Into June, hit the ground running.

Just when I thought I could kick back and potter in the garden or maybe have a few days away, all hell breaks loose and everything comes at once.

I’d been asked to supply some work for a great new gallery at Royal William Yard, an urban splash development of the old barracks and stores for the navy in Plymouth. It has the biggest concentration of grade 1 listed buildings in the country and has to be seen to be believed. It is is fast becoming the place to go, and I can see why. As well as taking down five pieces of artwork, I was also commissioned to do a piece of Plymouth Sound with Drakes Island. After some hastily taken photos and mentally making some arty colour and composition notes, I got it done in a week. At 48″ x 16″, it was not a shape I’ve done before and provided me with some challenges, but was really pleased with the result.

The new premises are within the officers houses, will be called ‘ONE’, and have a vintage tearooms, gallery, wedding venue and offices for an interior designer, soft furnishings and a bathroom specialist.

Delivering the artwork for the gallery, I also took some additional work for the interior designer based in Residence One for a client to view for their multi million pound new house in cornwall. Keeping the fingers crossed there might be a sale here.

Number three that week was a tweet from Cai to say that June’s Cruel and Curious exhibitor had pulled out at the last minute and could I fill in. Fortuitous as this was, given I’ve just finished an exhibition and have work left to sell, it did mean it was all hands on deck to pack, cook clean and keep the house going while I got it all together and just in the nick of time. So it was off to Boscastle to set up with storm paintings, the mermaid purse chandelier again and one of the lightboxes with a mermaid purse in it.

And lastly, a pressing need to sort out the home studio, turn it back into a bedroom for Tom who is coming home to lifeguard for the summer season and move everything to Wooda Farm Park, where my brother is clearing a lovely barn for me to use as a stunning studio location. More on this in posts to come.