Work on the House with the Blue Door never stops. This year we've had lots of help with painting the exterior - it's now an ice-cream colour rather than white - and the garden has had a bit of a tidy. We like to keep the outside space semi-wild for our wildlife, but the willow has had a bit of a trim. We're feeling really lucky with the rentals we've had for the last year. We don't make any money from rentals beyond covering the ground rent and costs, but all rentals help us

Pupils from South Parade Academy creating their nature sketchbooks. A successful litter pick! On Monday 22 June James, the Canoe River Cleaner and I headed off the ever-lovely Grimsby in Bloom space down by the River Freshney for another Blue and Green Warriors project. The pupils from South Parade school were amazing, really getting involved in the project - tree hugging, drawing leaves and sitting on the grass under a cherry tree seeing what we could see. x

In early June I had the pleasure of working with Jane from Barmpot Theatre on her chalk stream project. As well as the lovely James, Canoe River Cleaner, I got to meet with Will from Lincolnshire Chalk Streams project who was doing the pond dipping and Samuel who was filming this fabulous project. I was given the task of getting the children to record their memories of a trip to the chalk stream at Laceby Beck and teaching them how to write a baby haiku (3,5,3 rather than 5,7

On Monday 29 June I was asked to deliver a session for Our Big Picture with their home-educators' group around the theme of our river/marshes. The children worked together brilliantly to create different layers inspired by marks to represent water, gestural drawings of our river's wildlife and then putting hopes and dreams in messages in a bottle. There are plans for this work and others from this theme will be displayed at Our Big Picture in Bethlehem Street in Grimsby. x

One of my nature journaling pages from May 2026. I've realised that I work best if I work within constraints, otherwise I tend to prevaricate, or endlessly come up with ideas that never come to fruition. With that in mind, two months ago, I set myself a Garden/nature 365 challenge. Years ago, when I was a keen photographer, I undertook the photo a day project for a full year, several times. So, I've decieded to apply it to my nature journaling. I'm two months into this projec

Work for a new brochure to promote Green Futures in Grimsby It's odd to look back now to nearly six years ago, before my business, The House with the Blue Door got started, when I'd just been made redundant after Covid. At the time it didn't feel like the start of an adventure, it felt like I'd never get on my feet financially again. But six years on, the chalet is being rented to folks who seem to really get the place and get the Fitties and I've established a good reputatio

In May I was delighted to be asked to create some activity sheets for North Lincolnshire Museum as part of its celebratory exhibition of Ukrainian craft work. The sheets were inspired by beadwork, painted plates and eggs, as well as embroidery. x

In my garden with a cup of tea - my favourite place to be! As you can probably tell from my very tea-stained mug. This is volume 105 of my sketchbooks. I started this illustrated journal practice 10.5 years ago, and in the years since Covid I've created 80 of them. They span the years of my son's life from age 3, my Fitties adventures and artwork inspired by Grimsby and Cleethorpes. A few of my books have been on loan as part of a display, and I'll be quite pleased when they'

Nature journaling page. On bank holiday Monday myself and Mr Blue Door took a trip to Far Ings. We've just joined the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and it was our first trip to one of their places. What a great place, alongside the River Humber and near the bridge. We took a picnic of homemade bread and scones and enjoyed our first bittern boom!

Colouring sheets and the certificate. If you've been down by the River Freshney at Grimsby in Bloom for the last few Mondays you might have seen James - the Canoe River Cleaner taking children on the water in his boot while I've been on the bank doing some nature journaling and colouring activities, all with the aim of raising awarenes about our river and its wildlife and its vital part in our local ecosystem. The weather was a bit gloomy this week so we were able to shelter

Part of the complete Love Your Town mural. This year's event took place in March, rather than February and the equinox sunshine made all of the difference with my community mural being created in Grimsby Minster under sunlight flooding through the stained glass windows. Thank you to everyone who took part - we had little scribbles to confident drawings and it all came together to create a brilliant love note to Grimsby! x

A drawing workshop at Scartho Junior Academy. In February I was asked to deliver a drawing workshop to Year Six students at Scartho Junior Academy I always enjoy my visits to this school as art is a really important and integrated part of their curriculum. The theme for their project was chocolate and sweets - I showed them to ways to improve their confidence with drawing, talked about how paper and pencils were once new technolgies, and how simple tricks like drawing upside

A new piece of artwork for the chalet. When I first started out with the House with the Blue Door as a business that combined my artwork with my heritage chalet on the Humberston Fitties one of the first paintings was called the gap in the dunes. When you walk across the cliff path over to the Yacht Club heading towards Tetney the chestnut fencing and sea buckthorn create a view across to the fort on the horizon. An iconic view for people who know this area well. I thought I'

One of my first pages from January 2016. This month marks the 10th anniversary of when I started my illustrated journal journey. I've just begun my 100th book. The first books took 3-4 months to fill, and now I get through a book a month. Making that decision, 10 years ago was one of the best decisions I've ever made. If you are thinking of trying something new this year, then taking up drawing, writing, illustrating or art journaling is something I can recommend. I look back

I delivered a calligraphy workshop at the Black Gull cafe for Creative Start CIC in November, this was a lovely day-long session with people creating some lovely lettering and making some amazing pens from lolly sticks and tin cans! x Participants at my calligraphy workshop.

Calm colouring based around the River Freshney. I've finished designing my River Freshney Calm Colouring book. It's 20 pages long and A4 in size, printed on card so it will take different artistic media. £10 each and available to order through my Etsy site Handmade River Freshney colouring book Grimsby/Cleethorpes x

The window at Cleethorpes Library. I was very excited to receive an email from Art UK to say that my window at Cleethorpes Library has been listed on their directory https://artuk.org/.../cleethorpes-library-window-752077 This website is a great place to view artworks all over the country, giving free digital access to artworks so do take a look x

This Nature Noticing pack is designed to give you a start in nature journaling. Each pack contains a handmade A5 20-page booklet full of prompts to get you out and about engaging with nature, a pencil, a small accordian paper book to draw in, a paper ruler and focus box as well as a nature-inspired postcard. The booklet is full of my illustrated prompts, created originally in my sketchbook using pen and watercolour. £15 each. Nature Noticing pack order through my Etsy page.

Gatherings nature journaling page. Gatherings, endings and beginnings. I try to honour November now, rather than join in the headlong rush to Christmas. To savour the subtle pall and sombre mood that drapes itself around this month and embrace the end-of-year feeling that seems truer to this season than the harsh severing of New Year's Day. In Sunday's sunshine I picked the last of the apples, cut back the laurel for an autumn/winter door wreath and tucked some spring bulbs i

This weekend brought the first of my winter rituals. Bringing in my pots of pelargoniums from the garden. Although we haven't had a frosty start to November for a few years, these plants aren't frost hardy, so each year they see out the winter in the garden room, forming a backdrop to the midwinter decorations. They are still in flower, such dense pinks and reds that they resist any attempts for me to commit their gaudy beauty to my sketchbook. In five months time when the wa