When the going gets tough

I've been meaning to start this painting for weeks, but in true fashion have left it until the last minute. Shh... don't tell, but it's a present for my twin nieces. I'm hoping that when finished it will be pretty enough to hang in their bedroom for a good few years.

Thought I would share WIP with Sunday Sketches. I am not entirely happy with progress so far - there has already been much rubbing out and adjustment I can tell you my friends. The fairies are being fickle with me today. I've already got rid of loads of green - while it looked rather lush and verdant, I wasn't sure it was exactly going to match the delicate pastel shades of their bedroom. I decided to have a glass of wine and a browse around some other artist sites to see if that helped.

It didn't.

So why we wait for the sudden splash of magenta I added to dry (so I can paint over that too), let me tell you more about today - today being Saturday, though I shall probably post the day after.

I felt it was about time I left the house and ventured further afield than the supermarket. I've tried many cures for this cold, and while it finally seems to be packing its bags and heading out of the door with a forlorn expression, it was still lurking up the garden path. Desperate measures clearly called for. I did what all women do in such a scenario.... I went clothes shopping!

I took this project very seriously - driving to the next town where the shops are large and bountiful. The fates were smiling on me as I bagged one of the rare 'free parking' spaces. I entered the busy mall with a clear plan in mind. Knowing my general state of fatigue, I would have to limit browsing and hit the minimum of stores with hopefully the maximum output.

Success dear readers, success. One tunic, one pair of trousers, one pair of sandals (£10 off - even better), a few art supplies and a pack of M&S Yum Yums for 'im indoors.. All this in under two hours. Clearly this illness is worse than I thought - just two hours spent shopping... What was I thinking?

When I got back I had a little snooze... (in case you are wondering - the little fella is away with his Dad this weekend!).

Right, I'm off to see if that paint has dried.

Hmm, it appears that my little girls look the size of dolls - either that or their fairy godmother is a giant. Why didn't I notice that before? Back to the drawing board... More paint and how about some bits of flowery tissue paper... 
Some things are just not meant to be. I am rather happy with this though. It won't be a present for little girls, but I can see something dramatic forming out of this - a change in direction...

While I'm here and in full waffle mode, thought I would share with you that since I switched off the 'captcha' thing for my comments, I've had no spam whatsoever. It does make commenting less laborious when you don't have to fill out those letters. I think blogger have improved their spam filters a great deal, so might be worth a try to switch yours off for a trial period - hint, hint....

Now, how on earth am I going to tackle this painting? Hopefully by the time you read this there'll be another (much better sketch) posted below all this writing!