
Saturday 25th April
Paddy cooks dinner. Tonight he is doing oven fried chicken. We are experiencing a tumultuous time at home, and it is lovely to be looked after by Paddy. He looks at us all tucking into the meal he has made. “It’s such a lovely feeling to know people are relying on you,” he says.
I paint some of the plants Marcel has filled the house with. I cannot walk very far without being swiped in the face by a palm frond. And I am frustrated that I cannot capture the plants the way I want to. Any day now I will try them in gouache.

Wednesday 28th April
One of the Sketch Talks Challenges on the Urban Sketching Talks a few weeks ago was by the French artist Lapin, who lives in Barcelona. His suggestion was “Draw a plant in your house, as accurately as possible”. So I duck into a corner of the sunroom and draw this gorgeous succulent. Paddy and Liv do the dishes together: the way they like to approach this is to put on loud tunes. I draw and paint very happily while Red Hot Chilli Peppers bashes out. Although this is watercolour, I still think a lot about gouache.

Thursday 30th April
I submit an almost-complete draft for my next book, Drawing Expressive People. I only have a couple of small things to add. So I crack open my almost-new gouache paints (Liv painted a rather large portrait with them when I was still writing my book) and paint some very lovely small peppers I find in the fridge. Painting in gouache is everything I hoped it would be. I am deeply excited.

I paint another picture in gouache, just to use up the paints I have squeezed out. I will try not to make that mistake again. I make up the colours according to whatever is on my palette. The paint handles beautifully.
Things are looking up.
I love your chillies…. I’ve been missing your daily blog so much
Hi Annah, that’s so lovely to hear. I needed a break as I had a crazy week with a few sleepless nights and also I wanted to submit my newest book, which I did (give or take a few additions). So I’ll be back, but perhaps not quite every day!
Your blog post would signal that it was time to stop working and go to bed…. funny that. I’m so glad you got everything submitted. Can’t wait for it to be on sale, and it can sit happily beside your Galway one on my book shelf…..
Hi Annah, I hope it’s inspiring as well as informative!