Happy summer to you all! What a fantastic few weeks it’s been. I must admit it’s difficult to work in the studio when it is so lovely outside but my husband and I (and the dogs of course) have been going for a swim most evenings. It’s such a great way to end the day and it cools off the dogs.

I have in fact been working really hard and as you will see there are lots of new things on my website. I have also finished four new paintings for The Mulberry Tree Gallery in Swanage, and I am currently working on another four for Fowey River Gallery.

I sold out of my book A Brush With The Coast a while ago, and now A Brush With Anglesey has also sold out. I’ve been wondering for a while if I should reprint A Brush With The Coast and after lots of emails and enquiries from Waterstones – as well as galleries – I have decided to do it. Now I’ve made the decision I am very excited about it. I am taking the opportunity to add more images and tweak the writing. Also I’m going to make it smaller (the same as the Anglesey book) so it’s easier to handle. It won’t be ready until Christmas but I’m sure it will be worth the wait!

I hope you all like the new work.
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Sash

Now that things have settled down I am thrilled to say that I will shortly have some brand new work available on my website. There will be originals, a new series of limited edition prints and perhaps an exclusive collection of cards. I do have one or two other ideas in mind but I will leave these as a surprise. As soon as everything is ready I will let you know via email (if you’ve signed up for my mailing list). As you can appreciate all this is taking time, and I hope you will bare with me for another month or so.

I’m off to Italy in May with two of my sisters, and I have a feeling it will be very inspiring. I’ll take my sketchbook and watercolours and hopefully get some sun-soaked paintings on the website.

If you are interested in what I am up to it’s worth following me on Instagram (sashamayharding) all my new work gets an airing there as well as lots of photos of my dogs!
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Warm wishes, Sash

Happy Christmas everyone! With a week to go I am preparing to stop work and plunge into the Christmas spirit. Unfortunately, the painting I'm working on is proving difficult to leave; it is at a tricky stage and is not quite right, but I don’t know what I need to do to resolve it. I know I should turn it to the wall and forget about it for a while, but instead I keep picking at it like a scab! Is it the colours? The composition? The tones? I DON’T KNOW.
Sometimes painting is like a puzzle and one elusive thing will pull it all together, but sometimes it is a lost cause and best painted over. I am at the stage where I am not sure if I should battle on or admit defeat. Psychologically I need it to work, because it is the first of 35 paintings for an exhibition in the summer; the first painting often sets the tone for the whole show and (I like to think) if I can get one cracker under my belt the rest will follow without too much of a struggle. One more day and then I will leave it until after Christmas (maybe three days of overeating and drinking will trigger some sort of inspiration)...

I went to Truro last week to buy a few canvases, and while I was in my local art shop the owner (who I'd never met) approached me and asked if I could do her a favour. Intrigued, I replied of course and she asked me if I would judge a children's painting competion! I jumped at the chance, and there and then she led me upstairs to a room with a table festooned with children's paintings of local places.

It took me right back to my youth when I would jump at the chance to enter any painting competition. I even came runner up in a Blue Peter competition to paint a dinosaur, and my grandmother took me up to London to see it being hung in the Natural History Museum.

I chose my first second and third, not so much for the talent but for the boldness and quirkyness. And the lesson I took from this experience was to remember what first fired me up about painting. When I was young I was passionate and very serious about my art. Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of that pure thrill of painting, especially when there are deadlines or too much pressure. Seeing those paintings so full of life and so unselfconscious in their use of colour and wonky perspective made my day.

So, another Christmas is over and a New Year has arrived. I love the way every new year feels like a fresh start, like anything is possible.

I am fully in exhibition mode right now and – as is often the way – I have been struggling to get off the starting blocks. Things are starting to gel together now though, and I'm really pleased with the paintings I've done so far. My mantra is definitely quality over quantity so I'm taking my time and lavishing all my attention on each piece. It helps that the weather is so awful - I'd rather be in my cosy studio watching the rain than out in it.

The manuscript for the book is coming on well and I have reached Exmouth - today I  will be writing about my favourite stretch of the whole path which was Exmouth to Seaton. I try to write for an hour or two every day but it can feel a bit like being back at school and doing homework, so sometimes I need to force myself to do it. A glass of wine or two certainly helps!

Here are a few details from my recent paintings...

I've returned from my epic seven week walk along the South West Coast Path... and now the hard work begins!

It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had, and my plan now is to write an illustrated book of the whole walk. I've started on the manuscript - it's odd writing instead of painting, but I am really enjoying it. I want this book to be a labour of love and so I'm going to take my time and do it right. If I can't find a publisher I may self-publish, but I'll look into that nearer the time...

Next month I'm going to start work on a show inspired by the walk, which will be held in Broadway next summer. So, all in all it's a very busy time!

Four weeks in to our epic adventure, and Jess and I are having an amazing time! I'm so full of ideas for paintings and can't wait to get cracking. Three more weeks to go and then I will lock myself in the studio for the winter and paint this amazing experience...

I just thought I'd pop a note up here to say that things will be a bit quiet on my website and in general for the next 7 weeks because... I'm about to walk the South West Coast Path – all 630 miles of it (accompanied of course by my dog Jess)!

This is a challenge I've been looking forward to for months, and I can't wait to get started! The plan is to walk about 15 miles each day, sketching, painting and getting inspired along the way. Then, when I've completed the walk, I'll get back into the studio and hopefully put the experience down on canvas. And, no doubt there'll be lots to share here too...

I've finished the show for The Mulberry Tree Gallery and have put down my paintbrushes! Now I'm taking a bit of time off to recharge, with lots of walking, fishing and enjoying this amazing weather!

I started by going on an amazing walk from a small village on the north coast called Crantock to a beach called Holywell. It really is one of the best walks, all along the headland through swathes of tiny pink flowers (that I should know the name of!), the surf booming below the cliffs and even a lone seal watching as we walked far above it. This is the way to recharge!!

After the walk, and with the sun breaking through the clouds, we crossed a river with the tide ebbing and climbed up some very steep steps to a small cafe overlooking the beach. I'd been invited to a friend's birthday lunch and we all sat out in the sun eating crab sandwiches and chips. I do love Cornwall!!!

When we got home I did a few sketches of my very tired dog (so much for putting down the brushes).

I started this month with a wonderful weekend in Swanage (Dorset). It was a Harding bonanza with four of my sisters turning up for our great nephew's 1st birthday. The weather was gorgeous and everyone was on top form so a lovely time was had by all.

I used the trip as an opportunity to gather some inspiration for a show I'm having at the Mulberry Tree Gallery in Swanage this summer. One morning we went to Durdle Door - in all the years I lived in Swanage I had never been! It was breathtaking and hardly ruined at all by an odd lady dancing at the water's edge!!

We also visited Lulworth Cove and saw a scene straight out of one of my paintings, with a beached boat and a few fishermen untangling their nets. I've been painting like a nutter ever since and have loads of ideas from the trip.

The Fowey show is coming up and I've sold 18 of the 25 paintings already so if you want one do not delay!! The exhibition runs from 7th to 21st April.