Unfinished Symphony

I currently have four unfinished paintings. One here which was started ages and ages ago. This one which drove me to distraction so I opted to leave it for a while and these two, which have just sat on my easel patiently waiting.

How am I ever going to exhibit if I don't finish them.

I also find it strange that on Tuesday I posted about not being sure how often I will be able to blog at the moment, and here I am three days running, blogging. Maybe giving myself the freedom and permission not to have to blog every day makes me want to. Or maybe I am contrary.

Anyway, I will leave you with a picture of my cat who is no longer with us. Mainly because I think she was beautiful and I wanted a cat picture to brighten up my post. Wow, I really really do miss my cat. She was a real character as most animals are.

Have a good day

A magnificant human being

I switched on the computer today and saw the news that Steve Jobs passed away yesterday at the tender age of 56.

This man was a genius, a visionary and inspirational and it is so sad that he now is no longer with us. I am lost for words.

If you have time I would recommend watching this commencement speech back in 2005 when he addressed Standford University. It is awesome. The strange thing was, I watched it again yesterday lunchtime....

A sad day for the world.

Taking stock and a video

Kind of lacking inspiration at the moment, so I’ve been looking at some blogs, watching videos and trying to get motivated.

I think this girl can only juggle so much in life and right now she needs a break. Not sure what this looks like and for how long but all I know is that I won’t beat myself up if I don’t blog or paint. Sometimes we need time to recoup and take stock and make decisions.

I hope you enjoy this snippet which I came across on Empty Easels blog. I loved her technique. I tried embedding the video but it wouldn't work and kept crashing blogger, so please click on this link.

Helen xx

Happy Sunshiney Saturday!

What a glorious day x

Hello!

It's been a crazy busy week which always means my art and blogging suffer. However I did find time to go the the BP Portrait Exhibition 2011 at the National Gallery last week before the exhibition ended. Considering I walk past the Gallery every day it took me a while to make it!

This painting of George O'Dowd aka Boy George by Layla Lyons just blew me away. This photograph does not do it justice as it is far more colourful in person, and at almost 2 metres in height it really has an amazing impact. If I was Boy George, I would be over the moon with this portrait. What I loved most was seeing it up close, seeing the brush strokes and then standing back and feeling blown away by it! Very Inspirational!

I hope to have more painting time this week and an update on some works in progress.

Happy Monday.

Helen xx

Forest Garden - painting in progress video

It's been a busy weekend what with nursery graduation for Daisy (nursery did a graduation party for the children leaving nursery and starting school), painting and doing more stuff to the house and of course keeping the kids entertained!

I did find time to finally put the video together of the progress of my Forest Garden painting, which I hope you enjoy.

Forest Garden - mixed media painting from Helen Mills on Vimeo.

Hope you have a good Monday!

Helen xx

I am in love

I was looking online last week for ideas for my wedding. I love the idea of a 50's themed wedding but I am not too sure I would suit the dress. However, it doesn't stop me from falling in love with them. I will post my findings as and when I can and right now I have to show you this dress. I can imagine Carrie Bradshaw from SITC wearing it. It just made me gasp when I saw it!

I am so in love with this dress. The designer and creator of this dreamy dress is Brighton based Joanne Fleming. You can find her blog here and also if you search Joanne Fleming Design on Facebook you can find her page. I highly suggest you like it!

I have to say that her dresses are just wonderful and all so individual. I am all for supporting local artists, whether they are potters, knitters, dressmakers, musicians or painters. And I am blown away at the talent we have in this country.

Talking of art, I have been cleaning out my studio space the last few nights as it's incredibly messy, and as I don't mind working in a mess it gets to the point where eventually I can't stand it any more. I will post up some more pictures soon of the paintings I started last week.

Have a good Thursday....almost the weekend!