Every year in September I open my studio as part of Colchester and Tendring Open Studios. In fact it is more like open house as I use my main room and garden as a gallery too. This year I opened for two weekends and had a steady flow of people coming to see the paintings and to chat with me about my work. There is always a cuppa or a glass of something and homemade cakes making it a relaxing and enjoyable time. It takes alot of work though running up to the first weekend as I have to have a big tidy up in the studio and house before I can start to hang the paintings. Geoff spends time making our little garden as presentable as possible. Some visitors are definitely looking for something to buy as it is a good opportunty to see the range of work that I do, some older pieces as well as all the recent work displayed as best I can in the house and garden. Others are just really keen to find out more about my ideas and techniques and it is always lovely to see friends who have been on workshops or seen my demonstrations over the years. As it is part of Colchester and Tendring Open Studios many combine a visit to other artists in the area and make a day of it. http://www.colchesteropenstudios.org