Nearly time for the annual Art Show at the St Andrew Blackadder Church in North Berwick High Street. Now in its 17th year this exhibition features the work of around 60 local artists and raises money for the Church Repair Fund and a selection of local charities. During the show tea and coffee along with homebaking is served - even I am baking! (a rare event, if I am honest). Opening hours 10am until 5pm on Good Friday and Sat 20th, and 1pm until 5pm on Easter Sunday. Note that the exhibition is not running on Easter Monday this year, but if you still need an art fix then pop down and see me in my beach hut studio!
All my paintings in the exhibition shown below.

Actually painting to be strictly accurate and it feels good. July and early August are usually a bit of a wipeout for me with preparations for in Bloom judging, but after that is over there's a chance to get out the paintbrushes again and produce something other than the drawing which I have been trying to keep up with down at the beach hut. As I realise we are now into late summer, or even early autumn - here are some red hot pokers emerging from a shimmer. I've been wanting to paint these unsubtle flowers for a while - and now's the time! I think these will be painted directly onto the background, rather than the collage style that I have been hung up on for a while now.

I've been footering around with this painting for weeks but I think it's finally finished. Funny how sometimes they fight you all the way

...or, not a lot of art happening! I have been really busy with preparations for last week's Beautiful Scotland judging and since then have really just enjoyed having a few days of relaxation and pottering around in my own garden. I have been sketching and planning in the evenings though, for a fairly complicated commission, which has started to emerge from the virtual and into the real after a couple of abortive attempts - but it's much too soon to show any of that! These three half finished agapanthus are all I have to show for the last three weeks...#unproductive

There have been some wonderful sunsets...

Whilst blocking out a large sketch of a sweet pea in pastel yesterday (a favourite flower - the scent!) I found that a bulldog seemed to have emerged.

Also I'm working on another 'wonky' pen & ink view of Quality Street, just planning it out at the moment. On dull days working in black and white is easier than colour.

Inspiration can strike from any source - in this case a discussion about favourite typos. The image was too good to ignore. :)

And yesterday, for something completely different, a vase of "never mind the species" pink flowers. I tried a crimson coloured background, which I enjoyed working on. It's a technique I haven't ever really employed before but can see it would be worth exploring for other projects.

...and looking forward to tulip season. One of my favourite flowers - so colourful and such variation in colour, height and structure. The earliest varieties are already showing their noses (although this cold spell will hold them back) but the real showy boys won't be out for at least a couple of months.
A looser style than I've been using lately and not finished - I'll give it a couple of days to marinate before looking at it with fresh eyes again, although I don't want to lose the spontaneity.

I finished the big rose painting I have been working on (I think it's Rose 'Princess Anne'). It has turned out quite well, although you need a good sized room to appreciate it ie be a fair way back!
Going to take it down to the framers this afternoon, which will be exciting in the wind...