Healing Pearl

This is my second play with acrylics, and my first go at working on canvas...it was really lovely to do, I finished it off with sparkly pen and irridescent pastel.

This is my healing picture from week three on the Goddess Course...during the meditation I was given a massive Pearl and made to understand that it grew from a past wound that I had healed and held over time, creating a solid mass of healing light, a Pearl of Wisdom...the same way an iritating piece of grit becomes the pearl in an oyster.

This is a much smaller picture than I'm used to doing, not even A4 size and i was surprised how much I enjoyed doing it...and I've two more small canvas pieces to play with so yay!

((((Big Squashy Valentine Hugs to You))))...we had a Family Valentine Tea with pink cakes, fruit bread, strawberries and heartshaped cookies (Yum!)

Slow and learning

Nearly finished...this'll be the last scan, tomorrow, finish and photograph I think...

It's also bugging me...they all do at this stage, never as good as I'd hoped for!

I can see the improvements I'm making but am frustrated to feel I've yet to master the art well enough to advertise for work...not sure if I'm being reasonable about that though.

Considering offering to work for minimum wage to get the practice and some money coming in while I improve...not sure about that either though. It generally takes me about ten hours for a portrait still so they'd work out between fifty and sixty quid.

I did spontaneously daydream this morning that I'd be good enough and have enough work to do a small show by September...and hopefully one piece somewhere in the Brighton Festival this year in May...We'll see.

The Goddess E-course and the TAW and life are ridiculously in tune with each other at the moment...Oooh I'll post my crazy week one pic too.


Big Love

back to the drawing board

So much seems to have happened in just a few days. I'm already well and truly into my 'take on insane amounts of projects and see which ones I nearly kill myself trying to do' stage. Luckily something in me made me listen to my panicking body this evening though, so I'm taking a deep breath and looking at how I can achieve as much as possible whilst going at a slower pace.

I have a big bag of ideas of things to do in the local community, and they just keep on surfacing...hopefully if I just keep a level head, keep talking and aiming some of them at least will come to fruition. I talked to friends from the toddler group today and a couple are interested in helping in ways that suit them, and already it's good to hear other peoples ideas too.

On top of the home schooling and setting myself the challenge of at least one portrait of some sort each week it may seem that taking on other outside tasks is a bit much, but there's lots that can be achieved and I'm hoping that all my tasks will somehow come together and be supportive of each other rather than vie for attention.

And today I fixed my header in such a way as to appear well on all the different size screens we have here at least...I've no idea why it should behave differently on each but it was doing...and In the last two days I've finally put pencil to paper again and these are my sketches...well they both started off as sketches, the second one demanded that I finish it a least.

I love the first one, as although I finally have an easel (yay!!), I was leaning on a frame on it with a corrugated back and I love the textures that the frotage? created...instant stripey wallpaper! It reminds me of a hotel I stayed in years ago.

Both the images are just copied from a magazine so I can take no credit for composition...but I'm thinking any practice is good practice right now.

It was interesting using a very limited palette for the first time as well.

A Doozy

These are some of my wintery deccies, I've been playing in normal and uv light...I've also come up against my very limited html understanding and the three column code loaded to my blogger page...it's all gone more than a bit screwy.

Anyone who could rescue me from having to start again from scratch yet help me end up with a lovely functional the column set up that looks the same on everyone's computer gets a free picture or two!

In between whiles I send Huge hugs, Big Kisses and best wishes for the New Year to everyone, I've a feeling 2009 is going to be a doozy...if 2008 was the year of change I feel 2009 could be the one of astonishment...don't ask me why...just a feeling...I wish you an astonishing 09!

Winter Branches

I can't believe this picture was taken just hours before everyone became ill! They're still ill! Though this evening finally is an improvement on the last couple of days, there's even hope I might get a nights sleep!

Here are the atrociously lit, taken with my phone, want to do it now, photos of my last three winter picture, they actually make up one A2 picture, so that'll show you how off the lighting is, the middle one is the truest to what I see on my wall. If the light is good enough tomorrow I'm hoping to put up a new panoramic at the top of the page, with all my deccies for Christmas.

Big Kiss

Saying Hi!

I'm actually stopped in my tracks tonight...finally there is nothing practical I can do...everybody is ill and they have picked a separate room each to hide in, so I can't clean, sort, decorate or paint!

I'm also a little nervous to go to bed with everybody so spread out I'm not sure I'll hear them if they need me.

At least that brings me finally to here, for myself. The TAW has opened up huge things for me, and I'm constantly busy at the moment...either with my own thinking/writing/clearing or community creative tasks such as facepainting, crown making or snowflake glittering with local children at groups.

This year for the first in a few I've really found Christmas and all it's preparation and decorations a wonderfully enjoyable distraction from the ever deepening cold and greyness of the shortening days. By the time it's all finished and packed away we'll be headed in the direction of Spring at the beginning of a New Year

I'm usually busy racing to complete things before my next Birthday but for the last couple of years have been really ill January through March...So we'll see. I'm trying to take a bit better care of myself through these weeks in the hope it'll pay off then.

I've been celebrating winter in my pictures, a couple of which are here today and a couple more I promise I'll post in the next few days, I have a ceiling full of snowflakes too!

The pics are play and experimentation, but I'm liking the way they are going...everything has irredescent pastel in, which historically I've found annoying in some way...too much...but this time I'm loving the fact that when I sit in different seats I see different pictures.

I hope your lead up to Christmas is going well.

Big Kiss

Ino and Gaara Picture story!

MF Designer

Ino and Gaara wanted to go to the Anime Expo 2008 at London's Excel

So after executing a weeks worth of costume-jutsu, everyone met at Bank on the DLR

Headed to a cafe, where cake was eaten, Guy-liner applied, and pins stuck into Ino's head

Next stop the Expo for moody pictures

And friend making!

Budding artists were at work

Finally, There was the journey home

And someone to squeeze!

Lovely Iris

Pirate Girl by Iris...I love the blues in this

Things are shifting constantly for me at the moment....result...I've turned my house upside down! Massive re-organise and clear-out...obviously because I wasn't quite busy enough!

Hopefully, before too long this will mean my decks are clear and I can get back to drawing and blogging a little more easily!I had a lovely and very productive weekend...one of the joys of which was receiving the picture below from Iris, The Giveaway Tree winner!

I know Iris from lj, where she has always been a kind and generous supporter offering encouraging comments to many artisits at play and work...She also creates lovely mixed media paintings such as the ones here today, and is currently studying on Suziblu's Petite Dolls course.

I've had a blast messaging back and forth with Iris since she won, and I asked her permission to share a couple of quotes with you...these are my faves!

"Ooh wow that's so awesome!! Thank you sooo much! Heh I'm surprised, I never win anything usually!"

"I got it today!!! OMG it's masssive! I thought it was A4. Such a nice surprise! I've put it up on the mantelpiece. I also just LOVE those little cards you included. I've stuck a bunch of them upright at the back of my keyboard so my eye keeps catching the cheerful colours & phrases while I'm working."

"I'm so excited to have more art here, I've been talking to my boyfriend about it all evening. I wanna surround myself with art. I don't care if I have no room to sit anymore, it'll be worth it! "

I know exactly how she feels!

Big kisses from me.

Way Busy!

What a difference a camera can make!

I am sooooo busy!
Life is so full!
How did this happen?
I feel awash in a sea of my own creation...Julia Cameron...hmmm. On top of already being so busy it's a challenge to blog at all, I took some of my pictures to mum and toddler group yesterday and already have an (experimental) commission, and am considering stocking an Etsy shop for christmas shoppers.



At least I've made it back here for a quick blog, and I posted Iris her chosen picture and managed to check in on fellow tailcastions yesterday as well!



I've stayed in on my night off tonight to help catch up with my things to do list, but I'm out tomorrow afternoon,Friday afternoon and Friday night and next Wednesday we're off to see Sia again.



Think I've finished the pic below of Lilith...it was the concluding message from the journey. Compared to the original sketch it's kind of meandered in areas...I still have it up and am talking with it, so we shall see.

Release

Definitely release day today!...below is the portrait I have been working on! Papier mache next.

Still playing with pens and water...today's play was less about the finished picture and more about the process...It's given me some interesting ideas for future pieces.

Strange strange strange strange mood.

Hmmmm.

I have eaten rather a lot of chocolate though!