Goodness knows why I have allowed nearly a month to pass without communing with myself here: being very busy sounds a weak excuse but is true. Among other busynesses I have indeed been painting a lot, in part triggered by a planned visit to my studio by Anna Badar last week to look critically at my paintings. The imminence of that event certainly acted as a spur and I had new work on a dozen or so paintings to discuss with her.

That occasion was itself in part sparked by a meeting yesterday morning of all those exhibiting at the Halesworth Gallery this year. The Gallery itself consists of three well-lit, first floor rooms separated by substantial brick chimney breasts, for it has been hollowed out of the upstairs of a short terrace of 17th century alms houses. I have been allocated Room 2, the middle room, some 28 ft. long by 14 ft. wide, with access to the corridor along one side which in effect doubles the length of wall available for hanging. I’m not sure I’ll need all that but there is clearly more than enough room to hang the 20 or so pictures I have in mind. Indeed, I am minded to exhibit one or two sculptures too, on pedestals in one of the fireplaces. I also have something of a surprise exhibit to play with; first discussions with the Exhibitions Officer, Paul Cope, and Alan Bennett who actually hangs the exhibition, suggested it might well be feasible though we all recognise there is a H and S issue to be overcome! – enough of that for the moment.

I also met the two other artists who will be exhibiting simultaneously in Rooms 1 and 3. Ronald Hellen (www.ronaldhellen.wordpress.com), artist and illustrator, paints rather surrealist figurative works: judging from his web page, a room full of them will be eye-catching. Yvonne Forster (yvonneartroomblogspot.com), recently graduated as a mature student in Fine Art from Ipswich School of Art, brings with her a deep concern about the environmental consequences, not least for indigenous peoples, of, for example, Amazonian rain-forest depletion. Since one title was required, for publicity purposes, to cover our various viewpoints in our three solo exhibitions constituting a joint exhibition, we quickly agreed that ‘Viewing Change’ neatly embraced our common factor.

It was an interesting and productive meeting, and I can now start seriously thinking about the contents and design of my contribution to an exhibition which, though safely nearly 5 months away at the moment, will quickly become a matter of urgency. And I am contributing to two other exhibitions in the meantime – what happened to my policy of not exhibiting and concentrating on this web page instead? It has lasted barely a year.