Anyone who dropped into my stand at the CLA Game Fair the weekend before last had the opportunity to enter my prize draw for one of my prints. Well the lucky winner was Andrew Lamont from Kent. Well done Andrew!

It is hard to believe that  a week has passed since the CLA Game Fair. I must say that the event this year was massive and many people I met walking the show grounds were complaining about the heat, particularly  on Friday. Temperatures on the Friday nearly  reached 28 degrees. I do not think that the organizers could do anything about the heat though! 

I was awoken at four o clock Saturday morning  by thunder and lightening. The storm lasted until half six and was pretty impressive. I did not hear much of it though as I was dead tired and slept through most of it! It rained heavily but by dawn it had lightened off to showers and the day was largely dry.  I was glad that it was reasonably dry by the time it came to cook my porridge at six am!

The show ground did get a small bit muddy with a few afternoon downpours  but the sun quickly dried up the worst puddles. The crowds were excellent and I spoke to people from many European countries who had made the trip especially for the fair. I met a few familiar faces from home as well.

I must thank Edward Hasell McCosh and his good wife Sarah for keeping an eye on my stand when I had to leave it a few times. Edward is an artist and paints wonderful oils in the style of the old Dutch masters. His wife Sarah was delightful company  and we had some great laughs.

Sunday was a lovely day weather wise , not too warm. I had a nice few sales on the Sunday much to my surprise because the previous days are normally the better days. It was nice to make some sales to people who bought from me last year. I also made some good marketing connections and got some wise advice from other artists as well.

Even though the show was tiring  as I was on my own it was also very encouraging to get positive feedback of my work. 

On my return journey to the ferry in Holyhead I dropped into the Charles Tunnicliffe Gallery in the town of LLangefni on Anglesey.It is called theOriel Ynys Mons in Welsh.There is a permanent display of some of his artwork in the gallery and as he was one of the artists whose work inspired me as a young boy I really enjoyed examining his work in detail. The staff also turn a page of one of his sketchbooks every day and the page that was on display when I dropped in contained watercolour drawing of adders. They also had some of his painting equipment on display, and I wondered as I looked at it  how many times the great painters hands must have handled it. It is sad that he is not with us any more as I would have loved to meet him and ask a few questions. A quick bite of lunch and on to the ferry . The journey home was uneventful thank God.

July is here and that means one thing in the Game Fair calendar, the CLA fair is just around the corner.This  is truly the monster of all game fairs and a must see even for any country enthusiast. One can buy anything from a mousetrap to a yacht, depending on the depth of your pocket of course!

I will be bringing my traveling roadshow of backdrops and artwork over on the ferry Wednesday morning and undertaking the six hour journey to Woodstock, Oxfordshire, where the venue Blenheim Palace, is situated.The palace and grounds are magnificent and they are open to the public for viewing.

It is an event that I have attended for years as a punter. I exhibited at it for the first time last year and thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the  art lovers and country folk. I got great feedback and made some good sales.

I have posted some  photos of some recent work. I have another two that are still on the easel and I will be working hard to get them finished. One of a grouse and one of pheasants.

My Stand number is XO777 on row X. Might see you there.