Welcome to my December Edition

I hope the new month finds you all well

Painting of the Month

Embodied Nature : Deep in the autumn woodland

Paper pulp , watercolour & charcoal on 57x76cm cotton rag paper.

October Weekly Art Shows

Exhibition News

There are no exhibitions in December .

I am continuing with working on Embodied Nature for 2026 exhibitions

New Projects

I was working on some words for my weekly art post which I came up with

A thousand sorrows , an

unreachable well of

sadness

released as I surrender

to paper

Which has inspired me to create 1000 watercolour poems over the next 4 years which you can see its beginnings on website

The Serenity of the wild

My weekly art art show post reflects my work created however for my subscribers I will be adding more of process and thoughts whilst discovery of outside painting.

I want to reflect the vulnerability of finding our inner expression and the process of discovery of that whilst showing the work created and thoughts and feelings

I will begin this in 2026

November and December for me is forming a habit to go out each week

The work for the first 4 months in 2026 is based in Bakethin Nature Reserve in Kielder Forest which I will go every week

In my second week I have looked at different sizes of paper , some in a sketchbook and some created large and then cropped.

Different sizes creates different intentions of gesture and mark making allowing new expressions to be found.

The work is intended to be intimate landscape and what is right in front of me finding expression of myself through nature and its environment.

In my 3rd week my first piece became from a mistake which I liked. The others it is seeking out different ways to express something

The whole process is combination of being outside , this week at 4 degrees , the feeling of the place , how I feel , what I am looking at to guide me and mindfulness curiosity and play.

Mindfulness Art : Colour

People are often unaware of Air taking it for granted. When we begin mindfulness our breath is fundamental as an anchor to our mind and the life-force to our existence. We learn to feel the interaction of breath within our body.

Colour is the same , most people are unaware of how colour surrounds us and when we become aware it adds vibrancy and depth to our life.

How Artists experience Colour

“ I'm not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else. I'm interested only in expressing basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on.”
Mark Rothko

We all experience life completely different

Find colour through experience of looking yourself

Use colour through feeling and intuition : trust your choice

Do a simple meditation on the colour

You cannot make an colour experience which fits all preferences

Let your colour be you.

“ I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way - things I had no words for” : Georgia O’Keefe

I am drawn to a colour in the moment of painting

They have no literal meaning or convey words

Using colour is a felt experience not an intellectual one

Nature shows you this.

“Full saturated colours have an emotional significance I want avoid” : Lucian Frued

I avoid blue

I find greens evocative

I am in love with purples

I tend not to mix colours but let them find their own path on the painting.

find your colours which speak to you

Play , it maybe brighter primary colours , secondary colour or like Lucian darker tones and tertiary colours.

You maybe attracted to tones of colour

“ If you see trees of then make it blue” : Paul Gauguin

Connect the colour to intuition and feeling

Be brave with your colour

Ignore convention and explore how your colours sit with each other and how it feels.

Find your freedom with colour.

Let in you , into your painting.

“ Colour is a vibration like music “ : Mark Chagall

Colour is energy of light frequencies this frequencies vibrate.

Some frequencies will energetically attract to you more than others.

Feel the colour like music

mindfulness exercises

Being with colour

5 minute exercise

Pick a colour without judgement of preference.

Settle your mind with gentle noticing of your natural breath , going in and out, bringing back your attention to breath if your mind wanders for 3-4 minutes

Spend and minute or two just looking at the colour

Make some inquiry into the colour , what tone is it , is it subdued or vibrant , is it opaque or transparent , where have you see this before.

Try and do this without speaking and thinking : you know what something is without having to label it !

just notice any feelings without needing to name anything. Mindfulness has no judgement , it is just is !

Then note whether there are any thoughts and preferences . Are there any memories which it brings to mind , Did preferences come up , Where did your mind wander to ?

We often go through life thinking the preferences we have belong to us but quite often they are programs in our mind. Mindfulness helps us connect to things in greater depth and find our own truth.

Noticing colour

Bring intention to part of your day to notice colours which surround you.

I do this exercise when I wander in woodlands especially in Autumn with wonderful array of leaves.

That intention will activate your attention and you will begin to notice things in your day more.

Zoom into colour which grab your attention and spend some moments looking at it. Just be with it

No need for preferences or judgement off the colours just see it and note any arising feelings.

Note down which colours grab your attention during the day which strengthens your mindfulness of being aware in the present moment.

Wishing you all a happy Christmas

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