Inspiration: Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2025

Another delightful visit to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, a highlight of my year and a chance to absorb as many pieces of art as I can manage. I went with my buddy Sarah and we spent around three hours taking in the show.

Artists of interest:

​•Paul Smith

​•Emma Stibbon

​•Norman Ackroyd (delighted to see the late great Norman Ackroyd’s incredible landscape etchings as soon as you walk in the first room which this year is the Wohl Central Hall).

​•Tracey Emin

​•Sue Williams A’Court

​•Kathy Hutton

​•Anselm Kiefer

​•Charlotte Farmer

​•Juliette Losq

​•Edit Toaso

​•Jen Orpin

​•Jeanette Barnes

​•Martha Beaumont

​•Bob and Roberta Smith

​•Grayson Perry

​•Russel Herron


Sculpture and architecture was integrated into the exhibition more this year, there were a lot of pieces on top of breeze blocks. As usual I was most taken with the monochromatic works, landscape and trees as subject, painterly and impressionistic painting. If you aren’t able to see the show this year then I hope you can enjoy a little snippet with the photographs attached.

Wiltshire Artists Annual Exhibition 2025

I just wanted to share a few snaps of the 2025 Wiltshire Artists exhibition at St Peter’s Church in Marlborough. The show took place at the end of August and as ever was lovely to be part of. I had four works on display.

The turnout for the private view was great, there was a buzzing atmosphere in the church, wine flowing and twinkly lights twinkling. I invigilated the show on the Sunday, it was lovely to see the exhibition again in daylight and work on some drawings while chatting to my invigilator partner.

I look forward to next year.

Miniature Masters at Canal Boat Contemporary

A success story for 2025’s ‘year of rejection’ challenge. I saw that Sally Muir had entered her delightful miniature painting of a dog into an open call on Instagram. The open call was for paintings under 10cm in size and was for an exhibition titled Miniature Masters. It was being run by Canal Boat Contemporary, an art gallery which resides in a lit box on the side of a canal boat moored in various places in London. The gallery was new to me, I found it immediately intriguing. I love making small works and also really enjoy alternative exhibition spaces.

I made a tiny work especially, under 10cm of a woodland landscape using ink. I used a reference photograph that I’ve used before, of tangly woodland undergrowth.

I submitted my entry by posting on Instagram and paid the small entry fee. All entries were judged by Pushka, artist and owner of Canal Boat Contemporary, Kate Bryan, art historian, author and Head of Collections for Soho House, Mary Ramsden, artist and Royal Academy graduate and Anna Smithson, art consultant, curator and mentor.

To my delight my work was accepted! I wasn’t able to see the exhibition unfortunately but loved seeing photos of the show in full swing. It was moored very closely to Frieze so I hope some art collectors visited!

Can you spot my piece in the box?