Newsletter Archive

April's news comes around Beltane A little late (please don't complain) It's already May but don't dismay There are still many things to display To keep you up with my endeavours I say better late than never... ... Most pressing news first, as the news in question happens tomorrow! Or in a few hour

January Twenty Twenty Three Slippers and scarves and oh dear me The rising cost of energy Time for candles, hot soup and warm tea The Year of the Water Rabbit brings longevity We're hoping for peace and prosperity And over in the Land of Eternal Spring In the Fortunate Isles, Paradise brings Us iso

Back to school Some new oil tools Theatres of paper Childhood escapers Let's head downstairs See some gallery shares London and Kassel A pleasure, not a hassle Some rooms and a corridor In October, there'll be more... ...Let's go downstairs at Pollock's Toy Museum in Fitzrovia to see what I'm doing

First work, then play So if I may Share the 7 Domes' way Then my holiday... ...the 7 Domes in 7 Days series starts in just over a week on Monday 25 July. Here are the preliminary drawings I've made for those, and in general it's a quick 'how-to' about tazhib or illumination. (For those that alread

Kalila wa Dimna Practice for limners London Private View 12th of May Models of cities Painted girls that are pretty In classes I'll show you the way London and Lilliput Fun rhymes and deer silly foots Gulliver's mini men all in a tray Boys that like sweet treats The circus and high seats And Easter

Scroll through this email full of warm copper Sit down with a cup of tea hearty and proper If you’re feeling quite SAD It should make you feel glad The salmon pink glow of this show-stopper... ..."What is here, you can find elsewhere. But what is not here, is nowhere." Our copper is printed on one s

It’s been one whole year of this newsletter Happy anniversary, newsletter-getter There are works in progress and pictures galore Painting an artist, a new film and more I hope Mani can act as a prophetic muse There is much inspiration in this letter of news... …speaking of muses, inspirations and ge

Hi! It's July The best time of the year For bubbles 2 kids' double trouble & my watchful gaze as I peer Out of a painting of oils Bubble bubble trouble and toils Don't paint the eyes till the end Focus first on the blend And the rest as you should Then the charm is firm and good… …magic is in the ai

Working hard and playing hard That's the Hong Kong motto Painting the Court of Gayumars Rocks and stones and grottoes From April showers To May's spring flowers Life anew after lockdown's through And ever teaching in the golden hours... ...quietly being reminded what's important: dandelions and e

Happy New Year, 2021! January's black and white and red Deadlines, applications, accounts not done Think of the tropics instead Death and taxes are for sure But so are maths and seasons Spring's on its way, our calendars say Read on to find the reason... ...January feels like a very white mont

Books and more books and a carpet page spree Some options to choose from; namely, three A book of carpet motifs, an e-course in analytic style Immerse yourself in patterns and let them beguile, And finally a live class, the first cohort's in May TALES classes are also here to stay Spring shifts to w

A tinselled star of the show A sparkly Shahrazad who knows End of year exhibitions And Carpet Pages QR 'commissions' Toy theatres and lots of toys Fountain heads and fountain boys Children's hair Castles in the air Research into books Deep engrossing looks 101 Important Things What wonders will 2023

The world's largest Biennale which we've seen l'll take you for some lèche-vitrines En novembre, c'est Venise Then more London, if you please Till the end of the month there's time for birds We finish the feathered then move on to the furred Last postage dates Please don't wait Business and pleasure

What do you get when you mix 7 planets and 7 domes? Homes with high tops, stars that are fixed A planetarium of your very own ...a brief throwback to May's Kalila show: this work has never before been seen like this, all at once, not even by me (no space in my studio for this!) - all the 4 scrolls l

April showers and glowers But still time for flowers Angry then calm Poonami be darned Prussian blue blues Zuleikha, Yusuf Structure, Architecture Emotions you choose Choice and conjecture Browse and peruse... ...ANGER! It's ok to be angry, there's lots to be angry about. I also understand its other

Turns the world Revolves the sky dome Seasons unfurl Still painting at home Time for flow And a planetarium show Do you know? Will there be snow? There's lots of news I'll try not to confuse No guarantees So bear with me please... ...Rembrandt looks confused. It'll all become clearer as you read on.

Mises-en-abîme And insomniac dreams Got me started on 1001 Nights A pregnancy bladder Pushed me up this long ladder Then off I went and took flight… …so I like anything that is a picture-within-a-picture, a story-within-a-story, a play-within-a-play, a mirror-within-a-mirror and clearly I like hyphe

Snow in June Does not occur But ask Tan Dun He won’t concur He made a music piece With June snow as its theme Yet June is when I think of Strawberries and cream Not snow but creative flow In June with the midsummer moon Make hay while the sun shines though It’ll be autumn all too soon Oxymorons ar

Spring bling Golden showers A despot and A gentle flower Mehmed the Second The Renaissance reckoned With some grandiose magnificent Turban tortellini This Sultan was also Painted by Bellini… ...gold sprinkling in the margins, or zarafshan , was common in Safavid manuscripts. I decided to demons

Merry lull between Christmas and New Year It's not dull, let's change the atmosphere Online a-plenty In 2020 Now we're almost done Bring on 2021 After the present Zoom fatigue What holds the future? I'm intrigued... Who cannot wait for the Covid all-clear? Dear..... Spot the brush! Scroll down for

Books and leather and tools arranged And theatres and shows and jars that are strange If you scroll to the end Hop a carpet, my friend To another Shahrazad exchange... ...[whistled to the tune of Disney's Aladdin opening theme song Arabian Nights ]... Now let's open the book... ...this is the clas

My Memory Palace of 1001 Nights And many more strange and wondrous sights For October revealed With copper that's been annealed Toy theatre goes to new heights Snug as a bug In a cheerful rug Intense jewel colours that glow Research and homeschool Japanese joins that are so cool In some of London's

The summer storms are here Do they bring you joy or fear? Thunder and lightning can be veryvery frightening But learning about Mist is very enlightening Big brushes, big energy and tiny little clouds With the Indian wash technique prepare to be wowed Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter & a

Kalila wa Dimna show’s on till June The gallery opens at noon Four Friends that are true Plus films that are new May’s full, so see you on Zoom An oil painting crane Helicopter not plane The Air Ambulance touched down in the park Temple paintings displayed And a white house I made Tarantulas, swe

First signs of spring Narcissus small blooms I'm feeling more zing And more timetabling room After deadlines have passed And the submission's gone through On the left is Yippee! On the right is, well, Phew ... ...yes, phew, a few major research hurdles have been and gone, so I'm happy (let's cel

Around the world Carpet Pages has flown A collaborative act Big Little Devils - that painting’s my own It’s travelling and it’s tracked London, Lahore and Shanghai A carpet page airmail through the sky My large painting through Turkey courses While I paint the tails of horses It’s nearly Yule And n

Summer rain Can be a pain I’d like to complain But who’s to blame? For lack of sun it’s becoming a mission To continue our summer cyanotype tradition… …but continued it anyway and took any sunny opportunity with the kids to make magic blue pictures… …I also can't choose which I like more, blue or gr

Gold and goats and frolicking fun May's been full of play Featuring ideas from both of my sons We're hoping to see you in person one day... ...that day will come, perhaps in Autumn? In the meantime, bring on the summer! I love summer, it's my favourite season. I can paint outdoors... …large works

Happy New Year of the Ox! Let's all think outside of the box! Marginalia and margins Things outside that barge in Because the frame itself is unlocked... ...unlocking the frames of a painting visually allows for a lot more freedom to decide what is placed inside the margin and what is outside, such

Happy Thanksgiving End of Autumn living Winter almost here, Read on, my… …Dear… I love to combine things. I love to make connections, save time, kill two birds with one stone. So I really like it when things merge together and crystallise into things/ideas/art/events/products/concepts that synthesis