and a constant joy to be around. I always looked forward to seeing her when returning home and she always made me laugh and smile. She had one of the most gentle, sweet, playful and loving characters I've ever seen in an animal.

As a tribute, of sorts, I have revisited an earlier painting of Lucy I'd previously 'finished', with the intention of completing it properly in her memory.

This link shows the original blog post I made a few years ago concerning the initial painting. Below is a side by side comparison of the two cat portraits.

Spot the difference! Which one do you prefer?

The medium is acrylic paint on canvas textured board. The painting has been framed and given as a gift to my parents who have it hanging in their dining room.

Keep to the Path!

A noble message, an amusing one too, displayed along the track leading up to the church near Baddesley Clinton encountered on my weekend walk.

But in terms of getting the best photographs, not the best advice God has ever decreed...
The best photos are often taken when you stray from the path and start to see things from a new perspective. As evidenced by a wander through nearby Hay Wood. It was a lovely frosty morning and the sky was clear, full of that excellent winter light which makes everything look so very fresh and picturesque.


I must have walked about three or four miles in and around the small one or two square mile section of woodland and taken over 200 pictures, and with almost every push of the shutter release I thought to myself "it's impossible to take a bad photo here". To the point where I felt I might be going a bit mad, like when you get a tiny section of a song you hate stuck in your head on a seemingly infinite loop.

Getting off the main pathways and into the heart of the forest provided the best photo opportunities. Unfortunately, a lot of them looked better through my viewfinder than they do on my 27 inch monitor... I'm certain this is God's way of punishing me for straying from the path. That or my 9 year old camera is starting to show its age. One of the two.

Here are some of the better ones-

To Post or Not to Post

I've been in two minds for a while now as to whether or not to make this post. The reason being; I'm not all that happy with they way the above painting has turned out. But then I decided there's no point in only showing things when you're happy with them. If I did that, I'd probably never ever post on here. I almost always feel that there's more I could have done with a painting or sketch. Most artists probably think that way. It's what drives us on as human beings- the eternal search for perfection.

Actually, that probably gives the wrong idea about what I'm aiming for in my work. It's definitely not perfection. Not in a photo-real sense anyway.

Unfortunately with the wolf painting I ended up leaving it too late, and being as I had a deadline for its completion- the hand in date at the gallery in which it is now hanging- to me it appears unsatisfactory. I know that if I had managed my time slightly more effectively I could have achieved a higher degree of detail and finish. As it is, to me at least, it looks incomplete and lacks detail, which is a shame as I can see its potential.

At this moment I should point out to any future potential employers or clients, that on a professional basis my time management and ability to reach deadlines satisfactorily is impeccable :) The wolf however was done purely for personal reasons, so I'm allowed to slack off.

Officially a Professional?

Great news, I've sold my first painting. In fact it actually sold a few months ago. I'm now working on another. Stay tuned.

It's flattering to know that people are prepared to part with their hard-earned in order to have something I've created. It also provides a nice confidence boost and incentive to keep doing more. Hopefully, quicker, better and more often.