Unfortunately we needed to delete some comments and remove some members from the Forum this morning. Without going into specifics, the comments were of a political nature and had nothing to do with landscape painting or watercolour. One of our core principles here is that we promote inclusivity and want everyone to feel that they are able to comment, contribute, or simply observe without being subject to any form of sanction, hierarchy or prejudice. The comments we had to remove were prejudicial and from a place that was not well-informed. We don't have access to everyone's backgrounds and circumstances and making careless generalisations and suggestions that certain groups and individuals, based on their nationality or race, do not have a place on the Forum is unacceptable. It is the antithesis of inclusivity.

While we all have our own strongly-held views on a range of different subjects - and it is important that we do - let's make sure that we don't allow these to spill over into the Forum please. This was created a space where we could move away from the sharp elbows and rough edges of other Social Media platforms, allowing us somewhere comfortable to discuss watercolour and the landscape with others that share the same passions and interests.

Having said that, over the last couple of months I have received some lovely messages from followers and subscribers on here and on my other platforms, saying how much they have enjoyed being part of the Forum, how nice and encouraging you all are, and how much it has helped them to develop their paintings. So...thanks everyone for your participation, kindness and generosity which has helped to make this a pleasant and instructive place to learn more about landscape painting. It is clearly greatly appreciated and certainly not the case that 'a bad apple spoils the whole barrel.'

Sadly, I've been unable to spend too much time on here recently, having been hit by a deluge of work from various projects, but I'm hopeful that in the coming weeks that will start to ease up a little. In the meantime, keep posting and keep painting!

To lighten the mood, here's a painting that I've not yet shared on social media. I'm back in Dorset at the end of the month, and will be making a beeline for Kimmeridge, as always.

Coastal Highlights, near Kimmeridge - 72cm x 36cm Langton Prestige, 140lb Rough