June 2026 Newsletter
Welcome to my June newsletter! Part two of the May one got away from me, so this is a bumper catch up while I try to stay on top of things.
Landscape Artist of the Year
Earlier this year I applied to go on the Sky TV show Landscape Artist of the Year. If you haven’t watched it before (or even if you have, because the format is changing for this series in production), 10 artists compete to do timed landscape paintings at each heat, with one artist being eliminated at each episode.
I am now allowed to say that I got as far as the video interview stage, but unfortunately no further (I must simply be too photogenic). However, I was offered a wildcard spot at one of the locations, so in July I will be heading to Port Talbot to paint -I assume - the steelworks. In previous series, wildcards were 50 other painters who would also paint at each location (so 300 in total across the 6 filming locations), with the best one progressing into the semi-final stage of the main TV show. But because the format is changing, there is no progression chance in the new series, and the wildcards will simply be there to paint.
However, it will be a good chance to meet the TV production team, the judges, and have the chance to paint in front of them - so I hope it will help any future applications I put in to be one of the 10 main artists. And I hope I do get the chance to be painting on the TV!
Cheltenham Plein Air Competition
Being presented with the ‘Best Urban’ award at the Cheltenham Plein Air competition.
And the winning painting!
I am very pleased to say that I won ‘Best Urban’ award at the Cheltenham Plein Air competition earlier this month! The weather wasn’t great and I took a decision to do something I wouldn’t usually do: to paint inside. Cheltenham (a new town to me) has some lovely regency architecture. I found a great little covered arcade, with a dramatic skylight and tall arches. A hard subject matter with lots of complex perspective and compositional decisions to manage and it was probably a bit ambitious for a timed competition. I did like the cafe/pub which opened up shortly after I started painting, with people spilling out into the passage. I don’t usually get the chance to paint people (they usually walk too fast for me to paint - maybe I need to do a Renoir and ask a friend to make them stop and chat so I have time to paint them) so I quite enjoyed capturing the patrons as they chatted and drank.
However, the rest of the painting was hard! Lots of difficult reflected light on internal, light painted walls which were sat in heavy shade. It is so difficult to paint these kind of scenes. I find you have to forego reality a little, and work on something which makes sense as a painting. So I darkened up the ceiling and spaces between the arches, contrasting it against the bright outside, and the light coming through the skylight. I also made the decision to remove a lot of internal details which where cluttering up the scene a bit - a massive, fake foliaged wooden bin unit, a lighting rig, curtains, general storage. Most of which I would have liked to paint, but I knew time would be against it. I also made the decision to leave the scaffolding-clad building through the archway out of the painting in the end, wiping it away until just the faint details of the windows remained.
But this painting was a real slog! It needed two sessions really - one to capture the architecture and scene, one to work on the lighting, colours and shadows. So attempting to capture it in one sitting was difficult, and I am still not happy with it. I was very relieved when the drop off time approached and I could take it to the gallery for judging. And I was amazed to see it was awarded the ‘Best Urban’ award!
I am still not happy with this painting, but know I won’t get the chance to go and complete it as I would like to. So I am offering it for £150 - first to claim it takes it!
Working on the painting, obviously I don’t have enough hands!
Broadway Plein Air Competition
The second competition I entered this month was at broadway in Worcestershire. This is a big event where you can either paint in the pretty cotswold village, or head to one of the surrounding locations overlooking the village. I chose to head up to Broadway Tower, where a local thankfully set me off in the direction of a field with amazing views stretching over the valley, with distant hills emerging from the flat farmland and hedgerows. I can honestly say that this event couldn’t have gone better - the painting came together really quickly, I was really happy with the sense of distance, the approaching rain on the horizon, the endless sea of hedgerows fading into the grey of the falling rain. Thankfully the overcast clouds parted for a few glorious minutes, enabling me to capture the patches of sunlight falling on the valley floor. I was so happy with the way it turned out, and in the shorter timeframe of a timed competition, I think this is my best competition piece yet. I have never done a painting competition where I have thought “this is going to win it”, but I was genuinely thinking that here! And guess what happened when I dropped it off for judging? You’re right - it won nothing!
The world of plein air competitions can be a funny place. But I’ll take my stats gladly. Since I started painting two years ago, I have entered 7 competitions, won 3 of them (Exeter 2024, Gloucester 2025, Painswick 2026), been placed in the prizes at 2 more (Delamore 2026 ‘Best Landscape’, Cheltenham 2026 ‘Best Urban’), and was highly commended at another (Malvern 2025). I’ll take that!
The completed painting. Which has already sold I am afraid! Thank you Sarah.
Nutmeg offering his opinion (takes too long, wants to go to bed).
Painting Videos and Podcast
Talking of being on the telly, I have been revamping my painting studio so that I can start to produce painting videos! These will be running alongside my podcast “The Secret Lives of Pigments” where I investigate some of the incredible stories behind the pigments artists use. I have episodes lined up on prehistoric colours, Prussian Blue, and Arsenic Green, with writing in progress for ones on Mummy Brown and Lead White. I have also written one as an introduction to paints and pigments, which describes each type of paint (oils, watercolours, acrylics, etc), how they work and what you need to get started with them - though I may turn this into a tutorial video instead.
I will be producing videos which run alongside the podcast. So when there’s a podcast episode coming out on Prussian Blue, I will also make a painting video which demonstrates what it’s actually like to use that colour and how to get the best out of it. And then building a limited-palette painting which focuses on that colour. Obviously some colours have been rightfully banned due to their toxicity, but in these cases I will look at their modern counterparts.
I will also be launching a Patreon where I can release actual painting tutorial videos, so you can learn how to either start painting, or improve on your existing painting skills and knowledge. These videos will be a mix of fundamental techniques (shape, form, composition, value, tone, temperature, colour, texture), knowledge (pigment index, colour theory, colour palettes, particle size, transparency and opacity, tinting strength, canvas making, etc), and more advanced techniques and painting approaches.
I am firmly of the belief that anyone can learn to paint. Painting is a language, and like any language, it can be learnt, even if it’s easier for some people than others. I also believe that many artists and art courses do not focus on some of the basics of the language of painting, skipping them entirely in some cases, and you can clearly see this in the resulting paintings. So my more introductory videos will be rooted in developing the skills you need to learn, which will make your paintings abilities grow quickly. Think of it as a course in forming words, sentences, grammar and sentence structure, rather than trying to leap straight into poetry! Understanding the rules of the language will later help you to break them - but you need to learn the rules first.
I’m really looking forward to making them and the podcast! I will let you know as soon as the starting episodes and videos are ready.
Studio Revamp
As I have just mentioned, I have been revamping my studio space. And it’s finally looking something resembling organised! I have far more wall and display space than before, as well as more working space. If you would like to come round, chat all things art and painting, and have a look at my work, please do! Just send me an email at (email address reserved for newsletter subscribers) and we can take it from there. Please note that access is up a steep flight of stairs into my loft, so if preferable, I can bring work downstairs where there is a comfy sofa, table, and ever-present Lurcher, Nutmeg.
The revamped space nearing completion.
Recent Paintings
I haven’t been as productive painting wise as I would like, with a few paintings started and less completed. It’s been a busy time and also some recurring mental health issues have meant that my brain has been firmly in future planning and reactive mode, rather than creative. So outside of the adrenaline, pressures and deadlines of painting competitions, it has been reluctant to get me out painting. However, I am being kind to myself, not applying pressure, and I am pleased with the starts on these paintings which I would love to share with you!
Shaugh Prior
Wiping away the water areas in preparation for another future session.
The slice of river I enjoyed painting.
I’ve always loved Shaugh Prior, and I headed down to the river with Nutmeg to paint this one. As you know, I am really into the removal of paint as well as it’s application. In fact, I was chatting to Libby Walker on instagram (Landscape Artist of the Year finalist from the most recent series) who is also a ‘wiper’, and she introduced me to the Scottish painter Joan Eardley who made wiping her whole art career. So there is hope! For me (and I think for Libby), wiping away paint on a smooth white panel allows the light to do more work. If you paint white on with thick paint (a semi-neccessity in oil painting), the contours and ridges of the paint will scatter light, making it appear less bright compared to a smooth white surface. So by removing paint in areas of light, and using transparent glazed colours to tint the panel, I can produce lighting effects which aren’t possible using only paint. So this painting obviously needs another visit or two where I can work on it further, but after getting my main composition and details in, I have wiped away most of the areas where water will sit. I my next session I can then use the brightness of the panel to capture the sunlight hitting the water. Which will be a challenge to contrast that with the foaming turbulent areas of water where it rushes through the rocks.
Mutton Cove
At the Mutton Cove slipway in Mountwise.
A cloudy and changeable day for this one! Across the river from Mutton Cove lies the Mashford Boatyard with its hotch-potch collection of boat building sheds leading down to the water. I love the shapes they create and would love to do a painting in there one day! But I also enjoy this view looking across the water towards Mashford’s. There’s a cobbled, steep slipway, the harbour wall sheltering some small boats, the the stretch of the River Tamar before Mashford’s and the hills of Mount Edgcumbe. The light was kind of fighting it’s way through the clouds directly behind the hills, so it was a lightly odd one to paint, with lots of light colours thrown into shadow, and lots of reflections from the river which varied from minute to minute under the changing weather conditions. So I focused mainly on getting the right stuff into the right places, and trying to work out the tones of the scene in a way which makes sense as a painting. I opted for a mix of dioxazine purple and yellow ochre (which can be mixed to make a grey which can be pushed toward ochre or purple, though this is a very tricky mix) so capture warmer shadows, contrasting these against the cooler tones in the reflective water and sky. Again, it definitely needs another session to start resolving some things!
A better view of the colours and tones.
Southside Street
Southside Street. I called it a day at this point, the light was starting to change too much.
I have been following an artist called David Sawyer who is a great plein air artist and has recently been touring Southern Italy capturing some of the great Rococo architecture they have there. He paints in a style which is much closer to drawing than painting in some ways, which is brillaint for capturing more architectural details. So, slightly influence by this, I headed down to Southside Street on the Barbican to work on a more building-based piece. Again, this is the first session and it needs more sunshine day visits to complete it. But I really focused on the drawing, building up the strong perspective in the scene. I zoomed out more than I would do naturally, pushing the focal point of the painting into the left hand third, allowing the sweep of the buildings to be more apparent. it’s a technically difficult perspective scene to paint, with multiple shifting perspectives from the non-linear street layout. But the sunlight cutting through from the side streets in just a brilliant anchor and will be the start of the piece when it’s complete!
Thank you again!
As always, thank you so much for being a subscriber and for all your help, support and love! It’s a pleasure to be able to share my art journey with you all and build connections with people who love painting - whether that’s viewing them, creating them or learning how to paint. If there’s anything you’d like to chat about, please please just send me an email (address included in my original newsletter only) or message on social media. I love to hear from you!
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