Do you know the way you slog away in your studio, head down, familiar with the silence? Well the phone rang the other day to let me know I’d won the Paisley Art Institute and West of Scotland prize at the Scottish Drawing Competition. Now that does put a polish on the atmosphere. Thankyou, thankyou judges and Michael Durning. I’m honoured.

I’m painting this morning three small canvases. Also working on a large canvas which I have been leaving to dry – thrilling to return to, with some vibrant underpainting. I’m holding a tutorial in my studio tomorrow with a talented painter who is thinking about new directions. The sun is shining on the sea.