David managed to catch a little of the snow on canvas around Stony Straford. Cold but refreshing....see the blog for more details!

I've had 2 of the 3 paintings I entered accepted into the Royal Institute of Oil Painters annual show at the Mall Galleries. They've taken the 2 small plein air works but not the bigger 'Back of the Woolpack' (hey ho). Still, I'm pleased because I think there were around 700 public entries and I thought I wouldn't get the time to enter anything!

I think that's 5 years on the trot that I've managed to get something or other accepted so I'm chuffed :O) Better start working towards 2010 now!

David has a new article on painting outdoors in the July issue of The Artist magazine. The article covers a range of technical and practical matters to consider when working outside. More info can be found at www.painters-online.co.uk

Just thought I'd drop a quick note to say after all the hard graft renovating my new house I'm finally moving in today! Can't wait to try the new studio. I'll post some pics shortly.

David is currently renovating his new home in Stony Stratford so please forgive him for any lull in easel action over the coming weeks. There should still be a few additions to the blog though and once the dust has settled (literally!) then normal artistic activity should be resumed.

The new website is now up and running. David has spent the last couple of weeks holed up in a computer bunker, drinking lots of tea and wrestling with all those lovely web design and development issues. Hopefully you'll think the end result is worth it.

The site was in need of an overhaul and a few new features such as blog and news feeds, 'latest news' and 'latest blog' panels and a little daily art quote generator (displayed on the news page) have been added. Everything was built by hand, including all the graphics and logos. The real bonus is a new Flash based gallery viewer which allows all the paintings and drawings to be shown neatly together. Hopefully you'll find it a breeze to use. Admittedly, you'll most likely need a broadband connection to use it but there don't seem to be many dial up users left these days!

Feel free to contact David with any feedback on the site. Your views would be much appreciated. Happy browsing!

David has decided to revisit one of his favourite themes - interiors. He has found an inspiring subject to paint in Walton Hall on the Open University campus. As with previous interior subjects, the composition is driven by light and geometric design but this time David is looking to add a figurative element. This will form an important part of a narrative for either a triptych or tetraptych (currently undecided on whether it needs three or four components). David is hoping to kick these off in the new year

David recently sent a new article to The Artist magazine on 'painting outdoors' and has discovered it is scheduled for publication in July 2009. The article covers the trials and tribulations of working 'en plein air' and includes a couple of demos. Make sure you grab a copy next summer!