Being from the rainiest, dullest, windiest, dampest part of England (the North East) I'm used to wrapping up warm against the driving drizzle of the North Sea. California, seems a world apart. Sunshine, the Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, sunshine, Santa Monica pier, sand and sunshine.

Last week was the annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show in Anaheim California. The world's largest, and craziest, exhibition of musical instruments and accessories.

I have recently been lucky enough to begin a collaboration with LIBERTY DRUMS, the UK's premier boutique drum maker.

The drum above is the first of a proposed range of British themed pieces. It has been hand painted using Acrylics in a 'drip' style and taken across the Atlantic to feature in this year's NAMM show. In fact, it's still there in the Liberty Drums California Office and available for sale.

I am looking forward to producing more bespoke, hand painted drums with Liberty, so keep checking my website for new additions.

Please contact me if you are interested in a custom painted item of your own or would like to ask any questions.

If you would like to know more about Liberty Drums, then check them out below. I know Andrew at Liberty will be happy to tell you more.

I happened to have my sketchbook handy as I watched the final moments of last season's football on TV.

I live in the North East of England and I was struck by the bitter rivalry between the region's two teams. Newcastle (relegated from the Premier League the previous season) were already champions and had secured their promotion back to the top flight. Sunderland, conversely, we're on their way down. I imagined representing each team (indeed, each City) as a single fan. One travelling upwards, the other passing him on the way down. I did a quick sketch, posted on facebook and sat back to see if there was any response. The idea was not necessarily to show the art but, maybe, start a discussion.

Incredibly, I was inundated with requests for the image. I ended up selling prints, producing two hand drawn 'copies' for other customers and even had a request from the local newspaper (The Northern Echo) to use the image in an article! It's funny, but there was never any original intention to sell the image. Unexpectedly, it just seemed to strike a chord.

If I had known, I would have posted something far more polished. Maybe a painting, or more considered drawing. Certainly, not a five minute sketch, ripped from a book! Then again, if I had, it might not have been as popular. So I guess I'll never know.

As a guitar freak and (decidedly average) guitar player, a friend of mine gave me a cheap, old broken guitar. "You're one of those creative types, aren't you?" he said. "Can you do anything with this?"

The guitar had a broken headstock (the bit at the end of the neck with the tuning pegs on, for those of you who don't know the first thing about guitars). That meant it would need a new neck. So.... Ebay. The body was bright red and spattered with scratches and dings. Easy, I thought. I'll give it a quick sand down and paint something fancy on it. Give me a couple of weeks.

Oh, did I mention this was over 10 years ago.

I'm sure we all have these types of projects. The 'I'll sort that thingymabob out one day' kind of projects. Maybe it's a creative endeavour (like my guitar), or some DIY or desire to learn something new. I know, I've been meaning to fix my back gate. It's been hanging off for years now. This guitar was like that. It hung around my studio for years, always being superseded by the latest idea. Gathering dust. Half finished.

Anyway, now its done! I was a little constrained in my design, due to the fact that when I sanded it down (a horrendous task, NEVER do it), I discovered it was made of plywood! The top and bottom looked great, but the sides looked like, well..... plywood. Hence, the dark sky around the edges. I'm particularly pleased with the plastic scratch-guard, which I made myself out of acrylic (another horrendous task, NEVER do it) and engraved by hand with 50's style lettering to match the pin up theme.

Now all I need is another friend to give me another beaten up old guitar. Then we can see what can be created in the next ten years.