I suppose you could say I am a classic case of someone proving you can become a successful artist in your mid forties without any training at all. I left school at sixteen and apart from this standard school education I have never done a days training in my life. It has always been my belief that if a person really wants to do something they will. When someone says to me they can’t cook my immediate response is “Anyone can cook, you just need to want to do it”.

THIS STORY ABOUT HOW MY BUSINESS GREW  GOES ON AND ON AND ON AND ON - SO,  IF YOU HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO PLEASE GO TO ANOTHER PAGE

PS. Many people ask me if I am the famous pianist. The most I can play on the piano is the chopsticks. I can not sing either! As a painter I like to paint to music, Tchicovsky, Ravel, Vaughn Williams, Leonard Cohen, Star Sailor, Enya, Damien Rice, Kruder Dorffmeister, Scott Walker, Stranglers, 69 Love songs, Jeff Buckley

19 something to 2003

 DREAMS -As a child I dreamed that when I grew up I would be a writer and artist; but it was only a romantic dream born from the hippy era. In fact if someone had said to me five years ago (in 1988)  I was going to earn a living travelling the word selling my paintings I would have laughed. Five years ago I didn’t even know I could paint.

I loved art at school but I was never so good that the teacher told me I should go to art-college. I was however, good at craft, cooking, dressmaking and pottery. It gave me tremendous pleasure to think up new ideas, new recipes, dress designs, anything where I could use my hands and be creative. As a child I lived with my aunt and uncle. My aunt was a marvellous cook and my uncle a kind and generous man.

EARLY INFLUENCE - One of my earliest memories was playing with some left over pastry. I shaped it into little cakes and biscuits and baked them on the old black range. My uncle tasted the coal blackened, well handled "cakes" and declared them to be delicious. I think that was when I subconsciously decided cooking was for me. Although it was another twenty two years before I actually took up my first job of cooking in a Guest House in Sandown on the Isle of Wight.

COOKING FOR ACCOLADES - After a short stint cooking in guest houses and taking on catering concessions at Seaview Yacht Club and Brading Haven Yacht Club I ventured into running my own restaurant. But first I must thank a gentleman called Commander Peter Martin. His wife Yvonne did the catering for the Seaview Yacht club but she took a rest during the busy month of August. They advertised for someone to do run the catering that month. I turned up, 24 yrs old ,in a mini skirt, probably looking far too young and reckless to take on such a post. But Peter Martin, a man in his 70's who interviewed me while watching the Changing of the Guard on a sunny Saturday afternoon took a chance and gave me the job.

For 16 years (from 1980) I was chef/proprietor of my own restaurant called "Lugley's" - named after the street in which it resided - on the Isle of Wight. It was my obsession and passion and my dedication was rewarded with accolades in publications such as The Good Food Guide and Egon Ronay. It was a thrill to be written about in the Times and the Guardian. I even appeared on a few TV programmes. Good Morning with Richard and Judy, and some regional programmes promoting the Isle of Wight. I found cooking one hundred percent creative. From the shopping for ingredients each morning to the creation of dishes using these ingredients throughout the day. I made absolutely everything. From the bread to the ice-cream. From the stock pot to the petit fours. Over the years I developed favourite recipes, many of which I am adding to this web site on the recipes page.

COOKING FOR ROYALS - After reading a review of my cooking in the Saturday Telegraph a local lady called Mrs Terry asked me to cook a dinner party for her during Cowes week. It was to be on a Sunday, my day off. I said it wasn't possible. She worked very hard to persuade me. I was adamant I was not going to give up my one day of rest. Catering is totally exhausting and a day of rest is essential. She then, in a last ditch attempt said, "Last year Princess Anne and Prince Phillip were dinner guests." I quickly did a back peddle - there's no shame when such an opportunity arises - and said "I've never had the opportunity to cook for royalty before, perhaps I had better come and discuss it with you before I decide".

I gave them sauté scallop and bacon chowder, tarragon chicken with  local asparagus, and fruits of the summer jelly with rose petal ice cream.

The party included, Prince Andrew, Prince Phillip, Prince Edward, Princess Alexander and Prince Michael of Kent plus a load or vice marshals and commanders. Prince Phillip was particularly impressed with the wobbly jelly.

THE END OF ONE CAREER AND THE START OF ANOTHER - Catering is immensely exhausting. I dedicated myself to reaching for the top. But staying there was stressful. I was constantly worrying about the quality of the dishes and always fearful of complaints.  I even had to put up with trivial complaints. For instance I didn't do burgers or the menu was too short. By the time I was forty I was worn out and incredibly unfit. So I made a drastic and literally overnight decision to give it all up. I did so just at the right time. Two weeks later the property market crashed and we saw years of home losses and heartache across the nation. However, I was suddenly unemployed. What happened next was, unbeknown to me, the start of my new career. Old customers from my restaurant started to ring me up asking for my recipes or advice on how to cook a particular dish or ingredient. I obliged for a short while until someone suggested I write a cookery book. I eventually wrote five regional cookery books called the What's Cooking series, a book called Cooking on the Move: for caravan owners and The Herb Growers Recipe Book. I published them all myself. Over a two-year period I sold some ten thousand books. I have published some of my recipes on this site.

The cost of self-publishing isn’t cheap and I certainly couldn’t afford to pay someone to illustrate the books so I thought I would have a go myself. Armed with library books and dealing with a subject I new intimately - food, within 6 months I had my first set of illustrations. When I look back at that first lot of work I can see four years on, how much I have improved and I hope I will continue to improve for many years to come. The more I paint the more bold and confident I become about the watercolour medium that I use.

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PAINTING PICTURES FOR A LIVING -I feel incredibly lucky and sometimes it’s as if a genie has jumped into my body and given me a precious gift that he may, without notice, take back at any time. Consequently I have this desperate urge to take advantage of this piece of luck while I can. I now paint around 2,500 pictures a year.

It all really began one Christmas when I was so hard up I couldn't even afford to buy Christmas cards. So I painted a selection of Christmas trees, crackers and holly wreaths. I showed them to a friend who said I should try selling them at a Christmas Charity fair. So I booked a table for £5.00 at the local hall. I sold all the cards. I went home and painted some more and sold them again the next week. In the end I was so busy painting and selling cards that I ended up having to buy some printed cards to send to friends. I then put my mind to painting every day cards. I chose to produce three sets of four cards, apples and pears, farm animals, and vegetables. I sent a selection to the Country Living Magazine and the Saturday Telegraph magazine. Country Living loved them and did a tiny feature in their Emporium page. The Saturday telegraph also did a feature on their Easter shopping page. Suddenly I was on the phone taking orders. So that is how it all took off. Very quickly in fact, just a matter of months.

EARLY EXPANSION - A local artist who is now a good and valued friend took my pictures into her gallery called Inside Art. Sadly it is no longer there.  Janet Sheath was hugely encouraging and told me about all the art and crafts shows she went to around the country. I didn't even know such shows existed. I took up her advice and tentatively booked three shows with and organisation called Rainbow. I was amazed by the set up. Huge marquees in the middle of a field in the middle of no where. Within 30 minutes of opening the show it was as packed as any Ideal Home Exhibition show. Thousands of people streamed past my stand. I did several shows with Rainbow but I felt I wasn't doing as well as I should be. I then changed organisations and joined the Rural Crafts Association. They took marquees within the body of another show such as Badminton Horse trials, The Royal Agricultural Show, the Game Fair and Southport Flower Show. My turnover greatly increased with this organisation and each year customers now return to my stand either to add to their collection; to finally buy after looking at my pictures for a couple of years or to buy presents for friends who have seen  and admired my work hanging in their home.

FOOT AND MOUTH - This was a huge tragedy not just for the farming community but for many related businesses. Many of my colleagues including my self found that the majority of our shows for the year had been cancelled. Panic. What do we do? Many people got part time jobs and others went to the wall. I decided to go for broke and quickly rang up the Country Living Magazine. They had often asked me to take a stand at one of their shows but I had always declined because they were so expensive. What with the stand price and extras such as lighting, accommodation in London and meals you are looking at a minimum of £2,000. When one is used to paying £400 - £500 it is a scary leap up to £2,000. I did however, know people liked my product, but did they like it enough to pay for my costs and make me a profit? It is also very painful having to sell original paintings just to pay for a stand. But under the desperate circumstances I could see no other option.

Fortunately they let me go into the New Designer's Hall which was fractionally cheaper. Albeit still £800.00 plus extras. I can't say I did brilliantly. Possibly because the New Designers hall is a little out of the way and not every one found it. However, I could see the potential and in fact everyone that did find me showed huge interest and purchased. I booked there and then for the next Spring Show on the provision that I could go downstairs on the Mezzanine level. The following year my sales improved and this year they improved dramatically. I now think nothing of paying £2,000 for a stand.

MARKET LED - I have learnt a lot over the past four years. Unlike my restaurant business which, if I am honest was a bit of an ego trip, cooking for accolades was what it was really all about. With my art business I am completely market led. It is true that I do not paint commissions but I do only paint what people want to buy and live with in their homes.

I have also made sure I have grown slowly. I began with small local shows, at £5.00 per day for a stand. Then I progressed to large local shows, for £20.00/day. Then I ventured onto the mainland, thanks to artist friend Janet Sheath who encouraged me, where I paid up to £300 per stand. At the time this was a huge amount of money. I took notice of what people said in passing about a picture. I developed a thick skin. Although I have to say people came to my stand because they were attracted to it. If they ignored a picture for several shows I dropped it. I most definitely didn't run before I could walk.

So many times have I seen new designers, students just out of college, at an expensive Country Living Show having never done a show before. But because friends said their work was commercial or their art college told them their work had popular appeal they had made this huge and expensive leap into an unknown, untried and untested world of commercialism. I have seen glum faces, worried faces and disenchanted faces as they have failed to make the necessary sales to cover their costs. I think, "If only they had had some wise advise about this highly competitive market place before they spent their savings or borrowed expensive money from the bank". The worst thing is, totally deflated, they do not return to the show the following year and worse than that they probably give up altogether. A talent lost to the rest of the world, due simply to misguided, excessive encouragement from none business minded advisors.

It takes time to discover your market and the kind of people who will buy your paintings. I still make the odd mistake. Do the wrong show. A particular example was Spirit of Manchester organised by Clarion Events run at the GMEX and known locally as the Graveyard of Manchester. In this instance everyone did the wrong show. Something like 146 people wrote a joint letter of complaint to the organisers. Exhibitors were so upset that the majority of them didn't re-book so the 2004 Christmas show has been cancelled. But I never compound the mistake. Learn quickly and move on. I stick with what I know and test the water with new venues with great caution. i.e. spend as little as possible until you are sure the venue is for you and that the organisers are delivering what they say they will in return for your money. In fact I rarely do a launch show unless I am absolutely certain it will work. I also tend to drop shows after three or four years. Give them a break and return to them a year or two later, when I can return with some new images or products.

 I paint anything as long as it has a connection with kitchens, dinning rooms, restaurants etc.. Although I have seen my paintings in hallways, bedrooms, sitting rooms, holiday homes and offices. I love painting big pictures and in particular farm animals. I am fortunate enough to live a rural existence and in the past have kept sheep, ducks and geese. Geese have such quirky movements and sheep are quite the opposite with that kind of what-planet-am-I-on attitude. I try to capture the character of the creatures without them looking 'cartoony'. This is most evident in my hen and cockerel paintings. I love to use my colours in a bold way, splashing the paint all over the place - including the walls oops!. I am an impatient person and want everything to happen yesterday, that is why I like watercolour techniques which I find very quick. People often ask me if I use inks because my colours are so strong, I don't. Best of all I like the freshness of  white paper and I use this as my main colour.

TECHNICALLY -  for those who are interested, I nearly always use Chinese brushes, the bigger the better. I don't use any specific paper, although I find Archers watercolour paper little too absorbent. I use the wet into wet painting technique most of the time. My palette consists of red, yellow, blue, grey and brown. I keep my palette (on old plastic container that came with some pork chops five years ago) clean and I constantly change my water.

 PROGRESS - My pictures can now be found on Aprons with Attitude, place-mats, tea-towels, napkins, gift wrapping paper and greeting cards under the Angela Hewitt Designs Label. www.angelahewittdesigns.co.uk