Yep, no updates in April, mainly because I've been doing more decorating than painting. Well, I say that, but  there was also the week spent at Boxpark with the Wildewoods show. I anticipate decorating to last until mid June, in between my Sprout and Woodfield shows. The Sprout show is only two weeks away and there's still prep to do for that. Luckily the daylight means I'm awake at 5.30!

I've been unable to get any painting done this week as the contents of the kitchen are in the studio while it is refitted. So, I've been toying with going back to Shopify again after two or three years with Etsy. I don't do a lot of online sales but I want to introduce a monthly limited edition print feature to dropship on a certain day and the Shopify starter plan looks to do the trick. It hasn't been without its headaches though, getting various applications to synch up, hitting an option I shouldn't have done and getting myself onto the basic plan unnecessarily. But I think I have it under control now. There are four old prints on there at the moment, that I have used for setting up purposes. My Etsy store is still live until late June and I need to actually create the limited edition prints that I intend to sell but here is the link to the page where it will all happen eventually. ​Steve Wilde Abstracts

Over a month without an update! How did that happen. Probably because I have been painting and there have been lots of of domestic things to deal with: Electricians, refits and decorating plans.. My Boxpark pop-up with Martyn Woods is just over two weeks away and I have 15 paintings for that on the go and three more to start on. They are all loosely based around a grid derived from doors of a shipping container. Boxpark is called that after the nickname for shipping ports and is constructed out of repurposed shipping containers. So it seemed kind of fitting to use them as a theme. The one above is one of 10 6" cradled wood panels [50mm deep] that can be displayed stacked in a shipping container stylee or just hung alone in a more traditional way. I also have four 12" panels and two each of 16" and 20" sizes . I may well take some other work too, after we are open. The black and white chevrons are a nod to Boxpark's branding. Anyway, can't stop... There's a deadline looming and there's plenty of shop admin to do as well as the painting.

I'm trying again this year, but only one entry this time around. After faffing around trying to come up with something that evoked Spring and [only] connecting with nature I decided that I wouldn't try to make something that fitted the brief but then didn't look like it was my work, so I have entered Never The Twain. I thought I had sold it a week ago; but I didn't hear back, so, I've taken that as a sign that it was so I could make it my entry for this year. I think I've managed a better photograph of this one than I have in previous years entries. I'll find out on March 22nd.

Next up, is my gallery/shop/pop-up collaboration with Martyn Woods at Boxpark, Shoreditch. We will be in situ from April 3rd - 9th. We will be showing/selling our own work this time round but if the exercise is a success may branch out into curating other shows elsewhere.

I am currently working on some ideas that may be in the show which you can see below. I am also working on an entry to this years Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy and about to start on some works on paper that I'm going to submit to the Blue Shop Cottage open call.