Despite abysmal performance from my gallery this year, my belief in myself is maintained by a steady flow or is it trickle of commissions from various sources. The last one was for a parish church which brought happy memories for that particular client. This one, which I am going to show an image of shortly, is of a wedding venue, which the client is going to present to the happy couple. It should make a nice memento. The client has seen it btw and is very happy.

This took quite a bit of arranging. I had to move the bridal pair who were over by the hedge and very small in the reference photograph, enlarge them to a workable size, paint them that size and then shrink them to the position they are now, which was what the client asked for. That was the hardest part

In comparison, enlarging the pond as requested was easy. Quite a lot of wild flowers was time consuming but straightforward in itself

As this painting drew to a close, I was approached with a request for another wedding venue, this time a church, always a favourite. Waiting for a reference photograph before I can move on. Whilst waiting I have started on something for myself, an c18 brick gazebo, an elegant building in the not so elegant town of Havant, my home town, so I am allowed to criticise. This is a building I knew from boyhood, not that you could see much of it, behind a high garden wall

Today the building has been exposed to view, and is regularly maintained. I believe it can be opened to the public on appointment, but quite a distance for me these days.

I will publish the painting when I am happy with it.