Inspired from a view I see on my way home from town. These tall trees stand so proud that they always catch my eye.

Was like being out in a hurricane yesterday, my paper flapping in the wind as im trying to draw, and I nearly got blown off my seat into a bush.

done a couple more #crazyface sketches to add to my collection.

Spent the afternoon at a monoprinting workshop today. Very different from the type of prints I normally produce.

The process is a lot more simple then I'm used to but thats not to say its easy to get results, as you have a lot less control over how your print will turn out.

I started off creating this print of Willow Field Tower using a couple of techniques giving some interesting results. As you can see my registration is a bit off leaving a huge chunk missing from the roof

This print i made is a scene from the workshop where Ellen is inking up a plate with a roller for one of the girls.

Was good fun and found Ellen to be a great teacher, I would definitely like to experiment with monoprint again in the future.

The view of Westgate from a window above gives a more interesting perspective then the view from the ground. Plus you get too see the pigeons hiding on the rooftops.

This building has to be important to Harlow, It's the main hospital in the region accommodating all the people of the neighbouring towns and villages around Harlow.

It also happens to be the place I was born 30 years ago.

Spent the evening down at the East London Printmakers Christmas Open Studios.

It was really good to meet other printers, and be inspired by their work. Such a wide range of styles and techniques.

I had to buy some handmade cards while I was there, especially after painstakingly designing and printing my own cards over the last month. I felt an increased sense of admiration for their work. It's actually the first bit of christmas shopping I've done this year.

Since printing my previous set of designs, Winter Wildlife, the opportunity has been put to me to have some of my work on sale in this years Christmas shop in Eastgate, Harlow.

So that has motivated me to create a new design to sit on the shelf along side my last set of cards.

I wanted to create something a bit more simple, a one colour print, and what would be better in the theme of christmas then a page full of penguins.

Rather then just having cards stocked in the shop, my aim was to create A5 note/sketch books and a larger artprint too.

The process of printing often generates off cuts and misprints, so rather then throwing them away I decided to print on my off-cuts and cut up my misprints leaving me with loads of little squares of print, which I then turned into gift tags and greeting cards.

The shop opens on the 15th of December in Eastgate Gallery, Harlow.

On the 6th of November I attended the private view of a very inspiring exhibition at the Gibberd Gallery called Xenotopia.
I left feeling very excited by all the pieces I could relate to, and quite confused by some of those pieces that I couldn't quite understand.

Today I returned to Xenotopia for a 'Walk and Talk' with the curator Louise Clarke. This gave me, along with many others who attended, the opportunity to see the artworks again. This time with a guided tour explaining the idea behind the exhibition, along with information about some of the pieces on display, and the artists who created them.

The evening was very insightful, with a relaxed atmosphere, giving us all the chance to ask questions about the exhibition. I would strongly advise any one interested in art and print to check out Xenotopia before the 17th of December.

Staple Tye is a very interesting place with some amazing architecture. Unfortunately the original shopping centre of Staple Tye was demolished back in the 1990's, which I remember well as a young lad growing up in the area seeing all the big diggers and construction vehicles. The current shopping centre built in its place is sadly a very unexciting feature of Harlow in comparison.

Luckily most of the original council estates remain, and as I walk across the estates of staple tie, I am left in awe at Gibberd and his team of architects, for there stunning use of diverse shape and form in the structures they've designed, and in the way in which they have arranged them. I'm not just walking along a straight road beside a row of houses but down cul-de-sacs though alleyways and cut throughs, each area so unique from the last giving that sense of adventure and curiosity as to what I'll find around the corner.

I had a great day walking around the estates many of which I haven't been since I was about 13, I feel asthough I have barely touched the surface of Staple Tye though, so many more inspireing sights too sketch, I'll have to return another day to cover it again in more detail.