A little celebration giveaway

I'm rather chuffed. I hit my 200th follower, well 201 now. Can't be bad.

As promised, I shall treat one lucky reader to a giveaway now I have achieved this somewhat historic milestone. Yes, I painted something especially for you. Before we go on to the entry criteria though I am afraid I shall subject you to more ramblings (you are of course free to skip to the end, but then who knows what you'll miss - there might be ice cream!).

So, we begin... It seems only natural at this point to spend some time reflecting on how far I've come since I started this 'little writing exercise' about 18 months ago. In the beginning, it was all about the writing. I wanted to write a novel, but they do take rather a long time and considerable effort. I discovered that penning a blog post was actually much simpler and satisfied my urge to create prose in a far shorter timeframe and word count. Then, suddenly people started finding my paragraphs, and... commenting on them! Here was some fun. I began to feel like I was writing my very own column in a daily paper - childhood dreams realised.

And while I was regressing back to youthful dalliances with literature, I was reminded of my love of illustration. No story was complete back then without a picture. A bunny here, a cute little cottage there with roses around the door. It was time to get my paints out again. I had forgotten the sheer unadulterated pleasure to be gained by creating. Over the years we seem to feel that we can't paint unless we're brilliant artists, but we couldn't be more wrong. For me painting, drawing, making and just creating is my soul food, my rocket fuel and this online forum for sharing and learning alongside like-minded individuals has been more inspiration than I ever could have wished for. I have to confess to being rather addicted to blogland. If I'm not writing my own, I'm hopping around others, sometimes taking a crazy route through a maze of links until I end up whole worlds away from where I started. I just love this magical exploration and all the treasures it unfolds. The writing and the art have become intrinsically linked.

Then, finding that people actually like my work and even claim to be inspired by it was truly a revelation but also just the encouragement needed to keep on creating, to push myself. I still see huge room for improvement but knowing that at least some people like what I do and enjoy my words is quite the creative tonic. Making friends and sharing the creative journey sure has proved to be a rich mine of happiness. Through these friendships I've been able to find the confidence to open my own Etsy shop, join groups, take courses and even set my own creative challenges for others. Membership of Inspiration Avenue for example provides a worldwide creative support network - and some great places to buy pretty things!

Taking the regular art challenges often forces me outside my comfort zone and sees me far more likely to complete something - the element of 'getting my homework done' is another childhood throwback I think! I always was such a girlie swot! I love pushing myself though.

I could ramble on for hours, but do pity my poor readers and wouldn't want to log on next time and find I've put half of you off...

So, without further ado let's explain how you can win. Just leave a comment and share with us one of your favourite artists - with a link if can. Simple as that. I'll draw the winner by random generator on 1st September.

'Every woman blossoms' started off as an interesting background. There's some newspaper, dribbled inks and lots of acrylics. Then the face began to take shape but she kept shifting and changing. At one point, she became Frida Kahlo, then, somewhat bizarrely Minnie Driver made an appearance. Finally she blossomed into her current incarnation.

Mixed media on canvas block - mainly acrylic with a bit of ink and some collage. Measures 12cm x 18cm.

And, if you like a giveaway then do pop over to Plumrose Lane for the chance to win some stunning jewellery. As a customer, I can highly recommend Sharon's wonderful creations. She currently has a closing down sale in her jewellery shop with up to 85% off. Pick yourself up a bargain friends. There's a link direct to the sale at the top of my blog.