It seems that being offered a job in Oxford has changed my energy this week and I have found it quite difficult to knuckle down to the painting (which is a little worrying). And so far, this week, every bit of work I have done has little artistry and invention. I could make the excuse that my studio is now very cold and it gets dark very early, but in reality, the offer of the job has changed things. I now only have a finite time before I have to move and my wonderful time simply painting in Hastings is coming to an end. The real test for me now, is to be able to do this job and keep developing the painting. I have made good progress this year, but not enough to make a professional living just yet as the work is still too hit and miss. But, this job is part-time and this time I am not the boss, so it should be workable. And I’ll have some money for framing and sending stuff off. I have to put a few works into the Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh for their Xmas show later this month, so I need to get more works framed. And they want one of them to have a Xmas theme, so I need to think up something clever for that, which is not too naff.

Oh, and I have just found out that my first piece of work at Oxford Brookes is to go to Berlin on a study trip with the students in early January. What fun.