How's the year started for you?

As I write to you today, the mountain I live on is shrouded in cloud (that's my place in the photo), the houseful of children are lying around wondering what to do with themselves after the next Seinfeld episode ends and it's pretty obvious I'm going to have to lead the charge to take the Christmas tree down...

Friends, including our lovely Linda, are in home isolation (apparently not sick, though, just close contacts) and some are battling their way through illness. It's heavy, isn't it?

Whatever your Saturday is looking like, I hope you've had a bit of time to reflect on last year, and perhaps how much **art making** or **art loving** you enjoyed in 2021. When I look back, I am particularly grateful for the monthly themed Demonstration Collections - they added up beautifully and I can definitely see improvement.

**With so much going on that's outside our control, planning for the coming year has to be flexible, that's for sure.**

It's just that without planning *something*, you don't have the joy of looking forward to it... let alone actually *ticking a few things off the list.*

An idea comes to life

At the end of last year, I decided I wanted a full-year wall calendar again. I'd used them for many years, but stopped when I moved house... and I missed being able to see the whole year - clean and full of potential in January, and full of events, appointments and the notes (and mess) of living by December.

So in late December I designed exactly what I wanted. Then I spoke to the lovelies at Milton and King, my wallpaper people, about printing them. And they did. And then I mentioned them on the socials, and the first batch sold out like that (there's a giveaway on Insta that ends soon - well worth adding your like and tag!). So I had another small batch printed, and they're now available!

This is what they look like.

[EDIT: The orders for this calendar are closed now but we’ll do it again next year!]

In other news

We travelled to see family over the Christmas/New Year break and it was fun to share "Today's Studio" locations on insta. It was lovely to record these memories and finish a couple of sketchbooks (very motivating!). I even managed to get the kids drawing a few times!

And my latest Online Paint Along, "Wise Eyes", was released on New Years Day and has already been painted around the world. 'Similar but different' is what we're after so check out these fabulous characters! And the odd one out!