2018 was a year of real transformation for me - my art changed, my career changed and it's not hyperbole to say that my life has totally transformed.It all began back in January when I decided to take the Creative Visionary Program. This was a significant investment for me and I was determined to make the most of it. At the time, I wrote:"I am “all in” on this program. I will do my very best. I will stay up late or get up early to fit the work in. I will experiment. I will let go of any preconceived notions. I won’t try to ‘be’ anything except curious."I believe this is so important - when we embark on something new, we need to make a commitment to ourselves that we will do our very best, and we need to set intentions. Without that it's so easy to slip back into old ways and lose our way. (memo to self - do this with your diet!!)Over the 3 month- course my work transformed. It was as though I had finally been given both the tools and the permission to be myself.I went from this: to this:to this:I was finally able to truly express my feelings about being out in the landscape rather than just representing what I saw. For me, that's the power and excitement of abstracting the landscape - if I paint a field and a stone wall, you can see what I saw. But if I paint how I felt that day, when the wind was whipping in my face and the light was turning everything into a sublime kind of beauty, you are getting so much more.Since the course ended in May, I have continued to develop my visual language. I know this is a journey that will continue for however long I live. There is so much to explore!No, Ilkley Moor isn't blue and burnt sienna in reality - but it felt that way to me that day. There were beautiful transitions of colour in the sky, which I represented by using layers of paint and glazing. I collaged in some sheet music, because it felt like my heart was singing, and I used deep resonant colours that glow against each other. I have this painting in my house at the moment and I love it. It feels completely and utterly me and I could never have said that about work I made a few years ago.What's changed for me this year isn't just the technical understanding I gained from CVP. It's more than that. It's the confidence to make a painting like that and to accept that it won't be to everyone's taste - and to not mind, and to keep doing it anyway.Which has led to the next stage of my transformation. This summary, I launched a new website and Facebook group for artists called This Painting Life. And in November I launched my first online course entitled "Find Your Joy." In this course, I teach artists how to find freedom in their work and how to connect with their true selves. Once we do that, all kinds of magical things happen. I'm so passionate about this because I want everyone to have access to the joy and excitement that I have discovered, and because I have discovered that I love teaching (a complete surprise!). I am now planning an expanded version of Find Your Joy which will run again soon.It's all so exciting! (If you might be interested , just sign up here and you'll get first dibs. I limit enrolment to ensure I have time for everyone, so this is an opportunity to secure your place). If you have any questions, just drop me an email.Currently in my StudioI’m preparing for a solo show this March at the Mill Bridge Gallery in Skipton. The title of the show is "A Sense of Place" and it will be my first opportunity to show my new work in a cohesive presentation. If you're in the area, I hope you'll come along!In preparation, I'm hard at work on a new series of paintings - most are 24"x24" but I am also planning some smaller pieces. The work is heading off in some interesting directions, which is always fun :)The early stages of a series are such fun. I paint intuitively with no plan in mind and then see what emerges, waiting for the magical moment when the painting takes on a life of its own. But now it's time to start making decisions and move these paintings towards completion. That's where I move from intuitive right brain play and into more analytical left brain thinking. It's always an interesting challenge to make that shift, so we will see what happens over the next month or so!I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone who has looked at my work, commented, 'liked' or otherwise encouraged. And of course to the lovely folks who have bought my work this year or joined me in Find Your Joy. I am so honoured that you have let me and my work be a part of your life this year and I hope you'll keep me around into 2019!Wishing you a very happy and healthy new year :)