nice start to the 'month of mists' for me; my card publisher, Love From The Artist, has chosen me as 'Artist of the Month'.

   'Love From The Artist' is a non-profit community interest company, very prompt, efficient and helpful. I am very pleased to see that all their card stock is now FSC certified. It's good to do business with them!

ll is looking very well at Old Cleeve in Somerset. The exhibition is in the church room of a very beautiful, old church, guarded by ancient yews. It was a pleasure to do my 'sitting-in' stint, meeting old & new friends, and getting to know the other artists a little better.

I am particularly fond of the silver jewelry of Cecilia Leete, and the perfect watercolours of Jenny Baron, which, on second look, often reveal a hint of the surreal.

   I enjoyed the Opening of Studio Kind's Open Printmaking Exhibition in Braunton - so many different approaches to printmaking on display, with entrants from all over the South-west. It's on until 15th October, and well worth a visit.

 have been busy preparing for Somerset Art Weeks exhibition. I am a guest artist from across the County Border, in deepest Devon, so it's quite an honour to be invited to join 'Eight at Old Cleeve', at Old Cleeve Church Room, near Watchet, Somerset, from 24th September until 9th October. It promises to be a varied and lovely exhibition!

irst ginormous blackberries! First delicious pie!!

   I've been busy preparing for The Lee & Lincombe Art & Craft Exhibition. There are some very talented makers in our neck of the woods. I'd like to especially mention Emily Garnham-Wright's perfect watercolours, Phil Johncox's lovely wooden spoons, and the wood and wrought iron work of my very talented son, Marvyn Eibner ( www.arashiforge.com ). It's nice to show the village our work, just once in the year.

   The horrific attack on Salman Rushdie after all these years has been quite a shock. I wish him all the very best in his recovery.

   I've begun a small series of portraits of birds of The Culm pastureland  of Devon, which is a unique and relativey unspoiled environment.

   News is coming through of the decimation of some Northern seabird colonies due to bird flu. It's very sad. Some dead and dying seabirds are beginning to wash up on our coastline - the seabirds will need all the help they can get...

   And the drought continues...

usy preparing for the Westward Ho! & Bideford Open Show at The Burton Gallery in Bideford. My four paintings all get selected, which is nice.

I spend a day helping with the picture hanging - all looking pretty good so far!

month of mowing and strimming, sowing and weeding,  painting, and glorious Sandy Cove dips. I can report that the sea temperature became almost  'enjoyable' on 1st June...

   I am working towards my Burton Exhibition entry, and time is not on my side...

   We have a lovely walk around Morte Point, and see 11 seals around their Basking Rock.

We all in Lee lose a wonderful, kind, intelligent and irreplaceable friend, who will stay in our hearts and minds forever.

wo more screenprinting sessions this month at Albatross Print Studio in Watchet.

   Suzanne and I are both hooked, but there's a lot of 'process' to remember, and a great deal of washing up!

   I had imagined that screenprinting was ideally suited to bold, flat areas of colour; the sensitivity of the mark-making reproduction was a revelation.

   We hope to do more screenprinting, for sure, but it's perhaps a little harder to set up for in a home studio, so maybe some more trips across the Moor to Watchet and The Albatross are called for!

o Albatross Print Studio, at wonderful East Quay Arts Centre in Watchet, for the first of our Screenprinting Course sessions. As predicted, Suzanne is top of the class, whilst I win the award for Making The Most Mess; there is certainly much potential for that with screenprinting!

   This lesson was all about screenprinting using paper stencils -  the old-fashioned way. My stencils all curled up at the ends, so registration and printing was a bit of a problem - and I missed...but great fun all round!

y prints have been published in Midway Journal online literary magazine, published in The Midway, between Minneapolis and St Paul, USA. I am very pleased!

n a grey and gusty evening walk to Bull Point, Suzanne and I see our first House Martins and Swallows of the year, skimming low and wind-blown along the cliffs (10/4).

   And, the next day, a beautiful sighting of a jewel-like Great Spotted Woodpecker, atop the Bramley tree, whilst a pair of Blackcaps darted into the foliage below.

   All busy on the Smallholding Front, and one of my favourite days, when our first chicks  of the year emerge from their shells.

blue tit heralds Spring

dressed in Freedom's colours, sings

softly, for Ukraine

torms Eunice and Franklin have wrought havoc in the valley, and tumbled hundreds of old trees, which is so sad to see. Our local pub and village hub, The Grampus, was incredibly lucky to survive unscathed when the great old Rookery Pine Tree crashed to the ground, and missed it by inches.

We were without power for nearly a week, which was actually not so bad. It was nice to live a few slow evenings by candlelight.

And the sea has been wild!

hree little feathers in my cap to start this grey old month. Firstly, I have been invited to take part in a printmaking exhibition on the theme of 'Fish'. I never could catch 'em, but I'm a dab hand at scales...

Secondly, I have been asked to publish some of my prints in an online American literary magazine, The Midway Journal, which is quite exciting.

And thirdly, I've been invited back to Old Cleeve for  a joint exhibition for Somerset Art Weeks in September, which I am very much looking forward to.

peregrine soaring

high above the moon - leaves us

with nothing but blue

ecause I've hunted around for all the old wood I can find to make my letterpress trays, the project's taking me ages, and January has passed by in a blur of sawdust...all fingers still present and correct though!

  Next step will be to clean up the old Adana press itself, and then figure out how to use it...the tiger I caught by its tail is growing bigger by the day...I really want to get on with some painting and printmaking now, but nobody to blame but myself.

  I had a very lovely late Christmas present from Suzanne; a small slipware milk jug, made by Clive Bowen, of Shebbear Pottery. I love Clive's work. A lifetime's integrity shows through in the simple fluidity of every piece, and, when the light glints on that beautiful honey glaze, breakfast-time is brightened, no matter how steely-grey the winter morn.

  The Fulmars are back, claiming their cliff-side nesting ledges. They'll be off out into the Atlantic again soon, before returning to nest in the Spring.

e begin 2022 in the very best way; a leap into the Atlantic, followed by a steaming mug of coffee and toasted marshmallows, all huddled round the fire on Sandy Cove.

Over the next few days we fit in lots of walks and Winter swims, and I start preparing all the wood I will need for my letterpress trays. It is just possible that I have bitten off more than I can chew...

ather C, with the help of my good friend Guy, has gone way beyond the call of duty, and lugged a lovely eighty-year old Adana 8x5 letterpress over the roof & down the chimbley for me. It will need some TLC, but everything seems to move as it should, and I am very happy.

   It comes with boxes full of old type in various fonts - literally worth its weight in lead. Some are so tiny I  can hardly make the letters out - watch out for the small print! So, my first project for the New Year is settled...

erry Christmas Everyone! And a Happy, Safe, Fun-filled and Fulfilled Year to All!!

   I have been busy wielding brushes of a different sort. It's funny how installing a little woodburner has led inexorably to the redecoration of the whole living room, and a frantic rush to be ready for Christmas. It's funny how I knew it would...

   But now 'tis all done, the flames are roaring, and the tree is very pretty in its corner. Once we get our compulsory Christmas Swim out the way, there'll be nothing for it but to tuck in to the Roast Beast and make merry!

torms Arwen and Barra have torn through the valley, and toppled many mighty, aged trees. It's sad to say goodbye to old friends.

   It's been a drear old month so far, what with surging covid numbers, wild weather, and, now,  bird flu, which means all the poultry must be kept confined - about which they are not happy. Still, it'll soon be Christmas...

   A  highlight of our week was a trip to The Burton Christmas Exhibition in Bideford. It's a good, varied exhibition, and my woodcuts looked at their best, hung on the Print Wall, flanking Merlyn Chesterman's magnificent seascape. The show's well worth a visit, especially when one factors in the cafe's delicious lemon tarts!

   Christmas card design's gone off to the printers - hopefully, just in the nick of time...

avens have taken over the living room, and, from their print drying-line perch, croak their disapproval when we turn on the telly of an evening...

We deliver two woodcuts to The Burton Gallery, Bideford,  for their Christmas Exhibition. Due to covid, it's the first show I've entered for quite a while. The Christmas Exhibition runs from Dec 4th to Dec 31st. I wish it well!

While there, I fell in love with a lovely, big, dark green slip-ware harvest jug made by one of my favourite potters, Clive Bowen; a jug-full of beauty and integrity.

ovember's been a month of Wind & Fire for us; specifically, trying to keep warm whilst we rip out the old open fireplace and install a little woodburner, while Storm Alwen howls her worst overhead. There were hiccups along the way...but our stove was lit the eve before the first ice.

So, my mind's been on hearthstones and corbels, rather than picture-making. I've made the mantelpiece from some Chestnut, sawn from a great tree that the wind felled across the entrance to Arlington Court a few years back.  Now, it's time to pick up the paintbrushes again...

ctober's the month of Autumn chores and apple pressing. Our little home-made press is seeing its tenth harvest, and still going strong.

More bike rides - and more punctures...I keep being overtaken by e-bike riders; big smiles, up the steepest hills!

I had one particularly beautiful swim, with a rainbow bridging the bay, a seal popping up at the end, and, finally, a Kingfisher, flitting turquoise along the rocks. We've never seen a Kingfisher on the beach before.

Another seal pup's landed in the cove. This one's still in its white coat, so probably only around a fortnight old. After a few days the Seal Rescue people come to check on it, and declare it plump and healthy, and all set to literally take the plunge into its new independent ocean life.

It can sometimes be sadly seen that a pup has been orphaned too young, because it may have a 'chin scar', from attempting to suckle rocks. But our baby seal was fine, and disappeared into the sea a few days later.

Two paintings; Rock Pipits, because, almost unnoticed, they are always there, on the foreshore, no matter how wild the sea growls; and dainty Red-necked Phalaropes, just because they are so beautiful. They are also unusual in that they are our only wading birds which commonly swim, and, even more so, in that the females are bigger and brighter, and the males incubate the eggs and raise the chicks; truly liberated little birds! I've never seen a Phalarope - one day, perhaps!

 month of blackberries and bike rides, and long sea dips while temperatures still allow.

Our Indian Summer is brought to an abrupt end by sea mists and heavy rains, but it was good while it lasted.

We have a rare sighting of a Razorbill swimming in Sandy Cove. With the elegant simplicity of her black & white plumage, she seems to be inviting a woodcut! Night-times this month seem especially alive, with the music of the Tawny Owls.

Suzanne and I have our first visit to the newly-opened East Quay Community Arts project at Watchet in Somerset. It is a bold, contemporary design, echoing the industrial feel of the old wharf. There are wonderful spaces for artists and craft makers, galleries, exhibition spaces, and a really good cafe. It is an inspiring 'creative hub', and a real tribute to the vision of the original 'Onion Collective', and all who helped them along the way.

n the last day of September, Anna & I watch the slow, tipsy yawings of a Sunfish's shark-like fin, as it meanders across the Bay just outside the surf line, hunting for the jellyfish that have now drifted on to warmer waters. It probably followed them into South-West waters with the Gulf Stream; who knows if it will find its way back to the Mediterranean before our sea cools too much for it

Autumn Equinox

Mist rolls in on cue, softly

Wraps the laden boughs

he Butterfly Month! All those hours spent not mowing the grass are finally paying off!

Where do the seals go, when the sea is wild, and the waves crashing crazily upon the rocks? It seems they play, happily being tossed around in the sea foam, within feet of the sheer, sharp, Morte cliffs. Maybe they weren't playing - who knows? But it certainly looked like they were having fun!

On a sunset walk to Bull Point Suzanne and I see a circlage of House Martins thronging the clifftops, preparing for their long voyage south, to Africa. They seem very busy, perhaps stocking up on all the insects in the heather for their journey.

Lots of harvesting of the fruits from the trees. The birds beat us to the cherries,  but Suzi's plum crumble was delicious, if not quite the thing for slimmers...After my second helping, I dragged my ol' bike out of the shed, and gave it a good polishing. Nothing yet so drastic as actually jumping on, though.

The first 'Nightjars' have flown from the press, and I am pleased.

nother beautiful, sunny walk along the River Barle, this time from Tarr Steps. We see two great Grey Herons slowly cast off, and are beguiled again by the Beautiful Demoiselles.

On a Morte Point walk we see Ravens, Peregrines, a hovering Kestrel, and a family of fledgling Wheatears. I've started a Wheatear painting.

England lose the EUFA cup to Italy,  but winners, every one.

ot Summer days, and too many sunny afternoons spent on the beach, - but I'll not regret them on my deathbed.

It's a busy time picking all the garden's tasty Summer produce - and keeping up with the never-ending strimming...

A friend has been recording the song of the Nightjar on Exmoor, which has inspired me to begin a 'Nightjar' woodcut. I need to try a little harder to catch up with all my 'beginnings'...

Spearmint the Grey Seal pup finally says goodbye to the Bay, and heads out to sea.

.

ittle chicks and ducklings everywhere, keeping me busy, and happy!

The Pipistrelles are keeping me company on my evening rounds, and sometimes, too, a pair of big, slow-flapping Greater Horseshoe Bats, whose swishing wingbeats I can just about hear as they fly past. And I regularly see the Blackcaps, so I think they're nesting somewhere nearby.

The sea's lost its chill a little now - my swims to Appledore Rock aren't too painful any more.

I have been invited to enter The Dulverton Weir & Leat Conservation Trust's Art Exhibition on Exmoor. Works will be displayed around Dulverton throughout July. I'll be exhibiting two large woodcut prints - 'Peregrines', and 'Canada Geese'.

y House Martins woodcut is complete, and just in time for the first print to wing its way to a special birthday!

After dropping the prints off for Dulverton, Suzanne & I walked the River Barle,  from Withypool to Lanacre Bridge, which was heavenly. We were particularly bewitched by the Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies, with their opaque black wings.

The last days of June saw the arrival of Spearmint the Grey Seal pup as a regular visitor to Lee Bay. He was newly released from the Seal Sanctuary, and still spent all his time chasing human company, and human fish snacks! It was lovely to see him so close and unafraid, but he seemed quite vulnerable on the beach, and we were all on tenterhooks until he finally made his way properly back to sea.

he Pink Flamingos are on hold. The first big flight of House Martins arrived over the cliffs on May 7th - along with a House Martin woodcut commission - must get cracking!

Also on May 7th, we hear our first cuckoo in the valley, but plaintive, and far away...

One sad morning Foxy leaves nothing but a pile of white feathers where the goose had stolen a nest, unbeknown to me. It's an inevitable hazard of 'rewilding' our little patch - The Wild Things creep closer, year by year.

Suzanne and I have had some lovely Morte Point rambles this month. The Wheatears and Linnets have been a joy to see, and we even spotted a very beautiful, but rather tired-looking, Whimbrel, above Grunta Bay.

pril in Lee has been shower-less. The ground is bone dry, the green things parched. I've morphed into my dear granny, and wander the lanes telling anyone who'll listen how much we need a drop o'rain.

There are all sorts of reasons to be inspired. Right now, for me, the combination of a lot of black & white work, plus finding a nice big piece of board, has made it imperative that I create a pair of life-size, shocking pink, Flamingos!

This could take some time...

p.s. See the first 'gulp' of Swallows skimming in over the cliffs on April Fools' Day.

et the paints out at last! Memo to self: less is more; you don't need all the colours...

The cuckoo's calling across the valley, which cheers us no end.

drypoint week, with Suzanne as my mentor. I am using surfaced card. The advantages are that it's easy to 'scratch', and you can see what you're doing. Disadvantages are that it marks very easily, even by preliminary scribblings, which I always do a lot of, because I tend to work things out as I go along.

What intrigues me is the interplay between the necessarily light, free and minimal initial sketching, and the deliberation of the final lines, cut into the plate rather than drawn on its surface. And, then, the 'polish on, polish off' of the ink, which leaves a strong impression of the human hand, and adds greatly to the expressive nature of drypoint prints.

Dictionary definition of drypoint: 'Printing process whereby etching ink is transferred to every available sudio surface, esp. cats' paws and last pair of decent jeans.

I was inspired by some of the little furry critters I'd shared my childhood with, and the drying racks turned our living room into a rather spooky pet shop!

ray's finished print, winging its way to New York. It will be published online in May in 'Redivider': Journal of New Literature, in Boston.

I am really pleased to have been part of such an interesting and worthwhile collaboration. I literally know this poem backwards now, and I love it. Thanks, Gray!

hat a great opportunity to kick-start my creative new year! My friend, Gray Campbell, a young New York poet, has commissioned me to collaborate with him on a woodcut which will combine his lines with my imagery. 

The idea is not to 'illustrate', or to 'describe', but a weaving together of words and image which will hopefully add up to more than the sum of its parts.

I have never 'cut' lettering before. It's all back-to-front, of course, so necessitates lots of trips to the mirror. In our case, that's in the bathroom, so there were a few raised eyebrows...

But, I'm happy to report, no backwards letters, no spelling mistakes - and I still have all my digits!

would like to take this opportunity to wish all who come across these words a safe and happy 2021.

We have been very lucky in our little corner of North Devon during this dreadful time of covid. Numbers have remained mercifully low here. We have space, and each other, and our work. And the sea has been within reach, even during the most stringent lock-down.

And yet the constant backdrop of suffering and sadness affects us all. I've tried to share some of the natural beauty that's been our greatest solace, with my camera, but creative energy for my picture-making has been in short supply.

My New Year's Resolution is to hit 2021 running with my art work; to bear witness, in my way, to the sadness and the beauties of this fragile world we share.