I've been working on a brand new project for the past few months as well as my paperweights and doorstops, but it is threatening to take over my life! This involves upcycling vintage and antique pieces that are just to shabby to be chic.

My most successful, so far, seems to have been the circular mahogany try painted as a 'trompe l'oeil' porthole with a puffer seen through it. There's a highland cow on another tray, a small 'pheasant' box and a larger thistle box. The painting is in acrylic on a gesso base.

​All of these are currently up for auction on my wife's eBay store, A Cottage in Scotland, but I'll be exploring other outlets for them soon. 

This year's Open Studios Ayrshire event, in the Robertson Room at the Burns Museum was interesting but rather quiet, considering that the museum is such a popular venue. It was a busy weekend in all kinds of other ways, which may have had something to do with it.