It has been over two years since writing on my blog!  I have been very busy, not with my portraits but with life in general. Both mine and my daughter's lives have changed in a positive direction since the tragic loss of my husband and my daughter's beloved father suddenly back in 2015.  I had to continue working through, so just did not have the time or inclination to paint my portraits. 

 A couple of years past and I meet my boyfriend and father to our 10 month old beautiful baby boy.  We are all in love and awe of our little bundle of joy and feel so blessed.  Lila-Pearl adores her brother and he adores her. We are all in such a good place right now.  Of course, not a second goes by without thinking of Mark. He will always be with us.

I have decided to concentrate on combining my portraits and my printed textile designs together for a while.  I have been working in design studios for over 20 years and would like to work on my own designs now.  

Here is a quick sketch of my daughter Lila-Pearl 11 and her brother Edward 9 months old. 

From my 'Life after Mark' series...

​Lila-Pearl asleep... I sat at the end of Lila's bed, just watching her sleep. I was overcome with disbelief and pain. How could this have happened to such a young child? Lila-Pearl and her Daddy were inseparable, it was so unfair.  Mark had looked after Lila-Pearl every day since she was 9 months old, when I returned to work after maternity leave, right up until she went to school. He then picked her up from school every day and was never late. They loved spending the school holidays together. Mark was always there for Lila-Pearl, but then all of a sudden he was gone. As I sat at the end of the bed, watching Lila-Pearl sleeping, I made the decision that this would not ruin her life. Mark would have hated that. I will do everything I can to make sure Lila-Pearl has a happy childhood. It has been so difficult, but we are on this journey together. We talk about Daddy all the time. He will always be close to us in our hearts, and having him there will keep us strong.

Lila-Pearl has always loved cats and Mark and I promised to get her a kitten at the end of the Summer holidays.  Mark died on the first day of the Summer holidays and I felt I had to keep to our promise. It was such a terribly painful and emotional time and I wasn't sure of the best way to go about getting a cat, having never owned one before. Lila-Pearl had gone back to school and I had just started back at work and so on top of that it all seemed very overwhelming. I was recommended Celia Hammond animal rescue trust so I contacted them. They sent someone around straight away to make sure we were suitable to adopt a cat.  By the weekend we had 10 month old Mittens, originally named Xena. Lila-Pearl knew this was the cat she wanted. We changed her name to Mittens but it seemed she still had some Xena Princess Warrior in her. She wouldn't let us near her at first and would bite and scratch. It was clear that Mittens hadn't had a great start in life. Gaining her trust was emotionally tough for all of us, but now Mittens has settled in she is a total softy and we love her very much.  I feel we have all helped each other in so many ways...
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My beautiful Nanna passed away last Sunday, and will be missed so much.  Here is a portrait I painted of my Nan in 2011 X

My darling husband Mark sadly passed away last summer on the 18th July 2015, the pain has been immense, and still is. Both myself and my daughter are missing him terribly. Our world has been shattered.

This is a portrait of my daughter Lila-Pearl with a painting of Mark and his ashes behind her. When Mark passed away I said I would never pick up a paint brush again as the thought of painting seemed so distant to me after such sadness. Almost six months to the day Mark passed I heard the sad news of David Bowie's death. David Bowie has been a huge influence Mark's life and as a result Lila-Pearl is now a fan too. Mark even requested Bowie songs to be played at his funeral. After hearing the news I finally felt the urge to paint again. Bowie's music will continue to live in our hearts forever along with our love for Mark.

Lila-Pearl and I are missing you terribly my darling X