She was mine for a few weeks. Then she went home. — A man and his dog are on their way home. The man’s looking forward to dinner and the dog’s tired after a long run. She trots along by her dad’s heels, her lolling tongue and gentle panting making it look like she’s smiling. They…

What happened to transparency? — I’ve been reading how the Medium interface has changed for many people. Mine’s still the same except for one difference. People no longer have a green circle around their avatars. It only comes up when they write a comment or when you hover over a profile under certain conditions. Knowing…

A portrait in charcoal — I enjoy memories and how the future is wrapped up inside the past. Everyone says live in the present, look forward to the future, but there’s some kind of magnet in the past that keeps pulling me back. There’s an adventure in there, if only I could get to it…

The pearl is the queen of gems and the gem of queens… and I forgot them! — I wanted to put this picture up as a little get well soon message for the Queen. This portrait is drawn in willow charcoal and it’s one of my favourite pieces of work, both for the way it turned out and also for the memories that came out as I…

More transparency on how writers can help themselves — It’s been a few days since the announcement - I’m still pleased Medium have introduced a referral program but haven’t changed my mind that the implementation needs work. Referral programs are a business marketing tool. Medium’s referral program will attract affiliate-marketers, bloggers and people running writing courses who have no…

Art isn’t a talent, it’s a language — Crayons, colouring pencils and glunky messy paints are fun but I wanted to be a storyteller when I grew up. A storyteller needs a typewriter, typewriter ribbon and bottles of Tippex. Luckily we had all this in the house, the typewriter weighed just a bit more than a small car…

There’s always a story inside a piece of art — The story behind this wise night owl artwork starts with a herd of deer. It’s May 2018 and I’m walking my dog in Richmond Park. It’s a beautiful evening and we’re both in the mood for a big long ramble, so by the time we’re on the home stretch, two…

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Maya Angelou — It’s not just celebrated artistic geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci and Walt Disney who are creative — you are too! You can see your creative genius in action by looking at what you do for yourself when you’re not worried about the opinions of others: Timetabling and juggling everything into…

It’s about showing your customers how wonderful they are — Your About Page is where people look to see if you’re their kind of person. It’s a challenge to fit your whole life into a walnut. Unlike a resume that follows a universally accepted format, an About Page is a blank canvas and all it insists on is that you…