#38 Glass of Champagne

Sometimes I will paint something has a particular resonance to my own personal daily life but every now and again universal events crop up like today so, Happy New Year to you all and I hope I wont be painting any hangover remedies tomorrow! Watercolour and pencil 29cm x 19cm click here to bid.

#37 Daffodil Bulb

Another reminder to plant to plant the daffodil bulbs, when the weather gets better! Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#36 Tuning Peg

More guitar bits that should be in the right place! Watercolour and pencil 14cm x 9cm click here to bid.

#35 Humbucker Pickup

I have spent a productive afternoon tidying up the studio and combining boxes so everything actually fits. I had three stack boxes with used bubble wrap in, but surely nobody needs that much, there was also one with an old towel and a Tupperware box! This pickup had escaped my guitar bits box, which is where it is again now, right next to the shelf with the Tupperware box and old towel. Watercolour and pencil 29cm x 12cm click here to bid.

#34 Small Grey Bird

This little bird is part of a set of three that used to form part of a decorative pot. It came with the house and while the pot was the most hideous thing ever conceived of by man, I quite liked the three little birds, I like the Bob Marley song of the same name too! Watercolour and pencil 14cm x 9cm click here to bid.

#33 Box of Turkish Delight

Well, it's Boxing Day so, I was looking around for interesting boxes to paint and this delight caught my eye. Watercolour and pencil 29cm x 19cm click here to bid.

#32 Espresso Mug

Happy Christmas!!! Cheers Sis for my espresso mugs! Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#30 Mince Pie

Happy Christmas everybody, I had to leave a mince pie out for Santa! watercolour and pencil 14cm x 9cm click here to bid

#30 Penknife

The oil painting of the same knife is here if you fancy a compare and contrast of the two! Painted again today because a) I have used the screwdriver blade and b) I sharpened a load of pencils with it. Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#29 Palette Knife

Yes this is my actual palette knife I use it to scrape my palette down, mix up large amounts of paint and I resist the urge to open small tins of paint with it on a regular basis (I have broken many of its predecessors doing that). Watercolour and pencil 29cm x 19cm click here to bid.

#28 Two Baubles

These two baubles are from Debbies Mum and Dad (ta!) and quite possibly her Mum before that, we think they are fifties which is amazing to think they are 60 years old! Keep an eye on the 'Painted Advent' project because I am pretty sure I will paint these in oil there! 19cm x 14cm click here to bid

#27 Purple Cactus

This little cactus flowers almost constantly, it currently has three flower buds appearing, I doubt they will all flower but one probably will. It is also pretty much the colour you see in the painting, the other thing you can see in the pot is a shell that once upon a time was purple but the colour has faded now. Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#26 Orchid Flower

I don't want to say too much about where this orchid flower came from, just in case it gives away someones Christmas present. But thank you, you know who you are! Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#25 Watercolour Sponge

I used this sponge on this very painting, before I started to paint I flicked a bit of blue paint on to the paper, but succesfully dabbed it off with this bit of natural sponge. Almost as iof it was made for the job..oh it was! Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#24 Two Lobster Claws

What could be better than a lobster claw...well two lobster claws of course. Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#23 Fab Tone Effects Pedal

This is my Danelectro Fab tone effects pedal. I use it when I want to pretend to be Jimmy Page! Watercolour and pencil 29cm x 19cm click here to bid.

#22 Sellotape

I have been Christmas shopping and wrapping today so, sellotape has played an important role in my day, rembering to buy and using it. Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

# 21 Wind up Monkey

I first painted this wind up monkey on my birthday last year and I had to draw it again for this mini series of wind up toys...I have now run out, unless I get some more! Hows that for tension building for tomorrows painting. Watercolour and pencil 14 cm x 19cm click here to bid.

#20 Wind up Gorilla

I am running out of wind up toys might have to get some more! Watercolour and pencil 9cm x 14cm click here to bid

#19 Wind up Crab

I am not a big astrology follower but I do like the idea of allying yourself to objects or animals. They are such cool symbols too (always been a bit jealous of saggitarians!) but the crab is me and I have to say the full moon does put me in a bad mood. Watercolour and pencil 9cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#18 Wind up Chick

I enjoyed last night's dinosaur painting so much I had to do this little pecking chick today. Also click here to see me in the local papers celebrating the year end! There are some great pictures of me in the studio! Watercolour and pencil 9cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#17 Wind up Dinosaur

I love it when you have been wanting to draw/paint something for ages then you just go and do it and it turns out to be a lovely, little, cheeky chap like this fellow! Watercolour and Pencil 14cm x 9cm click here to bid.

#16 Tape Measure

Measure twice, cut once, paint once! Watercolour and Pencil 19cm x 14cm. click here to bid.

#15 Bananas

Many times last year I wanted to paint a banana but never did, so I have painted loads of them here. Ironic really because I forgot to have my usual banana for lunch today. Watercolour and pencil 24cm x 19cm click here to bid.

#14 Adjustable Spanner

This is an often used tool, mostly because the bl***y tap doesn't stay bl***y tight. ahhh. 'take deep breaths think calm thoughts, now go and paint a wiseman for the Christmas special'. Watercolour and Pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#13 Teapot

This is the clever teapot and teacup I was talking about on day #312 when I painted the lid in oil. Here is a drawing of the whole thing. I like the way I can expand on paintings from last year with these larger drawings. Watercolour and Pencil 29cm x 19cm click here to bid.

#12 Bottle Opener

Probably one of the most important pieces of kitchenalia that has ever existed. Watercolour on paper 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#11 Chuck Berry Cassette

This is what people used to play music from and copy music to. This one is a bona fide Chuck Berry greatest hits compilation. Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#10 Violin Bridge

I can't play the violin, that's Debbie, but I love the shapes of all the bits you get with it as well as the thing itself, which will probably get drawn soon. This is Debbies spare bridge and I have purloined it since I painted it last year in oil. I should give it back but it looks really good among my other objects! This one is Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#9 Pencil Sharpener

A drawing of a pencil sharpener using a blunt pencil. neat. 14cm x 9cm pencil and watercolour click here to bid.

#8 Chocolate Santa

This is a shameless piece of self publicity for my other project so, please visit my 'sister' blog 'The Painted Advent' to see the first in my advent series. I have chosen to do a double post and paint the same thing in both styles, this little fellow is watercolour and pencil 14cm x 9cm and you can click here to bid. The oil painting is 16cm x 12cm and you can 'buy it now' by clicking here, with £10 going towards CCP's Hamper Scamper Campaign.
Given how many people (children mostly but you know who you are) have opened the first door on their advent calender and had the first bit of christmas chocolate I thought it would be good to open with some of that chocolate. In this instance shaped into a skittle shaped Santa. I would have painted the little train I got in my advent calender but the problem with chocolate is when you paint it its very hard to get away from the fact that is a little unappetising, brown blob.

#7 Crab Shell

I have a feeling, but I can't be sure, that this crab shell is from the crab we had for my birthday this year (12th of July in case you were wondering!). I saved it thinking it would be small enough for last years series. It wasn't. So, I made a drawing of it for this years series. This is actually the third drawing of a crab shell I have made today, I will let you in to a secret, apart from the cactus drawing, I have made multiples of all the drawings this week. Which is probably due to the fact I am making the drawing part without looking at the drawing. Which gives the drawings a lovely immediacy but sometimes just doesn't work! I reckon by this time next year I will probably have drawn well over a thousand drawings. The problem is two thirds of them won't be very good and you will never see them! Watercolour and pencil 19cm x 14cm click here to bid.

#6 Trainer

I went up in to the loft today and put a pair of trainers on that I haven't worn for a while (right one pictured) and it felt like they had shrunk! Anyway, I was up there to get the box of Christmas stuff down so I could start to set up a little mini project I have planned for Christmas. If you liked the oil paintings and you like Christmas you will want to visit my new blog, 'Painted Avent' . watercolour and pencil 14cm x 9cm click here to bid.

#5 Shoe

Its brilliant to be able to draw all of those marvellous things I didnt paint last year because they were too big, this is one of Debbies shoes which has lovely holes punched out of the toe area. Watercolour and pencil 14cm x 9cm click here to bid.

#4 Cactus

I am pretty sure this is the only picture I have made in the portrait format in well over a year. I got quite used to dismissing things that were tall and thin (unless I could lie them down) last year. So, I chose this cactus for todays subject. Unsurprisingly it has an interesting story! It actually fell out of it's pot years ago and all of its root ball was knocked off but the top bit of the plant stayedpretty well intact apart from a loss of some spines which can be seen around the 'waist' area. When it died (we have referred to it since that fatefull day as 'the dead cactus') what is now the skinny waist of the cactus was the top which is where it landed and why it has fewer spines there. It also became skinny and thin because the poor little plant was putting all of its energy into growing roots. Which is has now done and is very healthy, apart from a little bit of a lean. Watercolour and pencil 24cm x 19cm click here to bid.

#3 Wind up Snail

This the smallest size for this years drawings at 14cm x 9cm. I wanted to blend the two years together by using a similar format and make a drawing on the three different sizes for the first three days. This snail was so nearly painted a few times last year but something else always won out so here he is, catch him before he exits stage left! watercolour and pencil 14cm x 9cm click here to bid.

#2 Oil Paint Tube

Maybe I am missing the oil paint, or maybe I like the juxtaposition of painting a tube of oil paint using watercolour paint. I definetely like orange in whatever form it takes, This painting of a tube of cadmium orange is a good opposing picture to the oil painted tube of turquoise oil paint from day #129 of year one. This painting is the middle paper size, 19cm x 14cm watercolour and pencil click here to bid.

#1 Birthday Cake

Right then here we go, the start of a new painting year. I feel a little bit like you feel when you start a new school or a new job! I thought it would be nice and neat if I painted another slice of birthday cake. I have always used a 'blind drawing' warm up exercise both in my own studio and as a way of warming up groups of students. So, I have started this year of drawings with a similar idea. The drawn line was done without looking at the paper just focusing on the object. Through doing this I hope to excercise my hand eye co-ordination and get my eye and hand to work as one!! I have then (because I am colour freak) added watercolour paint but I did allow myself to look for that part! Watercolour and pencil on paper 28cm x 19cm click here to bid.

I intend to use three different sizes of paper over the coming months, this being the largest size at 28cm x 19cm the other two sizes are 19cm x 14cm and 14cm x 9cm. This means they should fit in standard size frames, I will give out some framing idea as we go through the next 365 days. There is also no drying time for these drawings/paintings so there wont be as long delay in sending them out once the auctions have finished .

#365 Birthday Cake

Well, this is it the last painting of the year, I have now painted a complete oil painting every day for the last year. I decided to start this project the day after Debbies Birthday so that it would end on her birthday this year, but strangely I only thought about making and painting her birthday cake relatively recently. This particular gooey and unctuous specimen is a strawberry gateaux and was barely able to stand long enough to paint, towards the end the strawberry mousse on top started to fall off.

I think cakes have been some of the most popular objects throughout the year and I have found there are sonme fabulous textures and colour within the cake and patisserie world, with cream, glazed fruit and crumbly cake all suggesting different ways of using paint to describe them. I have a little plan I am hatching which will see me paint lots more sorts of cakes so, keep an eye out here for more news in the in the coming months about that. Meanwhile, I will begin next years daily project tomorrow which is very exciting mostly because I don't really know how it is going to grow and develop.

I would like to extend a huge thanks to everyone who has been following this project for the entire year, or even if you have only just found it. Rest assured that on those dark days when I didn't feel like painting or didn't know what to paint it was the thought of all your faces looking at my blog expecting a new painting that kept me going. I hope you will all continue to follow me and my daily offerings for the next year! Oil on gesso is 16cm x 12cm.

#364 Car Keys

Only one more painting to go now, this painting of my car keys completes a mini series of personal effects I have painted recently, including my wallet and watch. I wanted to include the car keys because it was just over a year ago I passed my test and I think it was fitting the time to learning to drive into my life made me think about what I could do with that time. Part of the answer became this daily painting project. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#363 Pencil

This isn't just any pencil, this pencil has been used to sign most of the last 363 paintings including this one. Thats why you can just see a little blob of white paint on the tip. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#362 A Model of the Colleseum

Nope unfortuantely I haven't just got back from Rome, worse luck! I brought this back for Debbie a few years ago as a partner to the leaning tower of Pisa model we got from, well, Pisa! The tower is too tall to fit so I plumped for the colloseum. I almost can't believe I am on day 362 and very nearly finishing this years paintings. I will let you all in on what will happen next over the weekend. For now, release the lions! Oil on gesso 16cm x12cm.

#361 My Watch

I think I have probably worn this every day that I have been making these paintings but never been moved to paint it. So far I have painted my wallet, now I have done my watch, i've been toying with car keys and am also wondering if I am brave enough to try to paint my glasses, not because they are particularly difficult to paint more that I wont be able to see them if I take them off! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#360 Wind up Robot

You may recall the painting I made on day #231 of a wind up monkey which was also my birthday and the monkey was a present! This robot is from the same set of wind up characters and has been wound up a few times as he sits in the studio begging to be painted. Tonight I obliged him, and I hope to find some things over these last few days like this that have been hanging around waiting for the right day. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#359 Lime

This is a week of endings, my final evening class of the year was tonight and I stop making daily oil paintings next Monday so, this is the last tuesday and tomorrow is the last wednesday and so on! Anyway, I chose this lime from the bag of fruit and veg my students had to choose from this evening. The difference with their painting is they were using egg tempera which behaves slightly differently to oil paint, but that story belongs to a different blog. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#358 MIxed Nuts and Raisins

I had a bag of mixed nuts this weekend and just finished them off, well after I had picked out the best looking ones to paint. But even these have gone now. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#357 Clementine

As I near the last week of painting these paintings I have started to think about things I havent painted and really should have done! I painted a bitof orange peel a while ago bit haven't done a whole orange style fruit, which is unusual given my love of orange (colour as well as fruit). Oil on geso 16cm x 12cm .

#356 Cinnamon Stick

Sorry but there is no 'witty' story or any other reason for painting this other than it smells nice and was in the spice drawer. They are also an important ingredient in winter things like mulled wine and maybe cinnamon biscuits , they have a good crumbly/flakey texture to paint. Okay so there are a lot of reasons! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#355 Ginger bread with Head

This poor little ginger bread man had a horrific accident on his way home from the market today as you can see. but that is nothing compared to what has happened to him now! This is the first (and probably last!) diptych in the series and the head painting comes free with the body painting or does the body come free with the head ...not sure, you decide! Oil on gesso body is 16cm x 12cm and the head is 10cm x 7cm.