I’ve always loved painting and drawing from when I was a young child. Children can paint and write completely unselfconsciously until they reach the age of about 12 and puberty sets in, along with doubts about ability, not wanting to appear childish and other insecurities. That’s when most of us stop being creative, because we are brainwashed into thinking it is childish and stupid and we are no good at it. And that’s one of the reasons I created this website, not only to record and share some of the techniques I’ve used, places I’ve visited and exhibitions I’ve seen, but also to encourage the idea of creativity and to give it the value it deserves. Here are 5 good reasons to be an artist:

1. Exorcising those demons
Possibly everyone has that memory of being told they were no good at something, or even the experience of being laughed at and ridiculed. The simple answer to this is to think, why should I care? As I’ve grown older, I’ve gone through being in the self-conscious, self-doubting cage and have escaped from this by not caring what others think. If someone doesn’t like or even ridicules one of my creations, I really couldn’t give a flying ferrit. If they have constructive criticism, I listen and then decide if I want to take it on board, or not. It’s entirely my choice. Doing something like painting, photography, writing or sketching truly is freeing and can be very rewarding even if you are told that your art is “bad”.

2. Getting in touch with your inner bad artist
After exorcising those demons, it is very liberating to actually get down to doing those things, such as painting, that you’ve always fancied doing, but thought you weren’t good enough to do. The answer is to keep it simple. There’s no need to buy tons of art materials to get started, just a pencil or pen and paper will do. Just start with doodles, or sit on a park bench and draw whatever takes your fancy or draw something from memory. Just experiment and see how it goes.

3. Stressbusting
Sometimes personal or work related problems can be overwhelming and it is difficult to focus on anything else. Art has always been a great stress-buster for me. As soon as I begin to observe an object to draw and begin to make sketches, all my worries have much less significance. In fact it helps me clarify some of the thoughts in my head.

4. Developing new ideas and skills
Painting and sketching takes practise and can be a long and rewarding journey, but don’t be in a rush to become Picasso straightaway. It really doesn’t matter about level of skill, just whether you are gaining anything from the experience.

5. Seeing the world in a different light
Having an interest in photography and sketching has really made me see things differently. Instead of walking blinkered through the streets, you start to think, I like that colour, that person would be good for a portrait, the view from here brings up some interesting perspectives… You just notice things a lot more! The world is no longer mundane, but full of interesting “shots”, “views”, colours, interesting people and perfect places for sketching.

Just been to a “Christmas Festival” or what is more commonly known as a craft fair. I must say, apart from the food on sale which was delicious, I was a little disappointed with what was on offer. Is it just me or does “craft fair” mean hand-made/locally produced goods to you? Well that’s what I was expecting, not cheap goods imported from China/Vietnam/anywhere outside the UK. Where’s the “craft” in going to a wholesaler and buying imported goods? There were a few stalls selling goods that they’d made themselves, but these were few and far between.

Anyone who knows of a craft/art fair that only sells hand-made/locally produced goods please drop me a line…

It’s October already, but a welcome break is on the cards - a trip to Colonsay, a remote island off the coast of West Scotland. It takes me longer to travel there than it did to get to Egypt. First of all I get the sleeper train from Euston, travelling overnight to wake up in Glasgow Central station. Then it’s a bus ride across to Oban (3 hours), then a ferry (3 hours) to Colonsay. I could have gone to Egypt and back in that time. But it’s not just about how long it takes to get there, more to do with being worth it. And the answer is yes it definitely is worth it. Colonsay had a music festival for the first time this year too.

Bagpipes are not my favourite instruments. Nor are raging bulls my favourite animals. And I got to experience both. I also ate fresh oysters and yummy honey, drank the local beer (not so good) and collected fresh mussels from the beach. But it’s a real once in a lifetime experience to see the beautiful colours and go for long breathtaking walks.

Colonsay House has a stunning woodland garden to wander around, free of charge.

There are lovely empty, white-sand beaches to meander along.


And watch out for the fluffy sheep that seem to be everywhere.

Access to Beningbrough Hall is by a quaint toll-bridge that charges you 40p. The gardens are lovely for an afternoon stroll. The interior of the house is disappointing if you’re a seasoned National Trust addict, but it does have some interesting interactive exhibits that allow you to become part of a painting. There is a restored laundry room that’s interesting to visit. Made me feel guilty about the pile of ironing I haven’t yet got around to doing.

For more information visit the following link:

Beningbrough Hall

If you climb the steps of the Royal Academy and hand over your hard-earned cash this month, you will enter the Summer Exhibition 2008. Long running, often criticized and slowly evolving, the Summer Exhibition has become a national institution.

Here you will see a video of a woman using barbed wire as a hula hoop, amidst a painting of the M25, a flying lemon, and portraits of cats. Where else could you get such an eclectic selection of art or get proof of British eccentricity to such a degree? Possibly nowhere. But I still find this exhibition fascinating and well worth a visit.

Among my favourites were the cracked egg (a popular favourite) that beautifully reflects its RA surroundings, a book with a hole burnt through its pages, a map cut out to resemble arteries, tiny flags pinned onto a white background (Lost in Translation) and a painting of smiling jammy dodgers.

Red Road Arteries, Susan Stockwell

PJ Harvey, Miles

Transmission 8, Yoshimi Kihara

Centre: Lost in Translation/Colour of Departure, Chuya Ikeda

Zenith, Mimmo Paladino

I’ve not been doing much painting recently but I have been visiting a lot of places and taking photos. One of these is Paxton Pits Nature Reserve in Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire. It is off the tourist trail, so the only people you’ll meet are locals with their dogs.

You will see lots of dragonflies, damselflies, wild flowers, butterflies and birds if you decide to visit in July. Visit in April for the best time to see nightingales, visit in August for bat spotting in the evenings. There are two walks to do that are well signposted and either of which will take you around one of several lakes past meadows and among trees. This is a great spot for fishing too.

The only odd thing was that on one part of the walk, the path borders a housing estate and you walk past people in their back gardens. It also goes past some allotments. So don’t imagine you are in a nature reserve out in the wilds of nowhere. Here are a couple of pictures I took on my mobile phone. Enjoy.

I’ve just got back from a holiday in Egypt, where I saw some of the places I’ve always wanted to visit but just got to read about them in books instead. One of those places was the Valley of the Kings. In reality it was very, very hot (40-45 degrees), the sun was so bright it made your eyes water if you didn’t wear sunglasses, and you were hassled for money by the “guards”. However, it didn’t disappoint as I gazed in wonder at paintings carved into the walls that were thousands of years old. I could only guess at their meaning, but their effect on visitors is awe-inspiring.

Other visits included temples for the living. Queen Hapshetsut’s Temple (which aligns directly with her tomb at the other side of the mountain), Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. I even managed a short trip by boat down the Nile.

The Red Sea is amazing in a different way. It’s like swimming in a fish tank full of tropical fish, but the tank never comes to an end.

I want to return to Egypt and fulfil my other dream of seeing the pyramids and the artefacts taken from Tuthankamun’s tomb at the Egyptian Museum. Watch this space.

To read more and see my pictures visit my Egypt page

I’ve been to lots of car boot sales, both as a seller and a buyer. If you are an artist, you will find lots of interesting objects being circulated on the second-hand market. At one car boot sale that I visited, there was a man selling nothing but old postcards. I ended up buying one with an animated haggis on it running up a hill (don’t ask)!

Car boot sales are much more interesting than going to the shops, because you never know what you are going to find. Whereas shops are incredibly predictable and you see the same designs and colours repeated again and again. Sometimes after I’ve spent a few hours clothes shopping, I lose track of which shop I’m in as they all begin to merge into one.

The value of second-hand objects can change from worthless to desirable, depending on how long they’ve been around. At first they are items to be discarded, as they are “out of season”, “so last year” or just not liked anymore. After a while, though, they become desirable again. They transform from second-hand cast-offs to “vintage” collectables.

I’m selling at a car boot sale this weekend, releasing more second-hand goods into circulation and probably bringing back some curious items too.

The National Portrait Gallery is a great place to visit whether you want to browse their permanent collection or see one of the many temporary exhibitions. Vanity Fair photographs are on display at the moment, but it was sold out when I went (so book ahead if you want to see it).

We ended up on the 2nd floor looking at portraits from the 18th century, which I found just as fascinating as the contemporary portraits on the ground floor. There are many famous faces and you hear cries of “Oh is that what Byron/Mary Shelley/insert famous author/politician/scientist looked like?”

If you want a quiet life head for the top floor and work your way down. If you want something busier visit the ground floor and try to get into the temporary exhibitions…

Never thought I’d see snowmen in London during April, but here they are: