Happy 2020

Hello,

How is everyone? Hope you are well. Sorry this is a bit late, after the holidays I got busy trying to organise my studio(a constant battle) and have started back at work so I never got around to writing a post :-(.

 I thought I would start out 2020 by sharing some quotes I came across Pinterest as well as some interesting videos on procrastination-something I've struggled with my whole life. This year I really want to work on keeping it under control and not letting it get in my way. Hopefully this will help my fellow procrastinators :-).

4 Easy Strategies You Need to Beat Procrastination

How To Tackle Procrastination 

Inside the mind of a master procrastinator | Tim Urban

The surprising habits of original thinkers | Adam Grant

 And one thing I also crave for more this year -JOY!

Bye for now.

Holiday Greetings!

Hello,

I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year!

Thanks for all your support through out 2019. I look forward to seeing what 2020 brings!

Bye for now.

Happy New Year 2019!

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to say Happy New Year to you all. I know we are nearly halfway through the month of January already but I've been really busy so haven't had a chance to post anything. I hope you had a good start to the new year. This year my husband and I spent three nights in Brussels, our son stayed with relatives which was nice as it gave us a break. It was a good opportunity for us to practice our French, although most people we spoke to spoke English. Where we stayed was central with lots of restaurants, shops and Christmas markets to visit. Here are just a few photos we took-

I also saw a great Vincent Van Gogh exhibition which is running until 27th January. 

Here's a recreation of one of his famous paintings.

I also celebrated my 50th birthday with my family which was really nice.

Now I'm back at work and have also been tidying up the studio to get ready for new projects and hopefully resolve some paintings left unfinished in 2018. I will post my progress soon.

Bye for now.

Happy New Year 2018!

Hello,

I wanted to wish you all a very

and to say thanks for all the support you have given me through out 2017. I hope 2018 brings us lots of peace, prosperity, creativity and joy.

I wondered whether or not to make any resolutions this year. In doing so, I've come to the realisation that I'm rubbish at keeping them so have decided not to make any this year.

Have you made any resolutions you'd like to share?

So its back to routines, which I'm all for-I've gone back to work today and am hitting the gym later. Getting up was very hard as I had to get up at 7am; for the last weeks I've slept in late-sometimes till 9am :-). Its also quite dark at that time of day which makes it depressing as well :-(. In the end it wasn't too bad especially since it was a Teacher Training Day and the kids weren't in.

Tomorrow will be a different story...

Yesterday, on my last day of holiday I decided I would give my studio a good cleaning and do some organisation. Here are some before photos-

Here are some after photos-I was only able to tackle the left side of the studio.

 And here's my "working wall" which gives my great satisfaction.

I will try and do a bit more during the week and I'll let you know how I get on.

Bye for now.

My 10 Favourite Blogposts of 2016

Hello,

Happy New Year to you all, I hope you were able to enjoy the holidays and that they were filled with lots of cheer and laughter. I spent a lot of it with family and friends in the UK enjoying good food, drinks, carol singing and catching up on some shows on TV as well as travelling into London to see Rogue One. I've also been organising the studio a bit so I can start painting again and will post some photos soon. For my first blogpost in 2017, I thought I would review some of the things I got up to in 2016.

Here are my favourites:

10. Solo Show at the Central Library

9. Swindon Open Studios 2016 Review

8. 15 Days of 15 Minute Mixed Media 10/15

7. 15 Days of 15 Minute Mixed Media 7/15

6. The Start of the 15 Days of 15 Minute Mixed Media Art Challenge

5. SOS 2016 Art Lottery

4. Work in My Sketchbook

3. Leap Year Mini Art Giveaway

2. Valentine's Day Prints

1. Happy 2016!

Bye for now.

Happy 2016!

Hello,

I hope you all had a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. We had a relaxing time off-filled with lots of family, friends, food and laughter. And of course lots of sleeping in late. After a two week break, I go back to work tomorrow. 

I haven't done much in the way of art lately-mainly trying to be a bit more organised with a fresh start. I've updated the look of my blog, added some images and information to my website which I will post soon. I've started my yearly routine of clearing out my studio and getting rid of stuff I've been holding onto all year-but haven't done anything with. A lot of it will either be recycled or given to local schools or artists' groups.

This is a mixed media painting I started at the end of December; I hope to get back to it soon.

During my down time, when I'm not in the studio-I enjoy going on Pinterest; if I'm not careful I can spend hours on it. I sometimes post my work on it but mainly use it for inspiration, advice and ideas on various projects. Here are some of my colour inspiration pins, hope you enjoy-

Bye for now.

WIP Wednesday 7

Hello,

Here is another piece I'm working on-

This is the original image from a magazine. 

 Once it was transfered onto the canvas the image was reversed.
The background is a combination of stencil patterns using acrylic paints.
I also used acrylic markers on the model's hair and dress.

I felt the painting needed more excitement in the background-I added black lines and used dollies to stencil a pattern. Butterflies cut from magazines were added to her hair and skeleton leaves were used as earrings. I will let this dry and see what else it needs...

Bye for now.

Happy New Year 2015

Hello,

Happy 2015!

Welcome to my blog- for those of you first-time visitors as well as those who are not so new...

Whenever a new year comes along I try and reflect on what went on the previous year- what resolutions I made-which ones I kept, which ones were dumped by the wayside and what hopes and promises I have for the new year ahead. Sometimes I find it a bit depressing-as I don't always achieve all my goals which seemed so promising when I made them. I'm sure I am not alone in this struggle. But, by making these goals or resolutions-it gives me something to look forward to and stay focused on.

Here are last years:

• Keep fit-I usually do 2-3 exercise classes during the week and have seen some real results, so want to keep that going. Maybe even take up a new sport.

(I kept this up till September-when I started working full time it was impossible to find the time to do it. I did try Body Combat which I enjoyed very much.)

• Eat healthy & DRINK MORE WATER!!!

(Yes, was very happy with this one-managed to stay focused.)

• Make time for art everyday- even if its a sketch or some journaling.

(Was not as succesful :-(. Mainly because of work commitments.)

• Revisit and resolve some unfinished artwork.

(I'm okay with what I tackled.)

• Create some LARGE paintings.

(Yes, created some larger mixed media paintings. But still want to make more!)

• Teach and attend some art workshops-try a new craft or art technique!

(Was not able to accomplish this goal.)

• Open an online shop.

(Nope, nada :-(. )

So what are my goals for this year? Stay healthy, creative and hopefully grow as a person as well as an artist.

Have you made yours yet???

Bye for now.

Happy 2014!

Hello,

Happy New Year to you all!

I've made a list of goals/resolutions for 2014-

• Keep fit-I usually do 2-3 exercise classes during the week and have seen some real results, so want to keep that going. Maybe even take up a new sport.
• Eat healthy & DRINK MORE WATER!!!
• Make time for art everyday- even if its a sketch or some journaling.
• Revisit and resolve some unfinished artwork.
• Create some LARGE paintings.
• Teach and attend some art workshops-try a new craft or art technique!
• Open an online shop.

Have you made any goals/resolutions for 2014?

Bye for now.

First Snow Day in 2013!

Hello,

We had our first snow fall this year! It caused a lot of havoc yesterday in and around Swindon and other parts of England and Wales. They estimated we got around 4-6 inches of snow, not much but enough to close many schools, delay buses and trains. My son's school was one of the few schools  which were opened in the morning. To my son's horror- he wanted a snow day. But because it snowed throughout the morning, the head teacher thought it would be best to close at midday. It continued to snow all day and most of the night. I took some photos of our winter wonderland.

 This was my son when I turned up at his school with his sled. Was he happy or what?

Below are photos of our local park.

 My son pulling his sled.

He and a school friend are pulled along by his friend's dad. He had a blast.

Outside my studio at the back of our house.

Jack our dog, enjoying himself in our back garden. 

He's had enough-so he's coming inside.

 If you would like to see more photos of "Snowy Swindon", click on this link.

They say we will get more snow over the next couple of days. We just have to wait and see.

Bye for now.