A trip down memory lane!

Showing a friend around Cardiff Bay recently I went to have a look at the place where my career as a full time painter began. It brought back happy memories of some great times - working from a studio in Perch Buildings and going next door to Buff's for lunch with painters from nearby studios became one of the highlights. Now the buildings look forlorn and empty. I have a studio in the centre of Cardiff, it's the best I have ever had, big and light with large windows overlooking Cardiff Castle but something's missing from the old days - the community of artists and friends who gathered in Buff's on a Friday afternoon when work was forgotten and it became an end of week party. 

     Buff's and Perch Buildings.

It's hot!

After almost two weeks spent relaxing in London I came home ready to get back to work but the hot sunny days felt too good to ignore. So now I am still on holiday and indulging in nostalgia as I let my mind wander back to the long hot summers in France. How easy it is to replicate those feelings of joy and excitement I felt in France back here in Wales when I have South of France weather to remind me.  

                                                Soft Winds. Oil on canvas.

Cold Mornings

 When I wake I check the outside temperature by taking a look at the car outside - the iced up windscreen and thick frost on the top is pretty normal most mornings. When I leave for work the temperature has risen to just above freezing, it's sunny but bitterly cold. 

I'm using the next few days to give my studio a spring clean in readiness for a busy year ahead putting together a new collection of work to show at the gallery in 2024. A friend who had her studio above mine when I worked in Mount Stuart Square in Cardiff Bay has moved into the room next door to me. It has brought back good memories and a lot of reminiscing over cups of coffee.

                            Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff Bay.