Thank you to Pete Souza and the makers of the The Way I See It. With this moving and unforgettable historic photo documentation he has captured the greatness that can be America with the life and humanity of one of its greatest presidents. It gives new meaning to the words “make America great again,” for this is the true greatness that our beloved neighbors down south are voting in record numbers to return to.
Photo Essay

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Remembering Vincent
Today is Vincent van Gogh’s Birthday. He was born on March 30, 1853. I thought I would celebrate the occasion by reposting Vincent’s Room which I originally posted on The Changing Palette in June 2014. During these difficult days taking a moment to look back on the life of someone who had to “suffer for his sanity” but was still able to show us the beauty that surrounded him in his own wonderfully iconic way should inspire us all.
Who can look at a sunflower and at the same time not think of Vincent? Let us celebrate his memory together, and please listen to Don Maclean’s “Vincent” imbedded in the post. I promise you will it will be the highlight of your day.
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything.” Vincent van Gogh
Can there be a more iconic room than Vincent Van Gogh’s bedroom at the Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint-Remy, France where Van Gogh entered voluntarily as a patient on May 8, 1889 and remained until May the following year. During this time he painted the gardens, with their wheat fields, olives groves, irises and sunflowers, all of which he could see from his bedroom window.
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Vancouver 2010 🇨🇦
Homage to Leonardo

Vitruvian Man and Woman
On the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci who died on May 2nd 1519.
“If you set your legs so far apart as to take a fourteenth part from your height, and you open and raise your arms until you touch the line of the crown of the head with your middle fingers, you must know that the centre of the circle formed by the extremities of the out-stretched limbs will be the navel, and the space between the legs will form an equilateral triangle”
on Human Proportions from the Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci
“The age as it flies glides secretly and deceives one and another; nothing is more fleeting than the years, but he who sows virtue reaps honour”
on Phlosophy from the Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci
H4H2

Antigua study I – 29.11.18 – water-colour/pen and ink
Four years ago I posted about the charitable organization Heath for Humanity and the great work of their surgical missions over many years to Antigua, Guatemala. The post included a video presentation of theirs for those of you who would like to learn more about them, and you can visit their website here: h4h. Earlier this month I had the privilege of joining them for a week, working with wonderful dedicated colleagues who were making a real difference to the lives of so many; heroes all.
Here are a few of my memorable images from Antigua which include the dazzling yellows of the iconic Arco de Santa Catalina, the colourful pastels of the buildings and the Fuego volcano in the distance, which erupted once again just over a week ago.
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Italy Day Sixteen: Venezia
A perfect final day to our Italian travels beginning with the morning sunshine silhouetting the San Giorgio Magiorre before revisiting the Basilica San Marco to see its marble pavements once again after seventeen years.
We then climbed the 100 steps to the terrace with its views of the Campanile and Piazza San Marco.
Our final long anticipated stop was to the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari to see Titian’s masterpiece the Frari Assumption, just as glorious as I remembered it.
Then one final moment to pause and take it all in before heading to the airport and London.
I hope you have enjoyed the trip as much as we have. It’s certainly been good having you along. So many more memories to share in the coming weeks and months with photos and hopefully exciting new paintings. Stay tuned.
escape with me
I have a treat for you today. Come and join me on my morning walk yesterday and escape for a few minutes from the hate, the anger, the despair, and the noise that we are all being pummelled with each and every day. I don’t know about you but my troubled soul needed a little healing and when the sun rose yesterday on freshly fallen snow with the mountains stark against the bluest of skies, I knew all I had to do was dress warmly, put on my boots and venture out into the crisp air and morning sunshine. I’m happy to say it worked.


This gallery, which I have also made into a slide show, I hope will help sooth your soul too.
This next photo is for Cheri and her Weekly Photo Challenge: Shadow

I hope this has made your day as much as it did mine.
branch majesty
I rescued this majestic branch whilst walking home one day last summer and brought it back to the studio. It was about to be pulverized in a wood chipper but like the photinia that you will remember from my yard work to art work story, it became my model.


Using the small branches from the photinia as drawing tools it started to come to life transforming my empty sheet of Arches watercolour paper one warm July day.

