My new series, “Joy”, is based on some, often impromptu, images taken from an interplay of children being adults and adults being children. I’ve chosen these images because they depict a joy and playfulness we often lose in adulthood. The monochrome nature of the image evokes a memory of a time from long ago when the responsibilities of adulthood, which can weigh heavily, have been set aside for a moment of spontaneity - joy - and immersion in the moment. I think this is why they resonate and connect with the viewer.

The Opening Event was really special. During Evensong before the party, the sun shone through the Cathedral windows, directly onto the face of Jesus in the tapestry, which, we learned afterwards, is very unusual and only possible at certain times of the year.

Dean John and I decided to do a short interview to explain how the exhibition had come about. Despite my nerves, I was able to relax and tell everyone about how I'd started to draw people at Carriers of Hope and how I hoped the viewer could see the uniqueness, dignity and humanity in each person, how they are precious, made in God's image and likeness.

There were some lovely compliments, including that you could see the love I've poured into the drawings and can read people's story in their faces. Carriers of Hope volunteers and staff could recognise each person drawn. But the best compliment came from Sue Sampson, the founder of Carriers, who said that I'd changed the atmosphere at Carriers and that the work had been a huge gift to them.

Setting up day went fairly straightforwardly with just two issues. The most disconcerting was that the first drawing I unwrapped had a broken pane of glass in it. I then had to unwrap the remaining 41 framed drawings to discover how many were broken. It turned out to be just this one. Robin, from Picturesque framers in Warwick, kindly replaced it for FREE! The second was that I arrived back home after a busy day installing the work and realised that I'd forgotten to collect the Cava from Sytner in Coventry. When I went back to collect it, they had very generously provided not one, but two cases of fizzy wine, and it turned out to be Prosecco - my favourite! Thank you Robin and thank you, Sharon Rickers from Sytner, Coventry.

The Opening Night will be on Thursday 14th September in the Chapel of Christ the Servant at Coventry Cathedral, 6.30-7.30pm.  The exhibition will continue in the Cathedral until 12th October.  Big thanks to James Tunnacliffe for helping design the publicity material.

Carriers of Hope's volunteers are a great group of people - welcoming, friendly, and always ready with a hug.  

I've just heard that my work with Carriers of Hope will be shown at Coventry Cathedral in September/October this year.  Getting excited already!

It is important to feature Sue in the work about Carriers of Hope, since it was this amazing woman who set up the charity in 2009.  

Having struggled all week to make good work quickly, and finding issues occurring in each new drawing, today I managed to capture this Carriers of Hope volunteer in around an hour.  Finally finding the flow...

Trying to capture the tenderness of relationship between mother and son.

I really enjoyed trying to depict the texture in this woman's hair.

There's a strength of character in this woman's eyes.

I've continued to work on more drawings, trying to get better at the photography, vary the direction of gaze and the distance between the camera and the subject.

Experimenting with working on grey card wasn't successful, so I've stuck with the white.  Working out which areas to focus on led to another failed drawing, when I over-worked the clothes.  Detail on the face while suggesting the clothes seems to work best.

Having fun at Carriers of Hope.

This is one of the volunteers who is shown here having a hug.

I'm hoping to capture in photographs and drawings some of the atmosphere of love which is at Carriers of Hope in Coventry, a Christian centre for asylum seekers and refugees.  I'm hoping to make lots of drawings to cover a wall to tell the story.

There were many decisions to make: which areas to be in focus, where to place the drawn lines.  I continued to add and take away, a large tub of grey paint at hand.