It was wonderful to be part of Crouch End Open Studios Art Trail for the first time. This is a local group of artists who have been opening their homes and studios once a year for over 20 years. It’s a wonderful opportunity for local people to meet local artists and see how they work.

Showing your work in your own home has huge advantages. You can hang the show in stages and it gives you a reason to tidy your studio for the first time in ages! Here is what you would have seen on the way in.

It was lovely to open my studio doors in the garden and share what I do with the amazing number of visitors who popped in over the two days! 743 people came through my door which was fantastic.

Here is one half of the studio, showing a mood board and colour swatches and some of the objects I like to draw. I spend a lot of time working alone, so it was special to share it with so many visitors.

Here are some oil pastel sketches and a canvas in progress. I’m hoping to have this ready for my next show. There’s also a cutting mat where I cut out papers for collage.

I so enjoyed chatting to everyone who came along and took an interest in my work. Showing work in real life and getting feedback is so worthwhile. My family were brilliant and helped guide people in and make them welcome.

“Lemons for Tea” (available as a limited edition print) was popular. It was so interesting to see what people liked.

There was such a nice atmosphere and people stayed awhile to chat which was great. There is a great advantage to seeing paintings hung in a domestic setting, rather than a gallery.

There was a group show at the library which included one piece from each artist on the Art Trail and this helped people to see where they might visit, using the map of all the venues. Here I am with my group show painting “When Winter Meets Spring” which was bought by a lovely local visitor.

As part of the Art Trail, there were events in the library. I ran a workshop called “Come and draw your favourite toy animal” which I really enjoyed. i brought a basketful of toys and the children had fun drawing them.

I brought lots of wax crayons and watercolour for the children to experiment with and see how the wax resists the watercolour. Here is a snowy owl in the sunset made by one of the children.

Here are some of the artists involved in Crouch End Open Studios. I must thank the committee and everyone involved in organising this wonderful art trail. It was my first and definitely not my last! Thanks to everyone who visited me. You made it a fabulous day.

An acrylic painting on birch panel

A drawing in charcoal made in winter

A watercolour on paper made from observation and imagination

A watercolour on paper of some favourite objects

Collage made with painted papers

Acrylic painting on birch panel

Acrylic painting on linen canvas

Acrylic on cradled wood panel

Acrylic painting on linen canvas

Charcoal on paper

Hand tinted giclée print (available in an open edition)

Acrylic on linen canvas