Recently I have been painting small flower studies. Choosing a single subject and relatively simple composition means I can really work some things out in a shorter space of time, and I can also experiment with different surfaces and approaches. Each painting has its own point at which it is "finished". As the great painting teacher Hawthorne said: " Painting is like an after dinner speech: Get up, say what you want to say, and sit down again" With this one, Roses, 25 x 20 cm

Just got back from the painting festival in Katwijk, a beach resort town in the Netherlands. Every year a group of painters are invited to takte part in the event and the works they make are exhibitied in the purpose built Duna Atelier on the Boulevard. Here are some of the pieces from the fetival. The exhibition runs all summer. For opening times consult www.schilderenaanzee.nl The organisers work really hard to make it a successful week and the townspeople are also extremel