Studio Diary - 3rd April 2026

I’m determined to apply working hours to my practice.  What happens every time I attempt to ‘just be an artist’ and not to have a ‘proper job’, is that I begin to drift into some nether world where time has no meaning. I find myself reading novels while drinking expensive coffee, writing poetry and walking slower and slower on the Fire Hills whilst gazing out to sea.  The sense of urgency dissipates. I spend longer standing back to look at my work.

New York Commission

This sounds idyllic were it not for the fact that art is also my job and I am not rich and also rather like it when I can pay vet bills and buy food (and said quality coffee). And so, I was ready to keep set hours this morning to paint, do admin and all the necessary things to adult. It started off well. I finished a commission, which hopefully my New York client will approve. I also carried on work on an oversized piece, though this began to fly a bit too free and may need reigning in.

Looking rather wild at this point

I ran out of Liquin and Titanium White, so hopped in the car to drive over to Rye when my husband called me and declared that our dog was having a heart attack. In fact, he was not having a heart attack but he was having a seizure.  I raced there as quickly as possible. By the time I arrived he was back up on his feet, though still swaying and unsteady (I’m referring to the dog here). He’s not silly though and took the opportunity to see if perhaps he might be able to eat the cat’s food without getting told off, on account of having just had a fit, and so veered off at a slant towards his bowl. He then drank some water. Needless to say that was the end of the painting day, cut off early at noon. I spent the rest of the afternoon snuggling with the dog and watching carefully for any changes, since the vet's was closed and the nearest emergency vet was an hour away.

Massimo

The dog was fine and wanting to play, though I made him rest. Still determined to continue some kind of working day, I sent out emails and realised I had not written any kind of blog for months. The blogs I wrote before were not in diary form and sometimes rather dull to write and perhaps nobody wants to hear the trivia of my life, only I don’t really love commercial blogs which say, look, I painted this and this is why you should buy it. (This may also be the reason I don’t make as much money as I could/should (?).) So my idea is to write some diary notes, mostly for myself and perhaps to also justify the £12k I spent on a Creative Writing Masters (my husband has no idea this was not free so…sssshhh!) and because I am very fond of words and most fond of art. So this is the current plan – to keep a studio diary and if nobody in the whole world reads it except my ever supportive sister and myself, it will still provide some sort of log, so I can look back when I’m even older than I am now and see an account of this part of my journey and share it with you (if you're interested). If you made it all the way down here: thank you!