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!

Night bloom

I had an urge to paint - a pulling from my soul. PAINT, PAINT, PAINT it shouted and screamed at me as I lay in bed swamped under a blanket of insomnia and with a head fugged with a cold virus.

And I tried, I really did. But the hours ticked away, the day job beckoned and the days drifted...

And then, finally last night I got paintbrush to paper and it all flooded out. Nothing profound or earth shattering but a creation of sorts. Buds became flowers and seeds grew to bloom - a meadow of floral sunshine danced across the page.

And then, for the first time in days I finally banished the night time demons that had been keeping me awake. I slept long and deep. Coincidence?

Next time I listen to my Muse - she clearly knows best!

This piece I'm sharing here was one of my favourites from last night's prolific spree. Blobs on a page that I'd used to mop up a surplus of paint from another piece grew into a painting in their own right and the title (which just jumped out at me) particularly appropriate!

The Midnight Garden

Soft secrets whisper through the grass

as the night creatures stir

dreams fly from a hidden lair

And the seeds of tomorrow are sown

There must be something about January for its chill and drear seems to inspire me to dream of seasons past and to come - the warm kind - and to paint flowers. This time last year I called my 'Poppy Period' and it seems we have come full circle with the seeds of last winter bearing fruit again!

There are paintings in various stages of completion drying all over the lounge floor and calling me back. This one came from a messy experiment. It started life as an abstract watercolour butterfly, then I tried my new stencil and played with some spray inks. It was all set to become a piece of scrap when suddenly I saw the poppy heads stirring in the night as the fairies brushed past their stems...

Sharing with Sunday Sketches.

Why the long face?

Because it's typical that when you're just doodling on some scrappy piece of paper-cut-off-from-something-else, you end up with a piece that you quite like, except that you don't listen to the niggle at the back of your mind that the proportion appears to be slightly wrong. No, you just carry on quite happily, until the following morning you discover that your girl's face has become elongated over night!

What can we learn from this?

Well, firstly that the fairies have clearly been at her. I'm sure she was fine when I went to bed.

Secondly, one should never give up. My motto is 'where there's a will, there's a way' and so I determined that her features would shrink (in the least painful way possible rendering no harm to the poor girl). An eraser was gingerly (and then somewhat ferociously) applied, but it would not oblige. Too many layers of prismacolour wax put paid to that idea.

So, I just drew over her in pen, restyled her hair - including a fringe covering the second eye line - added a dab of paint or two et voila!

Yet... there still seems something amiss. Is one eye bigger than the other? What happened to her torso? Do I like that green smudge to the right of her neck?

Well, let me tell you - the fairies were certainly present. Look what they bade me do. She squealed when I stamped her (but not as much as when I applied the beeswax!). I appeased her with the pretty crown sprinkled with pain relieving fairy dust and she has forgiven me for having one eye slightly higher than the other. Fairies are wonky though... apparently.... so that's OK!

I'm sharing with Sunday Sketches. Might as well post it now, as it's Sunday somewhere East of here...

Stormy weather

There should be more creative challenges with this theme - as it seems to have prompted the opposite in reality. The past week has been a positive delight - a taste of Summer, teasing us into our t-shirts. Bliss!

So I'm back to painting. I am getting acrylic all over the furniture and up the walls. I have very dirty fingernails. It feels good!

I've had an amazing week. I've launched my eCourse through my new creative business - The Wright Brain Stuff. I've also kicked off a book group picking up where us 'wreckers' left off a couple of summers ago when we destroyed our Keri Smith journals. We're going to attack another of her books this year - I'd love it if you got messy with us too - all the joining details are here.

Back to the art... These were really free and loose. I googled a couple of images of stormy scenes as my inspiration then just got messy with paints and oil pastels. No paintbrushes allowed. Although I loved the final results (below), I couldn't reist a little enhancement with some textures and extra layers in PhotoShop (above).

I can't believe I paint like this now - so carefree. Just a few years ago, the same painting would have been trying very hard to look exactly the same as the original photograph. I just couldn't 'see' the way I do now. It is so much more fun! It's why I wanted to run my course - I feel I have so much passion to share - I want to inspire you all to create words and pictures.

Posting for the Inspiration Avenue 'Stormy weather' challenge and Paint Party Friday.

I'm also having a Giveaway - don't miss out!

Landscrape

What's occuring?

I've come over all Welsh. Tidy.

Well, perhaps that's a slight exaggeration, but this is the first of two pieces inspired by the singing in the valleys, the daffodils and the burly men playing rugby like their life depended on it. I'm also writing in a Welsh accent - can you tell?

So, while I was seeking inspiration for the Postcard Challenge - I found a photograph of Snowdonia online - one of those magical scenes where the sun has managed to find a way through the stormy skies lighting up the landscape from underneath the clouds in a slightly other-worldly fashion.

It's been a while since I attempted to paint the great outdoors and so to make it doubly hard on myself I decided not to use a paintbrush! I got my palette knife out and dragged and stippled the acrylics then touched up with oil pastels. The rocks and dry stone wall though had a secret ingredient to help add a little texture....

So, this could be my postcard... but I've had another slightly more ridiculous idea that I am about to attempt... If you come back tomorrow and there's not one of the Bee Gees on here then it all went horribly wrong...

You're getting this for Paint Party Friday on a Thursday night (it's that new blog party thing - you must have heard of it?!)

PS - See that button on my sidebar... the one at the top... ?

Here's one I prepared earlier...

I can't believe that a whole week has gone by so quickly. I missed my usual Friday party hangout last week owing to being a gadabout gal in Madrid (well... you know... someone has to go!). And now, here we are again looking at the backside of another week.

I am a little torn tonight. My fingers are itching to wax lyrical about all I learned today at the Be the Brand event in London, but the link up between brain and fingers has gone on strike in protest at forced labour (it just wants to sleep... or watch trashy TV).

It's taken me an age just to type this, so perhaps I'll listen to my body for once and just post up this picture for the party and then slip off. I'm not sure I even have the energy to describe it in my usual 'flowery' detail (still managing to squeeze out the dodgy puns though!). Painted this about two weeks ago, but only just getting around to posting. Enlarge - if you want to read something into the petals!

Mixed media - acrylics, collaged book pages, crackle medium - all painted over the top of an old painting I'd got bored of.

Water creature from the Aegean

Some holiday art - not that I did much. I don't think I've ever done so little on holiday. One day it was all I could do to move from sunbed by the pool to its sister by the beach. Even an annoying bug tickling my knee was too much trouble to flick off.

Luckily for the indolent creature I had become, my son had found himself a friend in the form of a pretty Danish girl. They spent almost the whole week together, playing in the pool, fishing in the sea, running, laughing, drawing, chasing.... and all done without a common language. Just goes to show the power of unspoken communication.

So, back to the sea creature. She came from a splodge of paint that my sketchbook acquired from an overladen palette. Some inspiration from the surrounding seas, pencil sketching and a few bubbles from Photoshop and she is perfect for Inspiration Avenue's 'purple & green' challenge.

Hares, ravens and perpetual tea

Sometimes I think I might be mad as a March Hare. Certainly this week I've been charging around like a lunatic - but then what's new? I saw a hare on Saturday - it pelted across a steep hillside, ears pricked and safe in the knowledge that nothing could catch it - a wonderful sight.

This rather scruffy, half-hearted drawing was antidote to the stresses of the day - a dabble of light relief after taxing my brain and driving for hours. I nearly gave up on the poor fellow on numerous occasions but then how would he ever get his tea? I persevered and moved from coloured pencil to watercolour and ink but I fear he may regret my haste. His fur looks a little mangy and that tea looks barely brewed.

Still a fitting end to a day of mayhem and hopefully perfect for The Three Muses 'creatures of nature' challenge (at least I'm sure that's what it was - I might have a shock in a minute when I discover it's winged things or something decidedly non-floppy-eared! As I was painting, I rather smugly realised its perfection for Illustration Friday too - 'deja-vu'. For after all, what could be more deja-vu then being stuck in a perpetual 6 o'clock tea party answering impossible riddles? Even a Mad March Hare might start thinking things looked a bit familiar!

I was just going to post last week's entry as deja vu, but that was really a bit of a poor effort (if rather funny!). Incidentally, my son is going to take in a piece of blank drawing paper for 'Show and Tell' tomorrow at school. He will announce it is a picture of Harry Potter.... wearing his invisibility cloak! Like mother like son. (I'll probably get hauled in front of the Headmaster for irresponsible parenting).

I seem to be slowly working my way through the Wonderland cast with the Hatter, the Red Queen and Alice all falling under my brush in the last year or so. Who shall I do next?

An excuse to post about fairies

What is it with the fairy phenomenon that we so want to believe? OK, the handsome, yet cynical specimen of manhood sitting next to me might not, but I know you're out there - the believers.... I've even read recently an entire post devoted to fairy circles and a little googling found 'evidence' of their existence in a mysteriously named place called Ann Arbor (is it a town or the woman that works in the library?). Indeed, one of my favourite moments from the Antiques' Roadshow seemingly gives photographic evidence. (I've posted this clip before - see bottom of post, but if you've never seen it and a rather fond of the dainty winged poppets, then you really must watch - the whole thing mind, don't miss a moment...).

I have always loved drawing the little creatures. As wee lassie (I'm not Scottish, it just sounded kind of cute written down), I memorised the Flower Fairy poems of Cecily Mary Barker and painstakingly copied her illustrations.

Here is my grown up version who has a touch of the absinthe about her...

For Illustration Friday - Phenomenon.

Racing in the anticipation of a dream

“Behind closed eyes, colors fade and blend into beautiful new creations. Fate is left at the shaking hands of our imaginations. Places new and amazing, faces remain unseen. How, then, does our heart feel as if racing in the anticipation of a dream?”

Anon

I'm not sure what you should look at first today. My initial sketch, the finished version or the breathtaking spectacle that is Vincent & Flavia's Argentine Tango in the clip at the bottom of this post. I think you should certainly have the sensual musical accompaniment, for this piece most certainly is infused with liberal does of Latin passion.

I've been pondering this quote for all day, for when I was searching for inspiration for the Illustration Friday 'racing' theme, it leapt out of google at me leaving the most intriguing sketch in my mind. As I cycled round the reservoir and mixed a little spice for my Thai meal, I've been soaking up what it means and allowed the Muse to flick through my books and magazines and delve into my art boxes and see what she could find. It turns out that she simply had to turn on the television and watch a bit of Strictly...

Flavia stands at the edge of the dance floor and closes her eyes. The music begins and the hypnotic notes course through her blood and begin their control of her feet. But not just yet. She waits and sees the colour of the dance floor in her imagination, feels the movement with the beating of her racing heart and the passion, yes the passion calls her and she is ready. Her eyes open into the dark stare of Vincent's and she steps onto the floor...



Phew, I feel quite flushed after all that. Be still my beating heart!

So, we have here a finished version for Illustration Friday and a half way sketch (while she figured out the choreography) for Sunday Sketches. I would also like to give a nod to the generous Tam from Willowing whose instruction this week on her free art course helped me inject a bit of depth into the background.

Feeling the heat

I love hosting the creative challenges over at Inspiration Avenue but then I always put so much pressure on myself to complete my entry. You'd think I'd learn and have my piece dried and dusted well in advance of even announcing the topic, but then if you believed that then you clearly don't know me too well!

Still, at least I'm two days ahead of schedule on this Mexico theme which can't be bad! A chance 'lift conversation' with a colleague at work has pointed me in the direction of a programme called 'Getting things Done' by some guy who reckons he knows how - a certain Mr David Allen. Anyone familiar with this? I bet he's really smug and the kind of person who fills out his tax return 5 years in advance.

Or is that just me shifting accountability by trying to make fun of the accomplishments of someone I so secretly envy! Yet another day has flown by and still I'm surrounded by paperwork. I did at least sort out the house insurance and wrote a letter to Customs & Excise, but that about finished me off and I retreated to the art table.

Well, I've made a note to find out more about this miracle cure. Gus said it changed his life! We'll see...

Anyway, this evening I shall remain with my "but I'm an eccentric artist" excuse for my total inability at controlling paper. So, while we're on a painterly subject, here is my entry for aforementioned Mexico challenge.

She's a sort of Frida-inspired Chica. Lots of lovely colour, some Spanish text from a magazine, acrylics, pencils, water-soluble oil pastels and some ink. I loved painting her, she was a pure pleasure - albeit a guilty one while the paper chaos still existed in the background.

Do pop along to 'the Avenue' and see the Mexican-inspired creations of all the other wonderful creative souls.

PS: By complete coincidence I found this blog today called Mexican Colors. She featured an artist I follow (The Ruby Nest) with an interview which is how the magic path of serendipity took me to her. Both blogs mentioned are well worth a visit.

I know, I know, it's really bad.... I'll clear it up tomorrow....

What price Art?

How do you price a piece of your creativity?

Naturally you can pay yourself an hourly rate and attempt to add on a cost for supplies (1/100th of a tube of cerulean blue, 3mm of peach pencil, one sheet of acrylic paper etc..). Then there’s depreciation – how long will that paintbrush last (especially if I forget to clean it)?

But what about your talent? The originality of the idea? The skills involved in execution? How on earth do you place a price on the contents of your imagination and the splashes of your soul that end up in some pieces? Artists like Van Gogh put their heart and soul into every painting, I think that man in particular gave more than he had.

It’s a grey old area make no mistake.

Take this piece. While I didn’t time it, I guess she took around three hours. I used paints, pencils, modelling paste, fibres, wax (I even had to buy an iron as melting wax on the same iron I use for pressing my delicates is obviously going to end in tears. Mind you £3.50 for a bog basic steam number from Tesco can’t be scoffed at!).

Then there’s the costs I wasn’t anticipating. Redecoration and carpet cleaning... Using a pump spray to give that delicate coat of speckled paint to her face caused not just a blue face my friends. The language was not so clean as the stream shot out at a bizarre angle covering everything on the table and finishing up all over the magnolia walls.

Attempt two took me outside into the garden... and back in again with muddy feet all over the carpet.

And so, as I ponder putting her for sale in my shop. What exactly should I be charging?

This is my first ever entry to Illustration Friday – a challenge site I’ve been meaning to join in with for about a year. Well, finally I managed! The theme is ‘Beneath’. My mermaid lies beneath the waves waiting patiently for her prey. I liked the eventual effect of the watery face – trying to imagine what mermaid skin might look like – a touch of camouflage perhaps. If I’d painted her tail, you might spot a barnacle or two!

Think positive

I've been bad. I've been a silly girl. I was painting this Victorian young lady yesterday (for The Three Muses Victorian challenge) and tweeted that I was nervous about painting her hat. I allowed negative comments to lurk around my work table. I thought about failure and what happened...?

Well look!

I was trying to be clever - I have this fabulous Paperchase wrapping paper flocked like Victorian wallpaper - the kind that needs a stately aspidistra balanced on one of those ugly china plant stands parading in front of it. I saw matching hat and cloak in these rich fabrics. Well, I saw that in my imagination. Unfortunately what you see now is a disappointed lass wondering why she didn't ask Rossetti to paint her picture instead! Small children snicker in the background at the 'wallpaper lady'.

Oh well. Maybe I'll cut her face out and start again! Or perhaps she just needs more work... (a lot more work)

Keep scrolling and you'll more Victorian play. Local gothic Victorian architecture ghosted with bleach and mysterious figures - one of whom looks suspiciously like an ancestor of Johnny Depp.

Go back further in time my pretties (all the way to yesterday) and you'll find a better attempt at playing with Victorian wallpaper!

Plumrose

My wonderfully supportive friend Sharon sent me this beautiful key chain explaining that 'since I have seem to have a foot in many worlds, it would be sure to hold the keys for taking me wherever I wished'. A treasure indeed! It twinkles its spells at me daily. "Believe" it whispers and I close my eyes and wrinkle my nose until I'm whisked off on adventures with the elves and the fairies.

One place I often stop to visit on these travels is Sharon's enhanting Plumrose Lane to meet the creative sprite who dwells in its hidden nooks. We've been working together on weaving some words for her creative business and, of course, she created my new blog template. You really should visit. Come, take my hand and follow me through the whispering mists and take a deep breath of the intoxicating magic... Maybe we'll meet Plumrose herself...

Many ingredients whirled in the air as I waved my paintbrush over this piece - collaged papers, fragments of stories, musical mystery, coloured pencils (prisma and inktense), alcohol inks, rubber stamped script and a new purchase - modelling paste which gave that wild tangled texture to her hair.

This creation serves many purposes. First and foremost it is a thank you to Sharon - I wanted to capture something of the magical spirit of Plumrose Lane for her. I'd also like to enter it into a couple of challenges.

Mixed Media Monday - for trying something new - my modelling paste! What fun this is - although it does take hours to dry... Next think on the shopping list is that crackle stuff...

The Three Muses - the printed word. Well, it seems to be my trademark to include some collaged old book in my paintings so this was an easy one - plus I have my gorgeous old script stamp adding its poetry. There was actually a touch more old book in this painting but I'm afraid it disappeared under layers of paint and paste.

Phoenix

She's rising from the ashes of her old life, casting off the shackles. She's ready to take on the world.

Phoenix represents a part of me. I'm reaching back into missed opportunities from my youth and taking a new artistic direction. It's time to take more risks, to tread where the timid fear and grab more of life. It's time to believe in what I can achieve (note, I actually wrote 'might' there first then resolutely deleted such a negative word). When I'm painting I feel so euphoric - an emotional rising!

This piece really gives definition to the term mixed media! She began as a sketch on cartridge paper - just a face. She took form with prisma colours then was cut out and glued onto some prepared tougher acrylic paper. In the meantime, I made my collage texture sheet brayering colour onto some watercolour paper then cutting up the result into 'feathers' which formed her headdress and gown. Black pastel gave some depth, then I glazed and painted her face, added some inktense, more prisma colours and just kept playing!

She is for Mixed Media Monday - 'warm it up'. This is the textured sheet I made to cut up for feathers.

Moonlight Sonata

The creation process for this piece drove my poor boyfriend slightly nutty. I insisted on playing Moonlight Sonata on repeat while I painted - and she took a while...


Still, personally I think she was worth it. In fact, I would go so far as to say that she is a current favourite of mine (she looks much sharper in real life, the scan has dulled her a bit). I had already started her when I read the MMM prompt for 'cool colours' so she was perfect.


I used old sheet music for her background. I just wanted to paint in these dark yet intensely rich blues. I've treated myself to proper grown up paint and boy am I smitten! What depth of colour; I want to dive in and run my hands through it. Golden's Phalo blue (green shade) is my new best friend.


Now, don't you think she needs some story? Who is the raven-haired maiden whose beauty is lit by moonlight? There's certainly something mystical about her. Is she entirely human or does the fae world hold influence and history in her story? Is she a siren, emerging from the watery deeps? I think perhaps she is... If only we could see the rest of the picture...

Words and pictures

"I'm learning to live close to the lives of my friends without ever seeing them. No miles of any measurement can separate your souls from mine."

John Muir

(Best viewed enlarged)

I'll not deny that I've not exactly been friends with this piece all week. It was one of those paintings that started off so well with plenty of promise. But promises were broken, words were had and even little tantrums showed their faces.

It is my entry to Inspiration Avenue's words challenge and I so wanted it to be special. This was opportunity to celebrate in words and picture the friendships I've made both within this group and in the wider world of Blog, for while we never get the chance to sip a coffee or a glass of wine or nibble on a biscuit together, you're still my friends. You're my creative joists holding me up and keeping me going. I can't tell you how much your support means to me.

The idea behind the piece was to illustrate the quote above that really brought to life the nature of these online friendships. We may be scattered across the globe, but oftentimes I think you're standing in the arty mess next to me or reading over my shoulder as the words pour forth.

What you can't see, because they are now hidden beneath so many layers of paint, are photocopies of letters, notes and paper gifts sent to me in the mail by my fellow bloggers. It's a shame that they disappeared but I know they're there, making up the foundation of the painting - a most important role to play.

So, I finally finished it today after hours of work. I think that perhaps it was a little over-ambitious. I mean three faces, two of them 3/4 profile. What was I thinking of? I've struggled with most creative things this week and this was no exception. Each face ended up with so many layers of paint that they are practically 3D and they had more hair colour changes than Lady GaGa!

Still, this will have to do. I wasn't entirely happy with the end result, but as they say... It's the thought that counts!

Mixed media on acrylic paper. Acrylics, inks, pen, prismacolour pencils, collage, stamps, distress ink, sweat and tears....

Tea dance

You have no idea how long it took me to come up with something for this week's Inspiration Ave challenge on 'tea'. Should I collage a neat little teacup? How about using tea as paint? Will there be a tea dance perhaps?

Or shall I throw all three together? Ah, why not!

Collaged on a sheet of music, dabbed with gesso, collaged some more, splatted with a hot tea bag, edged with charcoal pencil, thrown into photoshop for some extra grunging and text addition - I haven't started my 'neat & artistic writing' course yet, so needed some help!

I like throwing teabags at my art. It's great fun, you should try it!

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.