Hi there,

Well so far 2025 has been a rollercoaster of a ride for me and my art. After the ‘Fresh’ show in January, I thought I would cruise along to my Open Studio in May with some kind of grace. Not meant to be! My eye operation in March, a great trip to France in April and then I found myself up to my ears in framing my paintings and right in the middle of all the preparation came a commission to paint a special card, for a special person on his special (50th) birthday, the one and only David Beckham. It was a very different but brilliant thing to do, he loved the card, which made my day. I do occasionally do illustrations, a very different vibe to my landscapes, but all mine nonetheless. You will find a few more on Instagram if you’d like to see.

Okay, so global icon out of the way, the Open Studio in May was great, and I sold my paintings this time to people that I already know, which was really touching and I’m forever humbled by it, to those who came, saw, chatted, bought, signed up for this newsletter or anything else, thank you and hope to see you in November (more about that later!). 

After the show (and the huge birthday card), I could feel my cortisol levels dropping to normal, until 3 days later, a call from Sky Arts to invite me to appear on their new series of Landscape Artist of the Year.  Well – you can only imagine how all levels shot right up again, this time for weeks. The show was filmed in June, in Dover where I was not painting the ancient Castle, or even the White Cliffs, but the Ferry Port! For someone who doesn’t paint many hard lines, this was a big challenge. I painted like a demon for 6 hours, only stopping for a few minutes to force down some lunch. Of course, being interrupted twice an hour to be interviewed or filmed was also a bit different, now that does not happen in Studio 208!  Anyway, the show is out in January, and you will have to wait until then to find out how it all went. It was a whirlwind experience that is for sure.

July was remarkably quiet, I worked on a new series including this bigger one ‘Iris’ (as shown at the top), and was thrilled to deliver three paintings to their new homes, sometimes it takes a while for the right painting to get to the right person, and I’m so happy these are now in their respective homes in Italy, Switzerland and the ever beautiful Dungeness. Now racing through August, I’m in France with my family, and finding time when I can to paint, really enjoying hearing the waves as I write this and every day as I paint.

Next Open Studio dates have been confirmed, I look forward to seeing you there 6-9 November, in the usual place! In the meantime, I have a few new paintings on my website, more to come in the months ahead. 

Enjoy these last weeks of summer, 

Alison