New ideas?

I’ve just been to the gallery where II have some of my paintings today. I thought they would be asking me to take some of my paintings away because they have been up too long, but they only wanted me to take one of a poppy field. But I do need to do some new paintings, to swap out with the ones I currently have there. I’m trying to think of spring images, maybe flowers? This is a Vinca. I was also thinking of doing a painting of a Blue himalayan poppy (mecanopsis) or other similar ones like Helibores. Also maybe snowdrops or daffodils. We will see.

Mixed up phone photos

I decided to free up a bit of space on my phone yesterday as I was on over 90% full. I really need to get more memory on my phone as I have over 3,000 images. The trouble is when I optimise and delete photos it resets the date on them so sometimes they all reorder themselves and jump around in my gallery until they settle down. Then I end up with a lot of duplicated photos and I have to go in and delete the duplications, and I also try and edit the others and try and delete more of the ones I don’t like. I hope you don’t have these problems!

The featured image is a painting of frost on canvas where I edited it in a filter to change the colours. It just popped up in my photo gallery.

Panto time

Penkhull Pantomime this year is Robin Hood. It will be on in Stoke on Trent again next week, the Penkhull group is performing at our local village hall. I was not able to take part in it this year because of my ill health, but I am pleased that they will be using some small paintings of scenes I originally did three years ago. I’m trying to source some fibreboard so I can do a final painting, it will be based on a celtic design that I found and as it’s about Scotland there will be thistles and a stags head. I haven’t painted it yet but no doubt I will post about it when I’ve completed it. The photo here is me waring a mob cap in a performance I was in back in December.

Final photo

I asked for a photo of my beach painting from the lady who bought it (it went to the person who had commissioned it and I had forgotten to take a picture). She was really happy with it. I tried to get that feeling of water washing on and out, flowing over the sand. A few dark rocks sit in the bottom right hand corner and I really tried to get bright sunny colours into it. I found the blue hard to get right, so I used a turquoise hue to get that marine feeling.

Canal boats

On our walk today round Westport Lake we incorporated a bit of the Trent and Mersey canal. We saw a few canal barges as we walked along the towpath. It made me think of a song we sing at choir which goes ‘fifteen miles on the Erie canal’. Most of the boats were painted dull blues and greys but there was a more traditionally painted cafe boat in primarily green and red but with yellow and white details too. It made me smile to see it.

Autumn and Spring painting

Sometimes I just have to create something different. I don’t do many paintings of abstracts, I find them difficult to do. I don’t want to have to write a long explanation of what the painting means. I love all sorts of art, but it’s hard to pin down what would be my favorite. This autumn /spring painting is acrylic on canvas. With colours that represent the seasons. The shapes are meant to represent middle age, complexity, confusion, a city scape, and the spring is simple nature. See I said I hate describing what I’m doing, and yet that’s exactly what I’ve just done! Maybe I should do a Winter/summer one?

Sold, Heron

Got a nice surprise this morning, I’ve sold another small painting (long and thin). It had been for sale at the Arts and Minds Gallery at Harper Street in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent. As usual it’s lovely to feel that someone has taken it into their heart.

This was a playful piece. I started by painting some weeds and rushes, and only decided to add a bird, this Heron, because it fitted in with the shape of the canvas.

Next? I might paint some gentle landscapes or flowers, but play with the style again, not forgetting the industrial heritage of the area.

White rabbit

I couldn’t resist, I’ve never had my photo taken as a white rabbit before. My hubby had his taken as the mad hatter. This was at the New Vic theatre yesterday. The only problem was that I had to really crouch down as the cut out faces were really placed to be the right height for children. I was impressed by the quality of the painting. Whoever painted the Alice in Wonderland characters has a real talent, full of energy and funny.

Sold a painting

I sold this today, only for a few pounds, but it was my first for 2023. I’m not making a great deal of money out of my art, but I know that this will be going to a good home. I didn’t get a photo of it fully completed because my phone camera is playing up but it’s a pretty good representation of the final piece. I didn’t really think about it but it also made me feel calm when I looked at it.