Mary Ann Rogers

Christmas was so peaceful, mainly because the weather put paid to any activity involving horses or driving any distance, so I was able to quietly get down to finishing the series of paintings which are reproduced and form the new range for 2010.
Nothing is ever simple,Jack Lowe, who scans my original paintings, headed off to New Zealand on 17th January. This created a scary deadline, but I finally completed the painting, Fifey drove through the snow to deliver the paintings to jack, then, when the files were complete, Fifey drove through even deeper snow to take the files to Alan, the printer, who produced proofs then final prints just in time for the Spring fair at the NEC, Birmingham.
Huge relief, the new prints have gone down well. The first orders are very healthy, despite the ongoing caution in the retail world.
I had an interesting studio visitor 2 weeks ago, Tillie, a beautiful toucan, with her owner, Lizzie. Tillie sat very nicely for some drawings and a photoshoot. There are a few paintings of her on the go now, and I just wish I could have her right here all the time, but I got the impression that she could get temperamental, as well as produce large volumes of excrement.
The photo shows jane, my assistant, learning to ski. The other 2 are 'Startled' and 'Wily' new prints.
More snow now