Cinderella the coy

Cinders is looking a little coy. Little minx knows she's impressed Mr Charming but thought she might pretend for a while that she hadn't noticed him yet - keep him keen you know. Plus she's still figuring out how to dance in shoes made of glass so for now she's content to just swish her skirts about a bit.

She'd better not leave it too long though - I'm at the ball too and have my eye on that Prince for myself. He's pretty easy on the eye it has to be said, got a touch of the Ross Poldark's about him...

Cinderella is for Summer of Colour - this week we're using a palette of two shades of purple and a yellow. I'm wearing lime green. I think the Prince prefers it, for now it seems he has forgotten the girl with the blonde hair, lilac dress and uncomfortable footwear and is heading in my direction!

Pretty dancing Columbine

It's funny how the names for these girls just pop into my head. It's almost like they whisper them to me.

The title for this post is a line from a poem I can still remember learning when I was a little girl. By Cicely Mary Barker it tells the story of the flower fairy who loved to dance in her pretty little dress.
I learnt so many of those poems off by heart!

Well, anyway, here is my entry for the second week of Summer of Colour - pinks and orange. This particular Columbine has arrived at the ball with bouquet of flowers for her beau. He will probably bring her beer - they are a thoroughly modern couple!

I'm playing!

I have been going through a crisis of confidence lately. I lost my flow. Words, paint, even emotions - everything was blocked. A niggling voice buried in the depths of me kept trying to convince me to just start something, to get my fingers working, but I refused to listen. Instead, I've been burying my head in books, sleeping too much and time-wasting on Facebook (you know the kind of thing... quizzes to see what bird you were in a previous life or your hippy name...).

Something shifted in the last week or so though and I braved a few blog posts, then I picked up a paintbrush. I'd been reading a book on watercolour techniques (this one) and I was ready to play.

I started painting a series of girls which, if you clicked on the link to see the book, might surprise you since it was about how to paint landscapes! Each one requires a great deal of drying time in between layers so I have ended up with around half a dozen of them on the go. Then, on Instagram I spotted a post from Kristin announcing the start of the 2015 Summer of Colour and I knew I had to be in! So, I grabbed a couple of blues and a green and painted this one. She's my favourite so far!

I've named her Flo - because she helped me find my own flow again. Thanks Flo and thanks Kristin!

Getting my ducks in a row

I feel on the verge of something but feel the need to get my ducks in a row before I start. Normally I'm much more a plunge right in kind of gal, those ducks can just race along any way they like as long as they get there eventually, but something is holding this little baby back.

The symptom is clearly procrastination but the source I think may be called Fear.

There's just so much I want to do in my career but it all involves stepping outside of the cosy snuggle of a comfort blanket. Trouble is the blanket is old, threadbare and a bit scratchy - time to throw it into the wind!

How to be popular - there's an app for that...

As my Instagram account crawls its way to a 300 follower milestone, I wondered how I could promote it a bit better and reach a wider audience. I mean I'm not saying I'm an incredible photographer, but I've got ambitions and I've seen some accounts with thousands of followers and likes and wondered, with I admit a jealous heart, how on earth they did it.

So, with the power of a quick google search I discovered that they probably aren't as popular as they seem. In fact, there are many tools out there to create illusions of grandeur. Take LikePotion for example. You just hop on there, like a few random photos that come up, earn points and then spend those points in getting likes for your own photos. In a few minutes a bunch of people who don't even really look at what you are sharing click 'like' and Bob's your uncle - you are super successful.

But what's the point? Surely a 'like' earned from someone who appreciates what you have created is the only one of value? Why are all these people craving fake popularity? How can it make you feel like you've achieved something when it is essentially meaningless? It's like buying a degree. You can't use it to become a brain surgeon without the lessons and learning to get you there.

Why are we not content with what and who we are? Without wishing to sound too melodramatic, it seems to me that not being happy with yourself and seeking to essentially buy popularity only takes you down one road - and that's to depression. There's an interesting article on the subject here.

On that cheerful note, I think I'll stick with my organic growth (much healthier)!

However.... if you'd like to follow me and like all of my photos and make me super popular you can find me on Instagram here @lisawrightstuff!! Tee Hee!!

An Artist's Date

An hour or so to kill why I kept my fingers crossed hoping my car passed its MOT, so I took myself off on an Artist's Date.

This isn't your normal dress up nice, flirt over dinner and try not to drink too much wine kind of date. Your 'date' is inspiration - wherever you can find it. Inspiration is a funny companion. They have a tendency to pop out when you're least expecting it, or sneak off to the loo and try and climb out of the window.

Today though, Inspiration was good company and shared with me some secrets to be found in the unlikeliest of places.

I walked through a small park by the river hemmed in all all sides by Northampton's urban interests. The railway, road and industrial sites framed the water lilies and wildflowers. Normally, I'm drawn to nature, but today was more about harder lines, the urban edge.

To thank my companion for guiding me towards such interesting photographic compositions, I took them to Starbucks for a beverage and we dived into my plethora of photo apps on the iPhone.

iPhoneography is my latest obsession - I'm two-timing on this date with inspiration! I haven't painted properly for weeks - it's all about photography...

(also on Instagram - https://instagram.com/lisawrightstuff/)