Feedspot Top Watercolour Blog
I was delighted to see that my Painting Blog has been listed as one of the top 7 watercolour blogs in the UK, coming in at 3rd Place.
Feedspot listed it as number 3 for watercolour enthusiasts to follow in 2026. I guess that Feedspot have been able to see the wide range of subject matter that I cover, both geographically and style, my studio paintings and also my sketchbook work painted on location in watercolour.
I take my blog posts seriously. I’m not a prolific blogger in the sense that I don’t blog just for the sake of it. Every post has a purpose. You will notice that I’ve recently written 19 posts about an ongoing sketchbook project that I’m currently pulling together to form a book of my work spanning over 40 years. I’m hoping that this will be a help in telling my story that is intertwined with my wife Susan.
Watercolour in Prison
I recently did a watercolour demonstration and talk at Northern Counties about some of the art that I do in one of the regions prisons for the north east charity Junction 42.
The guests found the talk fascinating. It’s a talk I’ve given several times. I share testimonies of men and women who have engaged with Junction 42 and as a result have had their lives transformed through faith in Christ.
In my talk I also share important stats about how many men and women in prison that Junction 42 reach and have an impact on. The stats themselves can tell a compelling story of what is really going on in the UK prison system.
The painting that I started in the demonstration was this scene of Bamburgh Beach, A Winter Sunrise.
Bamburgh Castle is also one of the subjects featured in the 12 week “In Cell” Art Course that I’ve played a part in developing for prisoners across the UK through Junction 42. One of the weeks covered in the course is “Seascapes in Watercolour”.
When I painted each scene in stages for the development of course I used the same watercolour paints, brushes and paper that the prisoners use. There was no point in me creating a painting using better paints etc that the prisoners had no chance of emulating.
You can read more in my watercolour blog about the Junction 42 “In Cell Art Course”.
Junction 42
This forthcoming week is “Seascapes in Watercolour” for the men in prison doing our Art Course that I help to oversee. There are only 20 men on the course at any given time. To get on the course they have to be referred by a member of staff, either one of the wing officers or one of the mental health workers in the prison. Typically these men are disengaged with the prison system, not working or in Education and often choose to stay in their cells.
Neurodiversity
At the start of every week I have to print of a fresh list of names for distributing the “In Cell” Art Course. This is because some of the men have started to work with the prison due to the interaction with Junction 42 staff and the positive purpose of the course. The course has been structured to cover the neurodiversity that is found in many of the prisoners.
When I started writing my watercolour blog all those years ago I had no idea that my art would take me into prison to help men and women make better choices.