The Railway Inn

Around 1830 the railway arrived in Gosport. It was a special line for the convenience of Her Majesty Queen Victoria who had a house on the Isle of Wight, Osborn House, to which she was inclined to visit on occasion, so a train from London direct to Gosport, for onward travel by ferry, was most…

Life is a circle

One of my early commissions, three years ago, was ‘The Shed’. It was the new workshop of Karen of @karensquilts. All sorts of 'additions' appeared - Cheryl, the crow; Lance, the good knight; Treacle, the family's late cat - and a strange dog who was who was, perhaps, a premonition of Arthur, the cockapoo. Karen has…

Lockdown lateness

This lovely house was ordered as a Christmas present to celebrate moving to a new home, but because of lockdown restrictions it wasn't received until until the person's birthday. So another happy customer, and I can post it for you all to see.Do you know someone who has moved to a new home?

Smashed it!

A tidy modern house, somewhere in central southern England, commissioned for a birthday. Unfortunately, the first picture not to arrive undamaged. Not me! The glass was smashed when the new owner received it. I sent it to the commissioning buyer, and it arrived safely, but the damage occurred when she sent it on. Luckily the…

Once upon a time …

... long, long ago, well that's how it seems! We are unable to post pictures of our Christmas commissions yet, so how about a bit of history.We first got serious about art and craft in 1994, when we took over a business running ceramic art classes - we called it 'Studio Minerva'. The shop was…

You have to laugh

Last year I was fortunate to be asked to illustrate a book of humorous poetry, so I did. As an illustrator my job is fairly straightforward - read the poem, draw the picture. The difficult bit is with the writer. The author of these chuckle-worthy gems is Dianne Phillips-Zito, she lives in a rather bleak…

Family Heirloom

Last year I was asked to draw a family house that held memories for three generations of one family. It was to be a Christmas present, but because the recipient was poorly I was asked to bring it forward as a birthday present instead. A few days ago, the lady who commissioned it contacted me…

There’s no place like Home

There are records dating back to 1650 for this Devon cottage. The modern extension is what used to be 'the stick store', presumably where firewood was stored, now kitchen/diner with bedroom and balcony above. It is also recorded as being the place where 'the pauper in the stick store' resided, according to census records. Apparently,…

Happy anniversary

This lovely Cotswold cottage was isolated from the rest of the row for a special anniversary present. Specific details were included at the commissioners request. The texture of the honey coloured stone lends itself to the pen and ink technique.  If you need a gift for a special occasion coming up, why not a caricature…

Miniature cottages

The wooden miniatures are hand made by Collette Stacey, of Cosy Cottage Designs, but after my wife had bought one I decided it looked so cute it needed to be set in its proper surroundings. Not wishing to infringe any copyright issues, I contacted Collette to ask if it was OK to produce drawings from…