Being a doctor

What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.

I would have to be 40 years younger, have the education to be able to train for the length of time required. I guess it would also be good to come from a well off family. If those things had been my reality I might have liked to be a doctor. I enjoy helping people and trying to solve their problems. That’s why I like these prompts, it means I can think of alternative career paths, or different outcomes.

But to be honest I’m quite happy with my life as it has panned out. I’ve always been an artist, whatever job I’ve had. I’ve painted and created, used my imagination. I might not be famous but a lot of people have bought my work and also commissioned me to paint things for them. I’m just glad I’ve had the freedom to do that.

Brampton Open Exhibition

Lucky to get my painting “mend him” into the Brampton open exhibition in the Brampton museum and art gallery, in Newcastle under Lyme. Staffordshire. It’s on from 14th October I think. The painting is a portrait of my hubby I started last year and finally finished a couple of months after he passed away. I miss him. This is my in memoriam tribute to him.

I had decided to enter it as “not for sale” but the gallery wanted all images to be up for sale so I put a large (very large) price on it to virtually guarantee it won’t be sold. It’s very personal to me, but I wanted people to see it.

It’s acrylic on canvas and I started it in my Studio in Spode Site, Stoke. I finished painting it there after I decided to leave due to not being able to afford the studio rent any longer. It means this is the last painting I completed there.

Biccys!

Took a photo of three mini biscuits

Put the photo through Incollage app to create a symmetrical pattern.

Used photodirector app to add a mosaic pattern, then a background of sparkling lights and finally added grunge.

Do you edit your pictures to change or alter them? I keep using photodirector but they make changes in how it works and change the names of the tools. They have done the same in Instagram and it takes a while to learn.

Finished Green woman

Commissioned acrylic on canvas. A surreal abstracted spirit : Green woman. With antlers adoring her head. It’s taken months to finish because I shake even though it’s only about A4 size. I imagine her standing in a grotto of trees, hidden from mortal view. She is nature, watching carefully as the land changes through time. She fights for the natural world and environment.

This doesn’t happen…

Describe your ideal week.

My ideal week would be to go out to a studio, paint for a few hours, make good progress on a painting. Go to choir practice. Cook tea for me and my hubby. Sit and chat about our days.

My ideal week would include going for a walk with him, he might go for a cycle ride to see a friend. He goes to bed early, I stay up late to read or watch TV.

In my ideal week I would sleep well, wake refreshed. Go for a drive somewhere with my hubby. Visit a national trust property.

In my ideal week I would try and paint some more, take some photos, go on the Internet.

In my ideal week I would still have my hubby, I would still have my studio, I would still be doing art or at least more than I am now. I’m just struggling to get back to something like an ideal week.

Face in a landscape

Painting from a few years ago. I sometimes come up with ideas I like, but I don’t keep doing the same things over and over again. I’m not sure if I could keep repeating an image with just little changes. Once you start doing that you might as well be creating Christmas or birthday cards.

I like being experimental. I might not always get it right but if I continue I learn with each effort. This acrylic on canvas is quite surreal, but why not?

Trying to paint a galaxy

Without flicking paint! Each dot so far  and each smudge is from a brush touching the canvas. It’s a bit over exposed. It’s acrylic on a small 7×7 inch canvas. I might paint a tardis on it if it works. There are hundreds of dots and I’m really struggling to find a brush with a decent point. More to do!

Yellow at the lake

I enjoyed painting this a few years ago, I used a phone app to change the texture of a photo then worked off that. This is acrylic on canvas. I keep meaning to do a few more pictures like this. It’s just deciding what images to work from. I’ve hit a bit of a block recently so I’m hoping if I do something like this it might encourage me to do more.