This weekend we spent a beautiful day in Epping Forest. Springtime is just emerging in all its glory, and it's wonderful! Leaves are coming out, butterflies and bees are in the air, and birdsong is all around.

I love this time of year, and I wanted to share a few of the pictures I captured on our walk from Theydon Bois to Chingford.

This month I'm looking forward to the Society of Wood Engravers' exhibition moving to Wales, and I'm preparing for my participation in this year's E17 Art Trail in two seperate exhibitions. For more details, see the events page.

I'm also excited to see the opening of the new Matisse exhibition at the Tate Modern.

The Vestry House Museum is open this Thursday evening (13 March) 6-8pm for the launch of the Unseen Waltham Forest photography exhibition.

My show will also be open and I will be there all evening to answer any questions visitors may have about the prints on show or the printmaking process.

I hope you can make it!

I am excited to have been selected for the RBA annual exhibition for the second year running. View Subterranea 3 and Thames Foreshore will be exhibited at the Mall Galleries (near Trafalgar Square) from Tuesday 4 March to Saturday 15 March. The official opening by Andrew Marr will be at 6pm on the 4th. If anyone would like a ticket for the preview or exhibition please get in touch.

My solo show at the Vestry House Museum in Walthamstow is also underway. Thanks for all the lovely messages and feedback - it's much appreciated! The show runs until 29 March, and I would certainly recommend the exhibits in the rest of the museum - especially one of the earliest surviving maps of Walthamstow from the 17th century.

I'm looking forward to my solo show which will be at the Vestry House Museum in Walthamstow Village. It starts on Sunday 2 February and runs for eight weeks. I'm enjoying putting together what I hope is an interesting collection of my recent wood engravings and lino cuts. I'm including two new pieces which I have just completed this month: Thames Foreshore and Old Blackfriars.

The Vestry House (http://goo.gl/sfVeyZ ) is a Grade II listed building in the historic village area of Walthamstow, with exhibitions and displays focusing on the unique heritage of this area of London and exploring life in Waltham Forest both past and present. If you're visiting the area you should also make sure you see the William Morris Gallery, just up the road.

The first week of February also sees the Society of Wood Engravers annual exhibition coming to the Bankside Gallery (next to Tate Modern). I am exhibiting my wood engraving Contemplation.

I am writing this from the South Wales Valleys, where today I fulfilled my ambition of going down a coal mine – if you know my work, you may already know that I have a fascination with things subterranean. The colliery was Big Pit in Blaenafon, near Abergavenny. My journey into the mine was an illuminating experience. I went down a 90 metre shaft and walked about a mile of the 45 mile labyrinth of tunnels which chase the seams of ‘black gold’.

I also learnt about the human costs – children as young as six working in brutal conditions, as well as the constant dangers to the miners, and the tragic lives of pit ponies. However, I also learnt about the camaraderie and community bonds which are still remembered fondly by the former miners.

In other news, I have just confirmed a solo show for January 2014 at the Vestry Museum, Walthamstow Village, London which will run for eight weeks. I am busy organising the works for this exhibition and I will post more details shortly.

I have also been invited to submit a piece for a wood engraving exhibition in Seattle, USA. For anyone who may be in that part of the world, this will be at the Davidson Galleries, 313 Occidental Avenue South, Seattle WA 98104 from 5 December 2013.

Finally, just a reminder that the Society of Wood Engravers exhibition is continuing on to Dartington in Devon later this month, before coming to London in the new year.

The nights may be drawing in and the the summer looks like it's on its way out, but I'm really looking forward to the autumn. I'm involved in a few exhibitions over the next couple of months:

The Society of Wood Engravers annual exhibition starts in Oxford on 12 September; The Society of Graphic Fine Arts exhibition starts at the Menier Gallery in Southwark on 30 September; and the Penny Fielding Gallery in Walthamstow is currently featuring several of my works. Full details are on the events page.

I'm also excited to be working on some new pieces: I'm working from some preparatory sketches of the Thames foreshore which I made during the lovely summer weather, and I have finished what I hope will be the first of a new series. I am now working on the second, which features the Houses of Parliament.

I'm also continuing to work on my View Subterranea series: the location of number four will be St James's Street station.

On the theme of the river, I am also really looking forward to the Thames Festival, which started today and runs until the 15th: http://thamesfestival.org" target="_blank">thamesfestival.org.

The Cork Street Open Exhibition is now on, and runs until 16 August. The show supports the homeless charity Crisis, and features a range of work by both emerging and established artists from around the world.

I am exhibiting three pieces in the show: View Subterranea 3, The Road Taken and Enemy No 1.

The exhibition is open 10am-6pm daily (and till 9pm on 9th and 15th) at The Gallery in Cork Street, 28 Cork Street, Mayfair. For more information visit www.corkstreetopenexhibition.com/"" target="_blank"style='word-wrap: break-word; -ms-word-break: break-all; word-break: break-all; -webkit-hyphens: auto; -moz-hyphens: auto; hyphens: auto;'>http://" target="_blank"style='word-wrap: break-word; -ms-word-break: break-all; word-break: break-all; -webkit-hyphens: auto; -moz-hyphens: auto; hyphens: auto;'>www.corkstreetopenexhibition.com/" target="_blank">www.corkstreetopenexhibition.com.

It's well worth a visit - I hope you can make it.

I'm excited to be taking part in the E17 Art Trail Summer Show. In addition to some of my own prints, there will be painting, printmaking, photography, mixed media and ceramics by some exceptional Walthamstow artists.

The exhibition will run at Penny Fielding Gallery and Interiors in Walthamstow Village, 1-25 August 2013 with an artists’ reception Thursday 1 August from 6.30pm.

More information is available at www.pennyfielding.com/summershow"" target="_blank"style='word-wrap: break-word; -ms-word-break: break-all; word-break: break-all; -webkit-hyphens: auto; -moz-hyphens: auto; hyphens: auto;'>http://" target="_blank"style='word-wrap: break-word; -ms-word-break: break-all; word-break: break-all; -webkit-hyphens: auto; -moz-hyphens: auto; hyphens: auto;'>www.pennyfielding.com/summershow" target="_blank">www.pennyfielding.com/summershow.