Oooh a wedding....

It's been a while since my last post and things have been pretty manic.  I assisted Jim at a wedding on Saturday - how I love doing these.  I feel so privileged to be part of a couple's special day.  It's just the most fun ever and it's supposed to be work.  Get that!  Here's a little collage of some of the photographs.

I haven't had much time to paint which is terrible.  I have two commissions waiting to be started and fortunately I do not have an immediate deadline, although it may be better if I did!  I am kind of involved in a few projects which are taking up my time, which I will share in another post when the time is right.  I am also trying to learn wordpress (ssshh close your ears blogger) although I have no plans to defect, it's for one of the projects I am involved with.

But I am still here....doing the day job, being a step-mum and trying to fit in some creative time. I am tempted to keep a small sketch book with me so that I can fit some sketches in when I commute etc, but if I do I really musn't put myself under any pressure to fill the book.....just let it flow.

Hope you are well well and not flooded out.  It's supposed to be summer in the UK, but it appears to be monsoon season!

Oh and if you are in Excelsior Springs, MO, please do drop by my dear friend Kelly Berkey's art crawl.....she would love to see you!

Love and happiness

Helen x

A lovely weekend and a Wedding!

Boy am I tired today. Jim and I had a busy weekend where we photographed the wedding of Laura and Matthew. Although the weather was colder than the preceding days, it was a lovely wedding and guests had flown in all the way from Australia. Above is a collage of some of the photos.

Then yesterday little Daisy and Ollie kept us on our toes so we took them to the park to try and run off some of their energy......didn't really work :o)

Still a lovely weekend and I am looking forward to a nice long Bank Holiday one coming up!

Happy Monday.

Sunday Sketches

Another Sunday Sketches - wow this is becoming a very good habit :o) These are Lien's Converse - they are black but I just wanted to draw the outline. I am debating whether to go over them in ink and then use an ink wash, but I kind of like the simple sketch, It was fun to do and really relaxing too.

Talking of relaxing, I am so tired today after helping Jim photograph a wedding yesterday and we didn't get home until late. So entertaining a 5 and a half year old and an almost 4 year old is taking every last ounce of energy I have. We are off to the park in a mo, so hopefully they will run off some of their energy while we try and relax.

Please head over to Blue Chair Diary to check out the other Sunday Sketches.

Happy Sunday x

Today I will mostly be a photographer

I love working with Jim and today we are shooting a wedding which will be held at Ealing Abbey (pictured above courtesy of JTC Photography).

It will be a busy and tiring day but I really love photographing weddings......being part of a couples day is just magical.

Hope you have a good weekend and I will be back with some photo's tomorrow!

Moi

Hello! Tis me. I was mucking about with the camera on Saturday and decided that maybe I would do one of these type of shots that a lot of people do. As usual I am always late to the party.....I always read bestsellers years after they have been published!

Anyway, this is me peering out from behind my camera. Nice to meet you!

Have a fab day!

Sweet Magnolias

I had a lovely weekend. It included; family, children, sketching, sunshine, relaxing, Kew Gardens, photography, magnolias and best of all, no renovating a cottage. It was lovely.

The magnolias smelt lovely and they were out in full bloom, attracting tourists, keen gardeners and also students using them as backgrounds in their photoshoots. Mind you these trees are so beautiful it's no wonder they attracted such interest.

I hope you all had a good weekend. I can't believe it's all over and it's Monday again.

Have a great week!

Pirate Pip - Here she is!

Good Morning! It's Sunday, the sun is shining and it's Mother's Day here in the UK. Wonderful. Happy Mothers Day to you all.

Here's the finished Pirate Pip sketch. I meant to post it the other day but the last few days have been a bit busy. I am pleased with how she turned out and I had fun using my gouache paints for this.

I haven't done a Sunday Sketches entry in ages, so I hope you don't mind me popping by and adding my sketch.

Wishing you all a lovely day. We are off soon to a kiddies party, then poor Jim is pretty much working the rest of the day editing a busy week of photography. Still, being able to follow your passion makes working at weekends worthwhile.

Have a fab day and please head on over to Sophia's blog to check out the other

Helen

Sunday Sketches

Well I have made it for another Sunday Sketches - at least I am consistent with my inconsistency!

I haven't been sketching as much as I would like but I have been sketching some Christmas ideas and doodles, some for cards, some just so that I can let it flow and see what happens. Below are a couple that I did with a Christmas theme (strangely enough!).

Yesterday morning I was recovering from helping my lovely Jim out on an event he was working at. It was a long evening and I didn't get home until 3,30am but we did have lots of fun. From a mere people watching point of view, I loved seeing all the women in their different outfits and the variety of styles. And as for the shoes....wow......I think it was a contest to see who could wear the highest. But it was great and some of the men made a real effort too!

However, children don't understand a 3,30am late night and needless to say it required a lot of energy to keep going throughout the day. So I treated myself to a trip to Hobbycraft where I purchased a few goodies to make some things with.

This morning Jim has another photoshoot with a family which should be fun and then I think he wants to take a few pictures of the kids for the various relatives to send with cards - so a photography and creative filled weekend - perfect!

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and please head over to Sophia's blog to see the other Sunday Sketches pictures.

Helen

I've found where I belong.....

Here......

www.shinberglevinas.com

I was browsing on the internet the other day and came across this picture of a studio. Just look at that light!!! Wow!

I can see myself one end with my paints and Jim the other with his photographic studio (in my head this space is big enough for the both of us).

I don't know who lives here, but my, I am in love....

Off to dream now so have a great day!

Painting challenge

There seems to be a theme of late for people posting a picture a day on a blog or website, whether it’s a photograph or a painting. At the moment I am a member of a group in Flickr where I post a photograph a day. I am almost 7 months in and it really has been quite a challenge. Some days I find it easy as a subject will just leap out at me or other times it’s late in the day and I haven’t taken a shot! However, it’s good fun and it is really improving my photography skills, even if lately my camera has been my iPhone.

As my creative focus leans towards art I would love to be able to create a painting a day, like these brilliant artists:

Marianne Bland
Karen Werner
Lisa Daria

However, I think that it may be too much of a challenge to take on, especially as I am already taking a photograph a day. So I have decided that I will do a painting a week for the next 4 weeks, starting from now (set’s stopwatch!!!)

So watch this space.......

A few random creative facts about me...

~ I have always been creative, it's at my core and I love it.

~ I have too many art materials

~ I want to experiment with mixed media paintings

~ I admire the work of Chris Forsey (http://www.chrisforsey.com/)

~ I won my first and only art competition at the age of 4 (least that is what my mum says)

~ My favourite colour in my palette is permanent rose

~ I have a sewing machine gathering dust

~ I love buying sketchbooks and am working my way through filling them

~ The first time I attended a life drawing class my tutor made the male model stand legs akimbo infront of me so I could practice - I was completely embarrassed

~ Sitting on the rocks at St Ives painting the sea and beyond was a magical and calming experience

~ I still have my first 'proper' watercolour set which was a Christmas present from my parents when I was 13

~ I have a never-ending list of ideas for paintings, creative stuff and photography in my head

~ I have a bad memory.....

Overwhelmed!

The weekend just gone was Easter and I spent it with friends in Brighton, with Jim, with children and my family. It was lovely. Four days away from work, four days without commuting into London and four days with people I love.

But one thing is missing....my photo mojo. I am flagging fast and it's worrying, especially as I have committed to do a picture-a-day for a year!

Last night I did some painting - I came up with a design for another children's card...so creativity is there. But I am struggling to get the camera out.

I took some pictures on Saturday but due to building work taking place in Jim's flat, I haven't been able to upload them.

I have a million things to do in the next couple of weeks...I am waking up with my head spinning, I am going to bed thinking about it all.........maybe that is the problem.

If anyone has any tips for getting my mojo back, I would be eager to listen :o/

The best we can be.....

I have a confession to make......a month has passed since I last blogged! Where has the time gone?

On 10th February I committed to blogging more and revamping my website and I have achieved only a little bit of that. Why? My only answer to that is that life keeps me pretty busy and at times it’s hard to make way for other things....such as a blog.

I hate not living up to commitments – I feel like I am letting myself down and others too! But it seems like I am not alone in this, so I take solace from that.

I have joined a group on Flickr called The Blog Camp 365 project where you take a picture every day and post it as and when you can. Although I haven’t posted much to the group itself, I have been taking a picture every day. So yesterday I dropped by the group to see what was happening and the common theme on the discussion board were members who had decided to drop the 365 project as it either wasn’t working, they were not enjoying it or was taking up too much time. I completely understand that, especially after last week whereby it was mad and crazy and left hardly any time for me.

My reason for not visiting the group much was because I had not joined it from the start, so therefore I felt a bit disjointed. Everyone knew each other (or at least seemed to) and I felt a bit left out....so I just dropped by every now and then. But I wanted to be a part of that group as everyone seemed so nice. The community spirit I felt from just reading the posts and the comments on the pictures made me want to be involved. Plus the constructive comments, the ideas and inspiration is just what I need.

So I will. I will endeavour to be more active in this. But we have to realise that we are not superwomen (or men). We lead busy lives, we have family commitments.....and we can’t be everything to everybody or do everything we wish we could do. And if that’s the case, then we need to accept what we cannot change and do the best we can.

So here comes ‘the best I can’.....