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I finally got around to reading the exhibition catalogue for the recent Tate Britain exhibiton ‘Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920’, which ran from 16 May to 13 October 2024. I went to see it on its final weekend. The exhibition was expansive, and I spent far too long in the earlier sections, reading all the info panels. Once I got about halfway through I was feeling very tired. So I decided to stop reading all the information and instead focus on having a good look at each artwork while I had the chance to see it in person, and get the book to read later. ...

A couple of small (7x5in) oil portraits I’ve been working on, painted mainly in one session from photo references. Portrait, oil on panel, 5x7in, Thalia, June 2024 Portrait, oil on canvas board, 5x7in, Thalia, June 2024

This morning I got up early and went out for a walk and a sketch. I was trying out my new Uni Kuru Toga Advance 0.5mm automatic pencil with a 4B lead. The pencil was very comfortable to draw with, probably more so than my last Pentel one, which finally gave up the ghost after many years the other day. I’m trying to use up half-started sketchpads, and this was done in my Moleskine soft-cover landscape sketchbook. The last time I used it was in 2015! But hey, paper is paper, right? I find that the paper in these high-quality sketchbooks lasts a pretty long time. ...

Spring is springing and I felt the urge to capture some of the plants growing in the garden. The garden has been left to ‘rewild’ itself over the past year, and I love some of the new plants that have sprung up in between the patio stones. Garden - bramble, 12 May 2024, oil on panel, 5x7in, Thalia Garden 13 May 2024, oil on panel, 7x5in, Thalia ...

Yesterday, while the coronation parties were meant to be in full force, my republican self went to see the ‘Berthe Morisot: Shaping Impressionism’ exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery. I had been reading about Berthe Morisot in my current read, ‘The Story of Art Without Men’, and was pleased to see that there was an exhibition of her work on display locally. It was a small show, with Morisot’s works mainly confined to the mid-1870s to 1880s, alongside works by other artists who apparently were an influence on her work. It was good to see her work up close, and reproductions don’t really do them justice. The brushwork is shimmering and loose, while also managing to be delicate and light. I was interested in the way Morisot used lost edges to give her works a diffuse, ethereal feel. ...

I documented the stages of a recent painting I made from a photo reference. I started with a monochrome underpainting in raw umber. The second stage of underpainting, Thalia 2023 The first stage of underpainting, Thalia 2023

As I’m moving from this area soon, I’ve been doing some sketches and paintings of the views from the windows. This is a small oil on linen panel that I made the other day. A few months ago I painted a different view. I really struggled with perspective as that is one of my weak points. View from window, oil on panel, Thalia 2023 ...

On a visit to the National Gallery a couple of months ago, I picked up a book on Holbein from the shop. I can’t remember the name of it and can’t find it online – it’s currently packed ready for our house move. Anyway, I was struck by Holbein’s portrait of his wife Elsbeth (born Binzenstock) in the painting ‘The artist’s family’ from c.1528. She just looks so much like a real person and also so expressive, sad even. ...

There is a new exhibition in Malmo called ‘Lotte Laserstein: A Divided Life’ which features Laserstein’s paintings from both her Berlin and Sweden eras. This is unusual as her later Swedish work is usually not featured – somehow it’s seen as less ‘important’. Laserstein fled Germany at the start of the war as she was part Jewish. Obviously the upheaval of moving from what was a burgeoning successful career in Berlin to having to start again in Sweden where Laserstein didn’t know anyone, would have had a tremendous impact on her work, and I was interested to see her Swedish works. ...