June has been weird; hot, cold, stormy, humid-basically you name it, and we’ve had it weather-wise. All around us everything has gone really lush, wildflower meadows are in full bloom, and we’ve had a whole series of amazing skies; dramatic with scudding clouds. Paths that were rocky and bare are now covered in grass and flowers and buzzing with bees and small butterflies.

After any sort of hiatus or change, it really helps to spend some time reviewing work, looking back and working out which areas you want to focus on…for me there are usually loads of possible ideas; things that you could develop, the trick is sorting out which ones to go for, and which to leave on the back burner, at least for now. I find spending some time making notes, writing a little and often drawing thumbnails is really helpful.

I also use a tech tool called Trello, which I really like….thanks to Laura Horn, who recommended it in one of her podcast episodes. Trello (available for laptops, computers and as an app for iPads, phones etc…) allows you to organise work into boards, which you can add cards to….great way to record work, make notes etc…in a user friendly and intuitive way-I think most people use it as a way of collaborating with a group of people, but I just make mine private, so only I can see it. Best of all, so long as you don’t exceed the board limit, it’s free! Below are screenshots from my Trello, behind each image you can make any number of notes, reminders, record size of work, media, gallery or shows, whatever you fancy…

So the upshot of all this reviewing is that I’ve reworked a painting from back in the Autumn; just a few tweaks really, but I think they’ve made all the difference. This is a painting inspired by walking around Studley Royal Deer Park. When I was walking there, I noticed that there are bands of horizontal light under the trees, which make a really interesting effect. This is caused by the way the deer graze all the trees to the same height, anyway, I think I might return to this and make some more paintings on this theme.

I also tweaked an abstract piece I shared last month, which also needed a little adjustment…I wanted to emphasise the Gorse bushes which are contorted up here, high up in this windy exposed area.

Just thought I would add this short video update with me talking through all things new studio and new work…just click the arrow below:)

All the work shown will be available soon, so do get in touch via the contact page or by emailing me on: joyorkart@hotmail.com

Thank you so much for all the lovely messages and feedback, keep in touch and let me know if there’s anything you would like me to cover, or would like to know.

Until next month take good care, all very best,

Jo xx

All text and images copyright ©️Jo York 2022