Discover a personal Studio Letter about bilingual life, the Eisteddfod, family and the language that shapes my connection to Sir Benfro.

Last weekend, I escaped to London for a few days.

It's hard to believe that I once lived and worked there. At the time, I rushed through the city like everyone else, always trying to get somewhere. Returning now feels completely different. I find myself walking more slowly, looking up more often and noticing details that I would once have missed entirely.

The reason for the trip was to visit the David Hockney exhibition at the Serpentine. But, as always seems to happen, the inspiration came from much more than just the exhibition itself.

There was the excitement of arriving in London. The familiar streets and buildings that somehow feel both unchanged and entirely new. Long walks with no particular destination. Good coffee. Beautiful food. Desserts that were almost too pretty to eat. Those small moments that somehow stay with you long after you've returned home.

The exhibition itself was wonderful.

What struck me most wasn't necessarily any individual painting, but the sense of an artist who has remained endlessly curious throughout his life. Someone who continues to look, to question and to experiment.

One of David Hockney's most quoted observations is:

"The more you look, the more you see."

I've found myself thinking about those words a lot since returning home.

As artists, so much of what we do begins with looking. Really looking. At light, colour, atmosphere and the small details that might otherwise pass unnoticed. Sometimes inspiration arrives in obvious ways. More often, it appears quietly, in moments we don't recognise until much later.

Many of you have already seen my latest collection, so this trip wasn't an influence on those paintings. Instead, it arrived at exactly the right moment, as I begin to think about what comes next.

Seeing Hockney's work didn't make me want to paint like Hockney. Instead, it reminded me why I paint at all. The importance of staying curious. Of remaining open to new ideas. Of continuing to look closely at the world around us.

Back in the studio, my sketchbooks are beginning to fill again. There are notes, colour combinations, fragments of ideas and memories from the weekend that I suspect will find their way into future paintings in ways I can't yet predict.

The early stages of a new collection are always exciting. Nothing is fixed. Everything is possible.

For now, I'm simply enjoying that feeling of possibility and looking forward to discovering where these new ideas might lead.

And perhaps that's exactly what Hockney meant.

The more you look, the more you see.

March has held an unexpected shift.

In opening the studio to others, I thought I was offering something outward - space, guidance, a way into the process. But somewhere in the middle of hosting, explaining, demonstrating…something turned back toward me.

March has held an unexpected shift.

In opening the studio to others, I thought I was offering something outward - space, guidance, a way into the process. But somewhere in the middle of hosting, explaining, demonstrating…something turned back toward me.

March has held an unexpected shift.

In opening the studio to others, I thought I was offering something outward - space, guidance, a way into the process. But somewhere in the middle of hosting, explaining, demonstrating…something turned back toward me.

March has held an unexpected shift.

In opening the studio to others, I thought I was offering something outward - space, guidance, a way into the process. But somewhere in the middle of hosting, explaining, demonstrating…something turned back toward me.

Choosing your own way. On showing up, trusting the process, and building something your own.

Walking the coast with Olive

Studio Rhythms - Returning to a slower pace.

Something is shifting. Finding your way back to making

A year of holdin space

Foundations laid in Winter

Ways to Embrace a Creative Winter

What to expect when visiting North Pembrokeshire Open Studios

Why colour is everything to me

Sea Swimming; cold dips and inspiration

Creative bliss

The person behind the paintings

First Weekend Back to Gundog Training: Strengthening Bonds with Olive