For me January means tucking myself away and getting down to some painting...

This January I have decided to make a series of works on wood panels using my sketchbook ramblings as reference.

The last couple of months I have been out and about sketching my local stretch of coastline and a few places further afield too. It's a bit of a challenge translating my sketchbook scribbles into coherent paintings but working on the small wood panels is really enjoyable.

Possibly my favourite was the ancient woodland on Dartmoor, I thought all those gnarly trees and mossy boulders would be impossible to translate but it turned out to be a great experiment in capturing the memory of being there, the light through the trees, the knots and gnarls and wispy mosses hanging from the branches.

...Then there's my favourite and familiar coastal views of Woolacombe and also Broadsands just up the coast. These two were bright and breezy early winter days, blissfully quiet with a chilly breeze!

So what's next on the bench... well I had a little trip to Clovelly last week...