Although they are not yet in the garden, someone gave us these daffodil buds still in their tight little supermarket bundle, longing for a drink of water. Add a glass and an ‘easy peeler’, and away we go.

Still just enough fruit left for a final painting before it disappears, and the lively colours are certainly a contrast to outdoors. Not that I really mind this time of year as much as many people seem to – it’s a matter of priorities. I find it an excellent moment to sort out plans for the year ahead (if one hasn’t already), load up the shelves with watercolour paper, stock up on pigments and sketchbooks so one doesn’t have to worry about such things later when the sun is shining, and nothing must distract one from getting out there and painting!

Not that it ever quite works out like that of course. But one thing I am sure of, is having such colourful objects to hand to play with at this time of year does wonders for one’s wellbeing, which has assumed such importance recently. It always has been true. It’s just that people have been too busy to give it much thought.

This week has been really grey and overcast so far, so I was pleased to find these Clementines to add a little colour to the day. I used mostly Lemon yellow, cadmium scarlet and a little permanent Rose, to try and keep them fresh. I don’t often paint a lot of warm colours, but today I must have felt the need for it – I might even use some of them again before they all disappear.

Pleased that ‘Poppies’ and ‘Cyclamen’ are now available as Greeting cards. These join Sunflowers, Daffodils, Tulips, Fuchsia and Pansy in the Floral collection.

Surprisingly after all the frosty nights and having to scrape the windscreens on the car, we had some unexpected Sunshine yesterday which put everyone in a good mood, judging by the number of smiling faces and willingness to exchange more than one syllable , me included. There was actually a little warmth in the sun, if you stood in the right place and didn’t expect too much. It was the dappled light coming through the trees and across the path which caught my mood. However it wasn’t quite warm enough to stand still for a couple of hours, so this was done when I arrived home from a photograph and memory.

This frost-resistant pot turned out not to be after all. It started to show signs of being less tolerant of the cold last year, but now large chunks of terracotta are falling off, although the plant itself, a Camelia, shows no signs of suffering. Most of our other pots and planters look to be made of tougher stuff and have so far shrugged off our frosty nights without complaining.

There is not much happening on any allotments at this time of the year, but a recent frosty morning attracted my attention on these. I liked the white roof on the sheds and the quietness of the scene. This is actually quire a large area and there is a lot more to be seen, but I simplified the background and shamelessly removed a green screen from across the foreground, although I included it the small sketchbook version I made at the time. I also used a limited palette of colours, choosing French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre. I also used a small amount of New Gamboge to find a bit more of a green than the blue and Ochre could give me.

We may be getting to grips with one lot of Covid, but one thing is sure – there is bound to be another variant before long.

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday. Stay safe and please follow the rules as they apply to you wherever you may be. That way, more of us will be able to enjoy a healthy 2022.

See you in the New Year.

This cherry tree stands on a corner near my home and at this time of year is truly stunning. However overcast the sky, the tree always looks as if it stands in bright sunshine, its colours are so strong.

Unfortunately, the Gin was missing – only the bottle reached me, but in fairness it was the light coming through the bottle which made me want to paint it. I wasn’t sure which red would work best, so I painted brushstrokes of a few different reds onto an offcut of paper, and then held it behind the bottle while I looked through the coloured glass. One of the brushstrokes seemed to disappear, which meant that was the one closest to the colour of the bottle. And the winner was… Cadmium Scarlet. I added Crimson and a little Violet for the shadows and left some slithers of untouched paper for some of the lights

This is in a small sketchbook done at the end of a long day spent painting something much larger. I should really have put it into context, showing it on a table or a window sill or something – but there is always another day.