Daisy in bed (99) & competition winner

This painting was a Christmas present for my partner, Ian – another portrait of his dog, Daisy. The photo that inspired this painting was taken in the winter after she had been clipped. She was shivering, so we covered her up with a blanket in her bed and she looked very cosy. It was a difficult pose to paint, and I don’t think I quite got the angle of her head right, but it seems to work anyway.

I have an admission to make … I miscounted my paintings - I thought this was number 100, but it’s only 99! I am now working on number 100 and will post it here as soon as it is finished.

Thanks to everyone who entered my third anniversary competition which closed yesterday. The winner is Paul Merrick who said: 'I would get you to do a portrait of my dog, a blue heeler cross, in charcoal. I may even get her to sit still. Oh well, I still love her.' The prize will be in the mail as soon as I find out his address.

Some good news is that my exhibition at Two Rubens is continuing until further notice, so if you haven’t had chance to see it yet you’ve still got time. Another piece of good news is that I sold another painting on Christmas Eve - the oil painting of the Karri forest with the recycled Karri frame (see the blog from 3 July 2012). I was very excited about that sale and hope that it’s a sign of things to come in the new year.

On that note, I’d like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and creative new year.