Ready for new works!

How very exciting. We made space today for 12 to 16 paintings to dry safely! 2021 is set to be a very creative year. History shows us that the renaissance followed the black plague, so disastrous times will be followed by joy. The art theologian in me recalls that the lightest light is next to the darkest dark. So in 2021, I’ll be creating light moments to carry your dark burdens.

So! Attached are three photos of my studio finished paintings store. The two empty boxed sections have rails with hooks (detailed photo) so the finished paintings can hang from temporary loops as they dry before being varnished.

See all those boxes with names on the ends? Those are originals you may know which will be released for sale starting in 2021. Now that I’ve found a fabulous fine art printer, I don’t have to hold back the originals for exhibitions. Do put your name on one soon if you want it before it goes on release! Anyway, more on that in the new year. The new store is the exciting bit!!!

Ready to go!

Hanging system- each piece will hang from two hooks at the back so the paintings hang slightly face down so no dust.

Early stages

Coming Soon! My new book on project management :-)

Well, finally!!!! After much pulling my brain into words by my amazing editor, Lucy, this will be ready to pre-order on the 1st of February. Excited? Moi? Just a bit. Mostly, that it will soon be all finished (!!!!). I’m already teaching from it in a flipped learning framework and am so grateful that all the material is to hand. I’m still shocked how well it is suited to the voluntary/social benefit sector. If you’re running church or other charity projects of any size, this is for you.

It's wet, dark and light

Like many in the UK right now, I’m cold and trying not to be wet. Thankfully, we have no flooding, thankfully we have no sudden loss of our home down a torrent. As ever, I can’t help but see the light. In this darkness, particularly in this wet darkness, I have the privilege to see reflections of light. Each one picks its place to land, touches a damp patch and multiplies the light around. I find it quite magical. If I take a millisecond of time, I leap into all sorts of connections between light and dark, the way we need the light to see the dark, the way we need the dark to know the light. Years ago, an art tutor said a technical truth which I take to be a fine metaphor - the lightest light is next to the darkest dark.

In these days when we are pushed to see darkness all around us, I reclaim my art tutor’s remark. I blend that with what I believe to be true of God and I find hope. In the significantly well defined variety of darkness around us, there is indeed the light of new governments, the light of new medication, the light of deeper relationships built across things and distance seemingly designed to divide us. The lightest light is next to the darkest dark.

Damp people from the painting Living Water, a residency piece from the United Reformed Church General Assembly in 2012

When we feel like we're not in control...

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the sense of lack of control many of us are feeling, surrounded as we are by things which are not in our control. Ancient philosophers bequeathed to us the reality that we can put down what we can’t control because if we don’t, not only will our energy in trying to control be depleted, but we’ll be focussing on what can’t be done rather than focussing on what we can do.

I’ve had these conversations quite a few times in the past few weeks and finally, I had to visualise something. Because so much beyond us is beyond our control, many of us seem to be taking that feeling into our personal lives and imagining that we have little control in our home or work lives.  The map I’ve drawn is aimed at work related issues, but is just as easy to imagine for home related issues.  In the yellow circle at the bottom left, where I’ve written line manager/trusted supervisor, think mentor/trusted partner/trusted friend – whomever you know will know you authentically.

The hardest part, and I know this personally, is the Let Go.

How? To me, it has to be physical.  I pick up an object, perhaps whatever is in my hand when I’m thinking about it, name the issue I have to drop, then carefully place the object down and ask God to hold it for me.  If God isn’t for you, you can simply put it down and declare “I now let go of [issue]”.  Shockingly enough, trust me on this.  The tangibility of literally holding a thing then physically putting it down somehow seals the reality of the letting go.  I used to journal the letting go, but then found that I could re-read it in the journal.  Over the past year, I’ve let go with objects to such a degree that I can’t truly recall everything I let go.  Some objects are still around me and I look at them and say to myself – “Oh you!  I let you go.  You no longer weigh inside me.”

So here’s the map.  Have fun!

My Old Blog

I had a blog going back to 2012 on my old website. If you want to read into the history of my developments, publications, commissions and exhibitions, you can read all about it Adobe PDF format here.

It's been a while

So, dear readers. It has been a while. Life has been more than busy with social benefit organisation projects, painting, illustrations, teaching and all the rest. Much of all of our lives have changed. We are now embracing the reality of co-existing with something we know might make us ill or end our lives significantly earlier than anticipated. In truth, we’ve always co-existed with such danger, but that co-existence has not been so obvious for some of our privileged selves.

In the middle of all of that, I’ve decided to significantly increase my presence in the visual theology world. I believe we need images to speak to us in ways more profound than many of the words we may use.

I’m also increasing my project manager presence. Social and public sector projects are hit deeply by the significant changes right now. If I can bring a little peace in the chaos, I’ll do it.

And, I’m intending to be much more vocal about the expansive, inclusive progressive God I know. A certain kind of ‘God’ has been hugely misused and appropriated by people with personal agendas which show anything but love and justice. This makes me angry. So I’ll be writing things about that.

So this is a new website. It combines all that I am because I’m tired of being silos inside myself, trying to figure out which one of me is to be in focus at any one time.