How lovely...

It's hot.....

The flowers are out...

The birds are singing.....

People are going crazy in the heat

Courtyards are perfect for summer lunches...

And the creativity is in abundance. Long may the sun shine :o)

Midsummer Madness....

This weekend I attended the Midsummer Art Fair at the Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington.

It was a really excellent fair and there were 78 stalls with art work ranging from paintings, photography, sculpture and jewellery. I was very impressed with the foot flow too and even on a sunny Sunday afternoon people were out in their droves. I can't comment on the success of the fair from the artists point of view, but suffice to say I saw many a red sticker on paintings.

It was somewhat challenging taking a 3 year old to this fair and it did make it difficult to look at every single stall - even if Jim and I did think she may not be too bored - but we still came away from the fair full of inspiration and a handful of business cards.

Here are some of the ones we liked:

Nozomi Inoue
Jim Munnion
Clinton De Menezes
Jan Levy
Ondre Nowakowski

The next art fair they are holding will be on 16th and 17th October and this time, we hope to find a babysitter!

Have a great and art filled week!

Helen

Trying something new...

In my attempt to become more organised – and every now and then I have a real purge at this – I have started to use Google Reader.

It all stemmed from changing my personal email address to a Google one and then looking at all the things I can also do from my Google account.

To be honest at first I was quite sceptical, mainly down to the fact that I had never really understood RSS feeds (or just didn’t want to) and I quite liked having my ‘favourites’ tab on my internet browser where I could check out my favourite websites and blogs when I wanted.

However, the more blogs I found and liked and the more websites that interested me meant that my favourite list was getting longer and longer. And then there was the whole issue that these would remain on the one computer....which was quite restricting as I would have to try and remember them which is not ideal if like me, you have a bad memory .

So there I was looking at what Google Reader does and to sum it up, it allows you to subscribe to all your favourite blogs and websites, and provides you with a notification whenever new posts or content is uploaded. Perfect!

This means I can browse when I want, see what has been added, keep up to date with my favourite blogs all at my own pace.

And talking of favourite blogs, here are some of them:

The Dainty Squid

Ramblings of the Bearded One

Michael Gage: Work in Progress

moments of perfect clarity

Art of Wyanne

Carol Marine's Painting a Day

I can assure you Google haven't paid me to say this, although if those at Google are reading this, please feel free to donate to me.....I just really wanted to let you know that this is quite a good little gadget. My only concern is that just as I am getting used to this, a new, whizzy-wow tool will come out..........!!!!

Have a good week!

Helen

A Busy Bee....

As seems to be the common theme these days, it’s been a while since my last post.

I am amazed at how quickly time passes.....it’s quite scary really. One minute it’s Monday morning with a whole week ahead, and then all of a sudden it’s Friday and we are looking forward to the weekend.

I’ve had a busy few weeks which included a holiday and now it seems to be back to reality, catching up on work, seeing friends and just life in general.

However, I have found time to check out some blogs and one of which has really caught my eye. The blog is by an artist called Carol Marine who produces a painting-a-day and has been doing so since October 2006! How about that for dedication and consistency. They are small oil paintings and I have to say that I love them. They have a freshness to them and a spontaneity, which I find appealing, and are of everyday subjects, or places she has visited and each day are put up for sale on ebay with a minimum price of $100.

Here's one of her recent paintings which I love....

http://carolmarine.blogspot.com/

Creating a painting every day must be a real challenge – heaven knows I find it challenging taking a photograph every day. I assume that Carol is an artist and therefore painting is her day job, but what about the days when you are not feeling inspired. When you just want to read or catch up on some sleep, or are busy with the family etc etc. To make the time to paint every day requires a dedication which I can only admire and greatly respect.

I imagine Carol has learned alot in the time she decided to produce a painting every day and I hope she continues this project for as long as she can as not only her paintings, but her dedication is pure inspiration.

One Year On....

This weekend was one which I was kind of dreading. Mainly as on Sunday it was a year since my Dad passed away. I wasn’t sure how I would cope with it or indeed how I would feel.

In the end it turned out to be a lovely weekend because I was surrounded by the people I love.

I had a fun time with the children, we played, we giggled, we made cakes and we spent time just being. I spent quality time with my mum and brother and we remembered Dad.

The tears flowed but they were quickly followed by hugs and reassuring words.

It’s hard losing a loved one, I cannot give advice on how to deal with it, but all I do know is that I am very fortunate to still have people around me who love me. All the lottery wins and materialistic possessions can never replace that.

Most of all, I am lucky to come home to an amazing man who my Dad would have adored.

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.....

Blessed....

Yesterday I felt overwhelmed....today I feel blessed. What a difference a day makes (and plenty of sleep).

I still have a tonne of things to do in the next two weeks before I head to Grand Bahama (yup - now can you see why I feel blessed)....the first proper beach holiday in my entire 38 and a half years of life!

I can't wait to see a blue sky, feel the sun on my skin, take photographs, fill my moleskin sketchbook up, read some great books and most importantly of all, relax with Jim. Just some us time.

And to give me a little taster, the sun poked out from behind the houses this morning to wish me a great day.

I hope your's is great too!