Preparing for the London Art Fair 2026

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I’ve been painting for the last wee while in anticipation for the upcoming London Art Fair in January 2026. I’m almost there.

I was invited to submit work as part of a wider application for my friend’s gallery in Surrey. We’ve been mates for ages and shared a studio I ran in Reigate throughout the 2000s. We chanced our hand and, after a comprehensive selection process, we were good-to-go. Along with four other artists I’ll be exhibiting my work, incredibly, for the first time. Like a Womble, I exist though nobody’s ever seen me!

So the last few months have been focused on producing a coherent series based on my Carte Vista theme. Besides the actual painting, it’s given me a chance to formulate my ideas and construct a proper statement that not only clarifies my ideas and themes but prepares me for what comes next. A thoroughly useful process where everything from methods, colour and techniques are explored, solidified and acted upon. The future, in a painting sense, is bright (or violet and cobalt depending on my mood).

With recurring themes of impermanence, the mesmeric and the theatrical, I’m developing specific, distinct colour palettes and subject matter that I can move forward with in the next tranche of work this year. The more I do, the more things change, the greater the sense of urgency. I have big plans to move the work into larger scale canvases which are more mise-en-scene in nature.

Like a Womble, I exist though nobody’s
ever seen me…

I’ve also designed a small A5 brochure for the Fair. It will show all 5 artists and the gallery in the best possible light. London Art Fair has a pretty significant footfall so it’s wise to have something that visitors can peruse at their leisure, take away and, perhaps, contact the gallery in the future.