E X C I T E D B E Y O N D W O R D S ! Fantastic news for people who love postcards: my first batch have arrived! If you caught sight of me in the @nationalportraitgallery a couple of months ago, you would know how excited I get about postcards. And gift shops. And souvenirs of all things arty. Well, you too can be part of the excitement and buy your own postcards from me. No need to travel all the way to London to pick up your posties ❤️ The link to the order form is where you know it always has been. Scroll up! 😉 I’ve only got two orders in so far. Please let me know if you’ve filled in the form and not yet got an invoice (one of my fans alerted me to the fact that she placed an order but I couldn’t find it. It’s a Google form so I get to check in and see who’s ordered and when). Pop me a comment or a thumbs up if you want to be sure you get first dibs on the postcards. (Once they’re gone, they’re gone. It’s just me, myself and I processing the orders so every little nudge helps) Tuesday News Day has never had such good news hey!!?

It’s been a crazy busy month, what with working on the largest canvas I’ve ever done, my first life-size portrait, a group exhibition and much more. You can read all about these things and more in my latest newsletter (sign up via the link in my bio). But for now, a quiet moment in the studio to honour my fallen comrades, the tools of my trade. Every paint cloth represents a battlefield of sorts, decisions made, both mistakes and successes. Every unused blob of paint on my palette, every mix of pigments, every pile of scrapings - all given in the line of duty. Every empty tube fully spent and cast aside. Every wringer and palette knife that finally breaks after years of service. The paint brushes are ‘rescued’, cleaned up, oiled and ‘bandaged’. There’s a lot of work that goes into painting for sure. And there is plenty to do in cleaning up the aftermath as well. But for now, I rest. Battle-weary and tired. Paying homage to my valiant soldiers all. (“Lest we forget” - words borrowed from Rudyard Kipling - with the utmost respect and reverence for people who’ve lost their lives and loved ones to war❤️)

Moving on to pastures new… It’s show time again folks! Please join me and fellow @salon104.art members for the opening of our group exhibition “Salt & Stone” at @worldartgallery on Thursday 27 August. The details are all in the slides. Let me know in the comments below which of the events you can join. I’ll be at the gallery too! It’s an opportunity to see my brand new work, fresh off the easel - an ode to the British summer from my childhood, with a nod to my twin sister @jojoaverytv who wakes up to this view every day, whom I miss every day, and - whom I rarely get to see thanks to the 10,000kms that lie between us. The space between.

☀️ Solar Eclipsed I have a big canvas on the easel right now. So big I have to open the sliding doors to be able to work on it. So big I can’t have the blinds down whilst working on it. So the sun casts its rays. And my window eclipses its light. Reminding me of the magnitude of this painting. My first ever life size painting of a figure. I thought, with the solar eclipse yesterday, visible in some parts of the Northern Hemisphere, and sending my friends and family there into a state of awe and amazement, I’d share the ‘solar eclipse’ going on in my studio 😁 Awe-struck, I am ☀️ And you? If you’re still yearning for something even more amazing, I am about to send out my monthly newsletter😁. In it, I share more about what I’m up to in the studio as well as where you can see my art in real life and where you can buy it too. The link to sign up is in my bio - it is super easy to subscribe. And I promise I won’t flood your inbox like the sun floods my studio. Anyone who knows me knows I loathe sitting down, especially being in front of my computer. But I do love connecting with people through my art and I love share my thoughts and feelings. So feel free to join me there. ☀️

C L O S I N G I N (2026) mixed media We’re closing in to the end of July Another month gone by Another week nearly done August brings another phase of winter here in South Africa. Sometimes we see snow on the mountains. More often these days we start to see buds breaking early in the vineyards in the Western Cape. The first signs of Spring. Then there is the first flush of spring in the Namaqualand. Activity in my studio is also gearing up, as new commissions and exhibitions come on line. I’ll be hosting a couple of workshops too. And I’m even thinking of a paper-based art sale for Women’s Day, including both originals (like this one!) as well as some of my limited editions prints. Stayed tuned by checking in on my account, liking this post, saying ‘hello’ below, signing up to my newsletter… or just sharing cos it’s caring. It’s hard these days to get past the algorithm but I’m determined not to let your fingers get frostbite this winter😜. Keep ‘em busy with all the above …yes, even if you’re roasting in the mid-summer of the Northern Hemisphere 😜

It’s been open a month now. And just over two more months to go. The HSFK Portrait Award at the @nationalportraitgallery Have you been yet? It really is so worth it. And there are so MANY beautiful portraits to enjoy. (Okay. So@I totally fluffed the audio sync here. But I’m not a pro here. This reel is really just a shout out to some of those amazing people who’ve been to see my work - and let me know. Thank you!) Comment below if you have so I can tag you (And feel free to share your photo with me or my portrait) ❤️

“EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE” SOLD … and how appropriate it sold just hours before my online art sale closed. Just hours after one of the most varied days of my week. Sometimes people wonder what I get up to in my studio. And sometimes they wonder why I’m not always painting. And why I’m not always in my studio. Well, here’s your answer. Here’s a glimpse of what can happen in a day in my life. This was my Friday. Swipe left to find out more… …And yes, it encapsulates pretty much everything you can imagine! Time in Nature. Time in my studio. Time in my community. Time with friends and strangers. Thank you @ladytalkmatters and @catchtrust for inviting me back to another session with these amazing young women. Thank you @awss for all the amazing work you do with the dogs and cats of our region who need another chance in life, and whom we as humans also have the privilege to care for. And what a beautiful place we live in. Thank you @landtscap for hosting such a beautiful 70th birthday celebration for AWSS ❤️

Sometimes an artwork lets you know when it’s done. And it pays to listen. I’m not always very good at listening and have been known to take a work ‘too far’. This initial layer was just that… until I paused and it whispered that maybe I could just leave it be. I think it’s ready now to find its new home, don’t you? Will add it to the Available Art catalogue tomorrow. Unless of course one of you pops me a DM first! I promise I’ll listen 🤗

Time for a tea break?… …we’re nearly half way through my annual week-long online art sale. If you’ve not yet made time to look at all the original artwork available at a discount (20% off, just for this week) maybe make that cuppa now and gift yourself a few minutes of browsing. Once the work is sold, it’s sold. Gone. For good. That surfer one I posted two days ago? Gone. NB: These are all original once-off works. No two are the same. You get to own the only one. Pop me a DM if you’re struggling to access the link in my profile to Available Art.