Jim always joins in whenever he hears one particular song. He doesn't do this with any other song, ever, and he's only started doing this recently. We thought we'd better film him doing this in case our neighbours imagined something awful was going on, judging by the ear-splitting noises he makes!

Rosie and Jim had never experienced snow before, so when we woke this morning to find the world had been covered in a blanket of white crispiness, our two little explorers were eager to play in the garden - for a few minutes, until they discovered that snow is cold on paws. At this point, they rapidly ran back inside.

I came across this gorgeous vintage lacy tablecloth while I was browsing around the shops in Liscard, and thought I'd share how it looks in our dining room. In this video I also show you a couple of Richard's recent drawings, so I hope you enjoy this little tour of one part of our home.

This wooden box, with a sliding lid and a movable tray inside it, was handmade by either my uncle John or Frank. This was made when they were young joinery apprentices, as a demonstration of skills gained, presumably some time in the fifties, and before they both emigrated to Australia as "£10 poms". The image glued onto the side shows  men and women in  a gondola, clearly enjoying a romantic cruise. The colours of the box are the original ones, and the paint shows wear and tear. The stuck-on image is not really to my taste but when Mum gave the box to me, when I was a teenager, she asked me to promise not to repaint it and so I haven't. The box is used to store art materials which I rarely use, such as chalk and oil pastels, gouache paints, (the same set I've had since art school some 30 years ago), and a ridiculous quantity of HB pencils, (which I hardly ever draw with as the lead is wrong for sketching). The box sits at the back of my art table, half-buried under s

   Can a whole year have flown by already since we adopted Rosie and Jim? Well, yes, it has. And what a difference there is now with these two bundles of fun. When they first came to us, both were very thin and cautious. No wonder; they'd had a rough start to life, and then a period of life in kennels surrounded by other anxious dogs.  Rosie especially was quite timid. It has been lovely watching them gain confidence in their new home and in us. Jim settled in more quickly, but still doesn't like sudden loud noises or swift movements near to him. Rosie took longer to trust us, but now she's a complete cuddle-pot and doesn't think twice before clambering onto a lap for a snuggle. She starts off most games. She's currently in love with a ragged bit of cloth which is all that remains of a rainbow-coloured teddy bear. Jim is fond of dismantling toys...! We needed to do  lot of work with their behaviour when outside, as they were very reactive to other dogs, yapping fran

  Here's my latest video, which shows how I created Winter Trees, an acrylic painting which is part of my Birkenhead Park series. The painting is based on a sketch done on location. Over the last seven years I've built up a pile of sketchbooks crammed with ink and watercolour images of the park. I enjoy sketching outdoors. Usually my dogs are (impatiently) keeping me company. They wait while I draw, gradually tugging more and more on the leads as if to say, "Hurry up will you!" So I'll quickly dash off the latest sketch and then we'll walk a bit further. Often it'll not be much further, as they promptly skid to a halt to sniff the next fallen leaf or twig. "Did you really need to sniff that with such urgency?" They reply with wagging tails and eager sniffing. Apparently not all fallen leaves are equal.

   This video shares my sketches from 2022, all done in Birkenhead Park. So you'll see trees, ponds, ducks, geese, people, dogs... All the expected activities of any urban park.  There are also a few sketches created as part of a group event organised by the Liver Sketching Club which was celebrating its 150th anniversary. They provided some models - a lady in a straw hat, a man in a tux. There was also a lady holding plastic flowers and a balloon, with a plastic crown on her head. Anyway, I hope you enjoy browsing these ink and watercolour sketches. Sketches are not the same as a finished drawing, as I'm sure most people will understand. Sketches are done swiftly; mine are often done in a few minutes, with watercolour added later in the studio. This is for speed, so I can do several sketches at once, and it saves having to carry materials around with me. When one hand has a sketchbook balanced in it, and the other holds both a pen and two dog leads (with tugging, jiggling dogs