Although on the broader spectrum of things, 2016 has been a tough year for so many people in many places, on a smaller and more personal scale I have known people to have had a great year, filled with personal achievements and good times.

Early last year I worked solidly on a collection named The 21 Grams Collection. (See in full here) which was a great achievement for me. It was a body of work, full to the brim with enthusiasm and everything I had gained in knowledge and skill of art and my craft in order to create it. It was a personal highlight and achievement for me. This collection was shown in its entirety at Robertson Fine Art Gallery in Edinburgh, a place so stunning that I ventured back for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival later that year.

Amongst this show, I visited some other beautiful galleries throughout the year to showcase new originals and prints. A standout for me was Eye Like Gallery in Beaconsfield. A wonderful gallery full of life and enthusiasm for their art that they proudly display in their family run gallery. It was a great night of talking to lovely people about art and the gallery, and I appreciated just how much time and effort they put into this event. They made me proud of my own work and in turn, I felt grateful and honoured to be working with such wonderful people.

The lovely George Thornton Gallery were the first to showcase some very Limited Edition embellished canvas prints at his event, Artisan showed a group of darker originals which had a moodier atmosphere, and Gallery Rouge dedicated their top level of the gallery to showcasing my originals and prints. I also head to the new gallery Eaton Fine Art who I am excited to be working more with in 2017. Each were so welcoming with kind clients who were a pleasure to speak to! I found myself at the Grand Designs event in London, where I proudly displayed new originals and prints in what I liked to very obnoxiously call ‘Katy Corner’… with EyeBall Gallery

I had the pleasure of donating a print to the Born Free Foundation to be made available for their auction, to which Gary Liniker bought a print of ‘Felid II.’ I also released a small collection of sealife pieces where a percentage of profits went to the Marine Conservation Society. I proudly donated my palette for the second year running to the amazing CRY which was sold at auction. I also donated a small painting to the Willow Foundation for their Stars on Canvas event, which was available to buy at auction, and also on the cover of their annual brochure. These connections make me so incredibly proud of what I do, and so happy that I can use something I enjoy to hopefully do some good.

2016 also took me on a series of travels from a fun weekend in Amsterdam, to dancing through the streets of Prague. A cancelled flight left me in the UK when I should have been in Barcelona, however the highlight of my year was a trip to Cuba, An absolute dream come true starting in Havana and ending in Varadero, and whenever I look at photos my heart swells.

It was a place of raw beauty, even in impoverished areas, the soul and character was palpable. Learning about the history and way of life in Cuba was hard, and experiencing the locals in Havana and their beautiful city made me feel alive. The way of life is a happy one. It is slow paced, highly sociable, warm and lovely. We drank rum, smoked cuban cigars, swam in the ocean, took boat rides, rode horses, went to coffee plantations, rode around in vintage cars and just fell madly and deeply in love with Cuba.

It was a wonderful year for me, making headway in personal terms in confronting an anxiety disorder which can interferre with life at times, I have made connections with people I never imagined and focused on the wonderful, warm people around me. I have reflected on my time using social media and focusing on painting as a profession and have become more inspired than ever.

There is a blog post to follow about my plans for 2017,  I am happy and confident with thanks to the wonderful support and teamwork of  Wishbone Publishing. Not everyone gets to work amongst people they consider as friends, and feel the support and trust as much as I do. Together we have great plans for the year ahead and I cannot wait to share them with you, whoever is reading this and has followed the progress of my work.

For any information on any of my works, originals or prints, feel free to send an inquiry to info@wishboneart.co.uk / or look the affiliated gallery list on my website