Mum's the word!

Have begun working on a TOP SECRET portrait! Keeping mum about details for now but it's exciting & could be my crowning glory if all comes together! Been working on it all week & will spill the beans as soon as possible & that's a promise. Watch this space!!

Loughborough's Anti-Smoking & Anti-Paan Chewing campain launch

With Zahida Niazi & Bilkis Hussain from the NHS.

I've had a busy time with photography jobs lately but midweek, dressed for the cold weather, Max & I drove to Loughborough for the launch of the most recent NHS Anti-Smoking & Anti-Paan Chewing campaigns. 
Considering the limited turnaround time (I blogged about getting the contract on 4 Jan), the finished artwork looked pretty good on display at the Moira Centre.
With me in the pic are Zahida Niazi, Smoking Cessation Specialist (left), & Bilkis Hussain, Smokeless Tobacco Expert (centre) from Leicestershire NHS.
The health campaigns are targeting Loughborough's Bangladeshi community & the posters & pamphlets are already available in GP surgeries & community centres across the town.

Kapow!

Kapow by Innermost.

Proving that inspiration comes from many sources, this genius lampshade is Kapow by Innermost. 
Made of lightweight netted tubing the hoops & swirls fall to various lengths making the dimensions around 30cm x 30cm. 

Arriving in a hanger-suspended container shaped a little like a box of Panettone, I so like the texture, the shape & the unusual construction that I wouldn't be surprised if a feature based on this piece of lighting art appears in one of my portraits very soon!

Good news & balance

Good news this week; the NHS has approved the most recent artwork for their health campaign in the Loughborough area. 

It's always tricky balancing the time it takes to complete a job against my quote. I try to make commercial quotes reflect real time but if I make every image exactly the way I want it then I can end up taking so long that I'm working for nothing.

Working hard

Becca O'Hara at music pub, The Criterion.

Have been working hard developing characters for the new NHS contract. Took a while to get to the point where I was happy with them but finally got proofs out today. So far so good. 
Last week I went along to my singer/songwriter friend Becca O'Hara's 'Austerity Year' gig at Leicester's music pub, The Criterion. She went down a storm!

At BBC Radio Leicester!

On air with Tony Wadsworth, BBC Radio Leicester.

My interview with Tony Wadsworth this morning on BBC Radio Leicester went surprisingly well when you consider how nervous I'd been all week! He was so friendly and encouraging that once we got chatting I relaxed and time flew. Definitely not my favourite thing, and I'd much rather be painting, but now I've done a couple of radio interviews I feel I'm growing more confident about talking about my work.

Appreciation!

With TV broadcaster, Anne Davies, Wally the dog & her family portrait.

Anne Davies saw her family portrait for the first time, in Leicester, just before Christmas. Now the picture's framed and at her home and I'm delighted to say she's thrilled with it!
As you can see, in Anne's life Wally the dog takes centre stage, in paint and in real life!