Bullfinch

Bullfinches are high on my list of favourite creatures. They are shy, yet sometimes tolerate human presence, as did the pair that nested in our beech hedge no more than 3 or 4 yards from our kitchen window. Both the male and the female are exquisitely beautiful but she, instead having a rose-coloured breast, is tinted like a plum.

Where you see one Bully you'll nearly always see their mate, who stays in touch with a soft whistle. Often all you'll see is a white rump disappearing into the shade.

Heron

Herons need to be painted in a loose way I think as they've got very loose feathering. I'll be posting a couple more images of these so-sculptural birds soon.

Mallard Duck

Another Baddesley Clinton inspired Mallard, this time a lady. It would be great to live in a place like Baddesley Clinton - a house with a real moat. Apparently it was a sort of writer's retreat in the 19th century which doesn't surprise me. It would be easy to be creative there I think.

If you've never been to this National Trust house it's an absolute must, if only for the excellent restaurant. And you can visit another fabulous Elizabethan mansion, Packwood House with its stunning topiary hedges and glorious mellow brickwork, just a couple of miles down the road.

Mallard Drake

Another long gap I'm afraid - Val's ankle is taking a while to heal and there's a lot to do. However, we did visit Baddesley Clinton, a fantastic Elizabethan moated manor house, and I was much taken by the very tame Mallards in the moat.

House portraits

Yep, I'm doing house portraits too now. I've just done this one of a fantastic ginger-bread cottage nestling in the woods near Silverstone. Sadly, this place is now derelict and I've had to recreate it from photos for the grand-daughter of the old couple who lived there 30 years ago.
I'll paint your house for a humble £150 inluding mount and frame!

'Cocker Spaniel puppy'

Where have I been for the last month you may ask? Well sadly I've not been able to paint anything much because my wife Val broke her ankle a few weeks ago. She made a really good job of it and, after an operation with metal plates and screws, she's only just walking again. We run our framing business together and I've been a very busy boy on my own!

Anyway, this little Cocker Spaniel pup was a commission I managed to do last week. He's very cute - a pleasure to paint.

'June Morning'

To buy

I rose early on Sunday and wandered across the fields. The sketch for this oil was made at 7.45 am and it was the strange catherine wheel-like cloud that caught my attention. It seemed to be spinning away into the horizon.