I thought it was time to put a couple of my photographs up here as well as my paintings. My main thing is illustration and painting but photography comes into the process as well. Along with straight reference images, I do like to take photographs for their own sake. The first couple I am putting up today are from when I returned to the town where I lived many years ago. OMG 25 years ago! Where does it all go. I went back to the street where I lived and saw my old house from when I was at university. My, the memories of that place. In fact, when I was looking for a user name for my Deviant page I decided to use the number of the house that I lived in 23A. Dysis comes from the goddess of the eleventh hour and the setting sun from Greek mythology. I leave things until the last minute, like watching sunsets and have Greek ancestry.

So, there I was back in my old stomping ground of Lewes. Back then I would occasionally go into the old garden shed to paint murals onto bits of motor bike that I would then literally roar off into the sunset on. This time I was out and about on location taking photos for use in paintings. Which will be appearing at some stage later in the year. I know I have not posted that many paintings this year and felt that I was slacking. Then realised that I had about 20 or more images under development. It is just that they are not ready to be seen yet. I like working on a whole bunch of stuff at the same time. I work up a number of pencil sketches and ideas together so I can flip from one to the other and stay fresh. Sometimes leaving a picture for weeks or even months before I go back to it. There are some that I have been working on since last summer. The pencil stage is the part where I spend most time really. When I start to paint then I can't let go until it is finished.

I should start painting again but I am still developing new ideas. At some point, I will have to paint. I have the confirmed dates of my first solo art exhibition at the end of the year. It is to last a whole month and runs from the 2nd November until 29th November in The Big Red Sofa in Chagford, Devon. There is a preview/party night on 7th November. So, to have some new paintings would be quite handy. Especially as I am also going to be appearing at two fantasy art events. The first in Glastonbury in October the second in Dartmouth, Devon at the end of November. Both will have a number of fantasy artists showing and selling their art.

Also at the end of the year there will be a book out which will include some of my art. This is in addition to the Big Book of Contemporary Illustration which I mentioned in my last post. I am also going to appear in the Fantasy Art Bible by Quarto Publishing. It is another compilation with loads of artists in. They are taking three of my pictures: Dark Angel, The Watcher and Fallen Angel. The last two will include stages of the painting process to show how they were created. Dark Angel, I spent some time repainting just at the point when I was approached to submit material for the book. So good timing there, as I looks better than when I first did it.

So, it is all happening at the end of the year. Well, not quite. In two weeks time I will be making my way down to sunny Cornwall to be at The 3 Wishes Faery Festival where I will have a stall and be selling my art. Well, I say selling. I expect I will be mostly hanging around, meeting great people and watching the bands. Hell, who needs to sell art. Er, I do.