Category: Blog
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Why I Take My Own Reference Photos
I paint British birds and wildlife from photographs I take myself, around Sheffield, the Peak District and occasionally further afield. Here is why it matters, and how I get them.
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Fox Cubs in the Garden
We’d known foxes used the gardens around us, but we’d never actually seen cubs. Then one afternoon in 2025, the vixen brought them out into our neighbour’s garden — and I spent the next hour watching from the kitchen window.
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Why I Paint on Ampersand Gessobord Panels
People often ask what I paint on and why. Here’s why Ampersand Gessobord panels have become my go-to surface for small wildlife oil paintings, and how the smooth gesso ground affects the way I work.
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5 Studio Tips I Wish I’d Known When I Started Oil Painting
Discover essential oil painting studio tips to prevent waste and keep your paint workable. Save time and resources today.
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How to Frame a Painting on a Panel
A few customers have asked me about framing my paintings on panels recently, and I thought it would be worth taking a look at my recommendation.
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Birding and Painting
After about 3.5 years of not painting at all, the urge suddenly returned, and I’ve been gradually getting the hang of it again and remembering the joy of painting.
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Wim Hof Portrait Raffle for Masks for NHS Heroes
UK healthcare workers on the frontline are risking themselves daily without adequate protection to care for sick patients with COVID-19. In an effort to raise some funds for Masks For NHS Heroes, I am holding a raffle for my two oil portraits of The Iceman, Wim Hof (see below).
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The Self-Taught Myth
Do you ever check an artist’s bio on their website or Instagram, and see the words ‘self-taught’? A lot of artists describe themselves this way (myself previously included). But more and more recently I’ve started questioning the term ‘self-taught artist’, at least when looking at my own artistic development.
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100 Heads Later
100 Heads Later
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Another 10 Things You Can Do to Get Your Art Noticed
A follow up post to my 16 Things You Can Do Today to Get Your Artwork Noticed.
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Why I’m Freeing My Artwork
In this post I explain why I’m following in Gwenn Seemel’s footsteps, abandoning copyright, and placing my artwork in the public domain. (You Share Good artwork by Gwenn Seemel)
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How to Find Painting Reference Photos Without Breaking the Law
I don’t know about you, but whenever I’m out and about, especially when travelling abroad or in the countryside, I’ve always got one eye on my surroundings, looking for potential scenes to photograph for use as painting reference…
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Experimenting with water-soluble oil paints
I tried painting with Cobra water soluble oil paints, in an effort to go solvent-free. They got my seal of approval!
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Using a grid system to transfer a drawing to your canvas
A look at some different ways you can transfer a drawing to your canvas, and whether any of these methods should be considered cheating.
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Looking back on the daily blogging challenge
A look back on a month of daily blogging.
