Word nonsense

What's this thing with having a word of the year? I mean, 2013 will be 365 days long. Why only one word when language is bursting with adjectives and adverbs, verbs and verbosity? 

True, the last couple of years I have joined the flock and chosen a few letters to set the tone for the coming 12 months, but it was all rather restrictive and, frankly I should have chosen 'forgetful' as it turned out to be far more appropriate. I had to hunt back to discover that my word for 2012 was supposed to be 'complete'. 

Pants to that. I am instead going to break with tradition while still joining in. My word for 2013 will therefore be...

Chosen initially for the delightful way it rolls off the tongue but also for its nonsense connotations and links to slapstick comedy involving Eric Sykes.

I have a whole heap of other words scribbled in notebooks outlining my ambitions for the coming months. I'm being very efficient with SMART goals and enough mind-mapping to plot a course to a parallel universe - speaking of which... Will I ever start that book?

Left hand drive

I couldn't figure what to paint so I stuck the brush in my left hand thus allowing my right brain to take over the driving.

As you can see we swerved around quite a bit while we figured out just who was behind the wheel and which way to turn to avoid total disaster.

We ended up here. It's a river, not a road (by now we had parked and were moving more slowly on foot).

I wasn't actually painting with my foot at this point, it's just a figure of speech to give you the impression of a more careful consideration of subject matter.

I'm typing with my right brain too. Well, the fingers are using the left but both hands are on the keyboard to get the message all right. All right?

I should maybe think about going to bed... I sleep on the right if there's any left.

Life is about ...

I'm trying very hard to create myself today, to plan for the coming year... But the thing is, I just keep thinking about burrowing down under the duvet and gazing at the inside of my eyelids...

Two hours later....

Hmm....

(Dahlia flower and chalkboard texture from Kim Klassen's Beyond Layers course, colour texture taken from detail of a recent painting).

Paradise

PPP Para para para dise.... who can guess what song I've been listening to? We need a few thoughts of sun-drenched beaches today as the grey skies linger and the drizzle continues.

Mind you, paradise doesn't require palm trees and turquoise shores. It's all there for the making if we only want it enough. The view outside my window today may be very monochrome, but inside I'm bursting with colourful ambition and joy.

I was thrilled with how this painting turned out - I'm loving the textures and layers. A little bit of this, a touch of that, new and old, not quite complete but promising more... A bit like me!

Sharing for Paint Party Friday - aka Paradise for Artists!

Seasonal Sketches

Something seasonal for the Christmas countdown. Later today I will have to tidy away the art supplies in order to rediscover the dining table - which I keep 'for best'. I mean there's no point using it to eat on every day is there? It just won't feel special when we do.... That's my excuse for covering it with an art supplies mountain and I'm sticking to it.

In 2013 I intend to sell lots of art to fund operation 'we're going to need a bigger house'. Lately just getting through the door has become a piece of performance art in itself.

It's good to state ambitious intentions. Yesterday I took delivery of The Icarus Deception a very exciting new book by Seth Godin. He challenges the cosy old rules of comfort zones and compliance and reminds us that we all have the wings we need to soar. It's about bravery, adventure and creativity. I'm in.

Sharing today for Sunday Sketches. Pop on over and see what the gang are up to!

Saturday Ramblings

I'm so glad the world didn't end yesterday, there's so much I still have to achieve. My word for 2012 was complete, although I have to confess that I probably haven't remembered that since about February. I had to scroll back through old blog posts to try and find it!

I'm thinking that maybe having one word for a whole year isn't really me. I'm much more of an all-encompassing kind of gal, don't like to restrict myself. And seriously, what was I thinking? Complete? Start a million projects yes, but finish them all... Wishful thinking to be sure!

Part of me is a bit disappointed in myself but the rest takes a more philosophical approach. I may not have gone back and finished all those online art courses I started, but I have achieved a great deal and set myself up on the right track for ongoing success. I am more organised and own a sense of purpose.

Is there a word that sums up the opposite of distraction. That's what I need for 2013 - antidistractionmentilitarianism or focus for short. In the short time of writing this blog post I have already nipped downstairs for a light snack (and to take down half of the mugs sitting on the windowsill). I've turned on iTunes and browsed for something light and soothing to provide a further distracting background (settled on Ben Harper), gazed at a sparkly bird flying in the gentle thermals of radiator heat, picked up a book and put it down again without opening a page and splashed my face with cold water ... ooh that reminds me I could put some eye-freshener on.

I really need to go and do something a bit more productive. New art supplies arrived in the post today that need sampling!

Poppy painting has nothing to do with this post, I just got distracted looking through my art...

When we were young...

I used to love drawing cute little bunnies...

Just found these tucked away in an old art folder. They date back a few years (about 28 to be precise!). I think I was about 13 or 14 when I created these characters. They lived in a smart town house in Mayfair during the season but preferred their country estate - much more suited to rabbits. I'm not sure why his Lordship is dressed in hunting gear though... I would have thought he was a vegetarian!

I guess they were a sort of Downtown Abbey for bunnies. That's the Dowager Countess in the bottom picture - the one with the top hat with a feather who looks like she's about to go out riding (though I do wonder how she's going to get on the back of a horse!). What a 'game' old gal she was... always had a twinkle in her eye when telling a story.

Maybe it's about time I told it for her... what do you think?

Sharing a spot of nostalgia with my friends at Paint Party Friday.

I'm so happy I found them again. What a lovely blast from the past. I can still remember creating them!

Special delivery

I drove up to Solihull this bright and frosty morning to personally deliver these three prints of my art work. I'm thrilled to say that they are now hanging in 'Botty Towers' - the offices of Nigel Botterill's many enterprises (that's him on the right).

Nigel is a serial entrepreneur and business mentor who shares his wit and wisdom with hundreds of business folk across the country through the Entrepreneur's Circle.

Thanks for your purchase Nigel and the insightful advice. I'm taking it all in! But best of all, thanks for the amazing boost to my confidence!

My first single!

Forget Slade, Wizzard and Shakey - we have a new Christmas song to warm your cockles this winter.

Written by yours truly for my lovely customer - Rackspace, it is a cheesy little number designed to spread a little cheer. Will it be a bigger YouTube sensation than Gangnam Style? Probably not, but we can but hope!

Have a watch and let me know what you think - but remember - you have been given the cheese warning!

Pleasure with pain

I love shoes. I mean I'm female so it's hormonally programmed right?

BUT...

... the thing is... I often wonder if there's not some great conspiracy going on out there. I mean does anybody actually find high heels comfortable to walk in, let alone leap about on a dance floor in all night? Why oh why don't party dresses look just quite right with a comfortable pair of flats? Why don't shops sell shoes with kitten heels any more? Why do stilts just look so gorgeous? In fact, I think retailers have actually stopped selling shoes; they are instead peddling us sculptures intended merely for show rather than actually walking about in.

I might just put all my shoes on shelves and wear books on my feet instead. I am sure they would be more comfortable. In fact, if I did this and the whole trend caught on, I could sell half my collection - anybody want to buy a selection of left shoes (I have to keep the [w]right ones for obvious reasons).

As the Christmas party approaches I have to confess I think I've found a sneaky little solution. You see I'll turn up in the heels when everyone is still sober enough to care or remember what I'm wearing, then later on when the dancing really warms up and I need my feet for, well, supporting my body weight... I'll sneak to the cloakroom for a quick change into some ballet pumps. Shhh don't tell!

Chloe is determined

Chloe is a determined lass. Despite the fact that my lengthy absence from the world of blogging (yes, pretty much a whole month - shocking eh?!), has meant that I have accumulated a somewhat large stash of art to share with Sunday Sketches, Paint Party Friday et al, she insisted on being created last night.

While the other half was watching old episodes of ER on TV, I was forced to sit down and create this set jaw and steely gaze. Her background was already in existence so I should point out that the blood splattered look has nothing to do with the frequency of GSWs flowing in and out of the trauma team's hands at the other end of the room.

Other half has only just 'discovered' ER and is working his way through season after season. Carol is currently heavily pregnant, Romano still has both functioning arms and Clooney has gone to Hollywood. I was a big fan 'back in the day', but it's amazing what we forget and what memories itch to let slip to let slip mention of the danger of helicopters, impending love triangles, multiple births and heartfelt reunions.

It is becoming all too easy to get sucked back into the storylines (despite the fact that Doug Ross has moved to pastures new....).

OK you win

Blue-eyed girl

It seems that my blog wasn't the only one to miss me. I'm touched.

Right now I am tearing myself away from a newly discovered piano app on the iPad to keep this aspect of my social media life happy. I've just played Greensleeves, Moonlight Sonata and the theme from Angry Birds all without a single lesson - not bad. I can't say I'd even noticed that there was a theme from Angry Birds mind, but who is one to argue.

Needless to say, my eight-year-old son is already mastering the art of keyboard tinkling much better than me - he'll be playing for the Royal Philharmonic by Christmas... I, on the other hand, think I might be getting RSI...

While we are on the subject of music, I shall be unveiling a special YouTube link on Monday - my debut single. Forget about the X-Factor winner... No, the real musical sensation for Christmas is yet to be revealed. Stay tuned readers, stay tuned....

Now, back to the business in hand. No, this girl was not crying because she'd just heard my contribution to popular music (it's not that bad). She's just feeling a bit blue at not being invited to Paint Party Friday. I've tried to explain that it wasn't for lack of invitation that she hasn't attended these past weeks or so, more just that I've not taken her as I've not been there myself. She wasn't really impressed with either explanation. Frankly I can't blame her. It is party season after all and who wants to be left at home alone?

So, I've told her to put her party frock on - we're going out on the town!

Dear Lisa

What did I do? What did I say? What can possibly be the reason for this wanton abandonment?

I thought we were friends, that you loved and cherished me. We used to talk for hours; shared secrets, hopes and dreams...

And now? Nothing for weeks. Just a handful of unfinished posts left languishing in drafts folder. What am I to think? Is this the end of a beautiful relationship? Is it Facebook? Have you left me for his community bonding and flippant posting?

Yours with abandonment,

Your Blog

***

Dear Blog

Get a grip. I just needed a break (and OK, I admit I've been flirting with Facebook). You know you can be very demanding at times. I'm a busy girl - places to go, people to see...

Stop your whining and I might post something tomorrow!

Lisa