Homemade Shortbread Biscuits

What better way to brighten up a dull autumn day, than to bake some really easy biscuits? You will need:

6 oz plain flour
3 oz caster sugar
6 oz butter
3 oz fine semolina

Simply beat all the ingredients together in a warm mixing bowl, roll it out on a sugared surface and press it into a tin (ours is 20cm square). Prick it all over with a fork and place in the oven at gas mark 2 for an hour. Allow to cool slightly, then cut into rectangles and allow them to cool thoroughly on a baking tray.

 

And there's no better way to accompany homemade biscuits with a lovely cup of tea or fresh coffee, whichever you prefer. I like mine out of these beautiful handmade mugs that we picked up for pocket money (£5 each!) at a local cafe in Brighton from a local potter.

 

 Happy home baking everyone!

New images for my online shop

I've been busy again! I have had all my prints remade on beautiful Somerset 330gsm paper, so I have photographed them all again for my storefront at Not On The High Street.

Psycho Killer

Where My Childhood Was Unspent

Oh Smother Me Mother

Why Are You On Your Own?

One location I used was my good friend Gus Watcham's beautiful home in Brighton, with its wonderfully distressed walls. I'm off to another shoot today in another lovely Brighton home. Meanwhile please check out my items at Not on the High Street.

Palau de Casavells

I currently have several of my smaller works on display at this beautiful old farm in Casavells, just outside Barcelona.

They have a wonderful selection of mid century modern furniture as well as older antiques, and some great contemporary art - even if I do say so myself! 

Find all the information you need here : Palau de Casavells

Gallery representation and new work

I have recently been taken on by a gallery, Galeria Miquel Alzueta in Barcelona. I am extremely excited, as you can imagine. The gallery is being refurbished right now, but I have sent about ten paintings over there to be displayed when the gallery is ready. I've also been in the studios a lot recently, for meetings about upcoming exhibitions at Studio One Gallery, Wandsworth Town Centre Partnership board meetings (not quite as boring as it sounds!) I have also been painting!

May Painting, oil on canvas

Square Painting, oil on canvas

I'm So Upset, I'm So Upset, oil on canvas

My Mother's Well, oil on canvas

Art in London with Artist Charlie - Stay.com

Big Hunk O' Love (detail)

I was thrilled to be invited by Stay.com to contribute a travel guide to London for artists to their website.

You can find the link here:

Art in London with Artist Charlie - Stay.com

There's some more obvious destinations, but also some lesser known, like L. Corneilsons & Son, a wonderful shop, and Transition Gallery in East London, an artist run space managed by Cathy Lomax and Alli Sharma.

I hope you enjoy my little artist's tour of our capital.

Galeria Miguel Alzueta

I'm very pleased to announce that several of my older paintings are currently on show at Galeria Miguel Alzueta in Barcelona.

Yes There Are Things Worse in Life
oil on board

This Is How It Feels To Be Lonely
Oil on board

I Can't Help The Way I Feel
oil on board

Life Is Very Long When You're Lonely
Oil on board

 

 

Miguel has taken ten paintings, including these four, and is showing them in his wonderful gallery. I hope to go over to Barcelona very soon to have a look! He deals in mid century modern furniture as well as art, so it's definitely a great place to visit when you're in town. Thanks to my good friend Bernat Daviu for helping me.

blue Monday

Hello there. Welcome to another week. Here at normal designs towers I've been busy with some graphic design for the Kemptown Artists Trail leaflet for the Artists Open House event down here in Brighton in May. I've been looking at a lot of blue things, and I think you'll see why

 

This is the design so far, with the blues coming from all over the flat:

 

From the bookshelves

to the blue Ikea cups against our green wall

to the quite similar aqua blues that we painted these drawers

to the quite accidental mixture of blues discovered during the boring old washing up! 

Well, I hope you're not feeling blue on a blue Monday. If you are, take a long walk, look at the blue(ish) sky and the beautiful blue sea.