About Jules

Hi .. welcome to my blog. My name’s Jules Forth. I’m an artist but when I’m not painting I’m walking. Next year in March I’m going to walk a long way .. from Land’s End to John o’Groats in UK. That’s about 2000 km all up. I’m doing the walk to raise funds for two mental health charities .. The Black Dog Institute in Australia and SANE’s Black Dog Campaign in England. And to be honest, I’m also doing the walk for me. I LOVE walking and the idea of following Spring as it unfurls up the length of the country.

Some of you followed my blog as I ‘Walked The Thames Trail Backwards’ in 2016. Thank you once again! (For those of you who didn’t, please shift along the navigation menu and click on the link). I plan to post a daily blog again next year as I complete ‘Walking The Black Dog’. It’ll be a similar blend of drawings, photos and writing about the terrain, the local history and whatever takes my fancy on the day. Lots of followers seemed to really enjoy ‘Dog of the Day’. Between Cornwall and the top of Scotland I doubt there’ll be a whole lot of dogs competing for the title, especially in the bleaker, more remote parts. So, I’m going to feature black dog heroes from around the world .. to redress the balance of black dogs always being the harbinger of doom … (If you have a good story please DO send it to me and I’ll do my best to include it in a post!)

So, why have I chosen the Black Dogs to walk my buns off for? Like many, many other people I have had depression. There have been some dark days over the years. And like others, I have chucked all sorts of things at the condition in an attempt banish it .. meds, therapy, meditation and exercise. Between them both Black Dog charities do wonderful research and therapy. They also do much to raise awareness of mental health issues and do so much to help smash the taboo of talking about depression. I think they’re both fantastic. By doing the walk I want to raise funds to help them continue their great work and also raise very real awareness that exercise .. yes, even walking .. is a fine way to take control of the black dog and FEEL BETTER.

Please come back again to the blog in August when the training for the walk starts in earnest! Oh, and if you’d like to take a look at my paintings please visit www.julesforth.com