Five fleeting hours between school runs to conquer your creative to-do list? Discover the surprising power of focus, determination, and a simple weekly planner to transform intentions into action and carve out the respected space your brilliant work deserves. Ready to ditch the daily chaos and cultivate a focused flow? Read on.

There's been a void in the studio. It's part of the rhythm of creating. A series of paintings are developed and nurtured. They're pondered and worked on, worked on and pondered till complete. Then, off they go to be photographed, framed, and displayed, and the cycle begins again. Only I'm not very good at diving straight back in. A bit of regrouping needs to happen.

Botanical art often finds its inspiration in unexpected places. For me, a big chunk of that inspiration comes from an everyday muse: my kitchen windowsill. This seemingly ordinary space, filled with an eclectic collection of plants and objects, has become a treasure trove of stories waiting to be told in my paintings. Let me take you on a tour of the objects that spark my BRIGHT artistic creations. 

A flourishing tale for art enthusiasts and plant lovers alike! I want to share a story about the unexpected turn my latest collection, Bottle & Branch, has taken. It all began with a simple idea: capturing the beauty of found branches through art. But as the project unfolded, nature added its creative twist, blurring the lines between artistic inspiration and botanical experiment.

Acrylics are more than just paint; they're a medium with limitless artistic possibilities. For a mixed media artist like myself, this versatile medium is at the heart of my creative practice. Their appeal goes beyond compelling colours and into the realms of joyful exploration, for this malleable substance can be manipulated in myriad ways. 

Finding inspiration can feel daunting as winter blues linger and the world outside turns grey. But fear not, creative thinker, dive into a visual feast from the comfort of your own home with these 9 stunning art books. From gorgeous illustrations to captivating photography, these tomes will ignite your creative fire, fuel your artistic journey, and be the perfect eye-feasting experience.

In fine art, inspiration often strikes in unexpected places, weaving its way into our creative endeavours and shaping the essence of our work. The seeds of inspiration for my latest collection, Bottle & Branch, have emerged from three key influences: brushes, clarity and folk art. The developing collection is a still-life exploration into glass bottles, branches, pattern design and the pursuit of simplicity.

The cheerful supermarket kalanchoes plant (commonly known as a Flaming Katy) and a hand made ceramic pot, dotted in circular buttons, are the star of a brand new botanical painting collection. The collection takes a deep dive into composition, surface pattern and a personal connection with favourite colours and how they work in harmony.

As a contemporary fine artist, I am constantly looking for new ways to inspire my work. A favourite sources of inspiration is nature. The beauty and diversity of the natural world can be a powerful source of creativity. Spending time in nature helps open my mind to new ideas, unexpected colour palettes and has the added advantage of encouraging positive mental wellbeing.

Fine artists learn best through play and being free to experiment and explore is how to move forward. It’s in the unguarded moments of working with a new material and making random marks that discoveries are made. There’s a good reason artists refer to their work as a practice, because that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Differences are a key ingredient to finding joy and making life feel rich and full. Covid times made differences feel elusive. In the chinks of freedom in between those trying times a road trip to Saltburn-by-the-Sea, for crab brioche sandwiches, opened a whole new view and sparked a candy coloured abstract landscape collection.

Just to be clear, lilac is not my favourite colour. In fact it’s way down my list of not favourite colours. However, being a fine artist who loves colour, I enjoy collecting them. Taking photos that catch my eye is like creating a mobile Pantone colour chart on my phone. Lilac accents keep popping and I’m not entirely sure why?

A small tin flower pot, stuffed with hyacinth bulbs, sparked a new botanical fine art collection complete with bold shapes, luscious fronds, fancy china plates and dainty gold details. The finished work represents a desire to explore strong tonal contrasts and richly textured surfaces. It’s also a collection of mixed media paintings that helped me climb out of the depths of isolation.

Surrounded by lush foliage, in a charming North Yorkshire garden, artist Jan Wilkins invited Little Bird and I to make cyanotype prints. As part of a fine art skills swap, Jan kindly gave us the opportunity to explore this curious blue technique. Arranging gathered flowers and leaves on light sensitive paper we had first hand experience of one of the earliest forms of photography.

Drawing boats has long been a mini ambition of mine. Many times I’ve visualised the process of wanting to capture their distinctive shapes and bright colours on a page. Keen to put this ambition into action I went to Beadnall, on the Northumberland coast. With sketchbook in hand, I found a vantage point overlooking the harbour and began to draw; putting into practice what I saw in my mind’s eye.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if drawing outside had one of those good for the soul type names like the rather trendy shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing”. Yes there’s the term en plein air (translation “in the open air”) which despite sounding somewhat romantic in French seems to fall a little short of soulful when translated into English.