The artwork I create most often than not is inspired by travel, places I’ve been to myself or places I aspire to go to.

With this is mind, I thought it would be nice to journal the photographs that have inspired me, so let me introduce you to Wales.

We began the road trip at Dolgellau in a lovely campsite set in a beautiful green valley. You could stay in your own private woodland should you wish and enjoy a homemade Thai dish for tea and full english for breakfast delivered straight to your door. We stayed in the field taking in the scenery, with a barbecue for tea watching the Euro’s Final on the Ipad.

We meandered down the river to Barmouth for the day digging into a Browns bakery sandwich looking out at the beach before driving to Shell Island to spend a couple of nights there. We swam in the sea and walked along the harbour, just enjoying the island that’s surrounded by towering hills.

The next stop was a day spent in jolly Portmeirion, walking around the quaint village with an ice cream in hand. Portmeirion is a must, It is often described as a little slice of Italy in Wales. Once we had explored all the little houses to get lost in, we made our way along the coast to Black Rock Sands to pitch our tent. It was then Fish and Chips for tea from Chippy Dre, the best chippie around. We ate these with our feet dangling over the harbour at Portmadog, with seagulls watching us eagle eyed from the rooftops and swooping at us occasionally. The next day was spent on the long beach of Black Rock Sands, swimming all day and meeting my boyfriends good friend Fenwick, who teaches cold water swimming.

Nefyn was our next stop and it was beautiful. The campsite was our favourite of the trip , the sunsets each night were stunning. We explored the coastal path that had it’s own private coves to swim in, perfect should you wish to hide away from the busyness of the beach that is home to the famous, Tŷ Coch Inn. This location inspired my Welsh painting. I wanted to capture the colours and the peace of the place. Just lovely.

Our last stop was Angelsey, Tyddyn Isaf, it was a beauty. We were so lucky with the weather on this final stop and all week, that the view from the tent was just lovely. Our pitch looked over the beautifully blue sea. The campsite had its own beach where we floated on our lilos in the sea.

It was a wonderful week away and a much needed break to inspire some new paintings.