As a Worcester artist and professional oil painter, my journey has always been about capturing the fleeting dance of light and the raw beauty of the world around us. Whether it’s the rolling curves of the Malvern Hills or the delicate petals of a seasonal still life, my goal is to translate an emotional connection onto the canvas using traditional techniques.

This year, I am thrilled to announce that I am pushing my practice even further by participating in the STRADA Easel Challenge.

What is the STRADA Easel Challenge?

For those who may not be familiar, the STRADA Easel Challenge is a prestigious yearly international event in the art community. The premise is simple but demanding: create art every single day for a full month. This can be a series of 31 tiny paintings, or, which is far more representative of my art practice, a series of medium sized paintings, with visible progress every single day until January 31st.

There is one golden rule that makes this a true art challenge: every piece must be a painting from life. In a world where many artists rely on digital screens or photographs, this challenge strips everything back to the essentials. It requires the artist to sit in front of their subject—be it a landscape, a person, or a bowl of fruit—and capture it exactly as it exists in that moment.

Why Painting from Life Matters

As a UK artist with over 30 years of experience, I have always believed that working from life is the ultimate test of an artist's skill. When you paint from a photo, the camera has already made decisions for you regarding value, focus, and composition.

When I paint from life, I am managing the changing light, the shifting shadows, and the true depth of colour that only the human eye can perceive. It requires a level of ‘visual shorthand’ and technical mastery that only comes from decades of dedicated practice. Participating in this challenge isn't just about the finished product; it’s about honing that expertise and maintaining the discipline required of a master oil painter.

What to Expect This Month

Throughout this challenge, I shall be sharing my daily progress. You will see the raw, unfiltered side of my creative process: the triumphs of a perfectly captured sunset and the grit of working through a ‘murky’ winter morning.

My commitment to this challenge is a testament to my dedication to my craft. For my existing clients and collectors, I hope this provides a deeper look into the technical rigour that goes into every commission and gallery piece I produce. For those new to my work, I invite you to see how a professional artist tackles the pressure of daily creation.

Join Me on the Journey

I would love for you to be part of this experience with me! I will be posting my daily paintings from the STRADA challenge on my social media channels.

How you can support:

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worcesterartist/ to see each day's new work and behind-the-scenes stories.

• Visit the Website: I will be updating my gallery at www.worcesterartist.co.uk with highlights from the challenge, once dry.

• Comment & Share: Your feedback during these 31 days is what keeps the momentum going!

Whether you are a fellow artist looking for inspiration, a collector searching for your next statement piece or gallery researching new artists, I invite you to follow along. These daily studies often become the seeds for my larger, more complex oil paintings, and many of them will be available for purchase at the end of the month.

To learn more about the challenge itself, you can visit www.stradaeasel.com.

Thank you for being part of my artistic community. Let the painting begin!