Above – today’s paintings in progress from a new series following a recent trip to Gloucestershire. The first two showing canals and the darker one of the Severn in twilight, which needs quite a lot more work.

This will be a series of 12 paintings on 14×12″ panels, quite a nice size to work on though it feels small after the Damascus paintings. I got in touch with a few galleries in nearby Bristol who’re interested in my work so this should lead to an exhibition some time this year I hope!

The Severn was a strange experience, we actually walked out on to the sand which as it turns out was quite foolhardy; the apparently solid sand bars can suddenly shift beneath you to the mud beneath, though I think the danger is more to do with the fact it’s a tidal river which comes in suddenly, which could leave you surrounded by water (as once happened when I was a kid, returning from Crammond Island near Edinburgh). Apparently if you’re sinking into mud you shouldn’t struggle but instead get horizontal to disperse weight, then crawl for your life!

The third wood panel for my Damascus Rose series has arrived so I’ll be completing the third painting soon, more posts on that coming up…

In the meantime, my sale of limited edition prints from the east coast Harbours series began today on Achica –  Link Here