Havana Good Time

 After the first painting of the year inevitably comes the second. I am well on the way to sorting out my paintings for 'The Beehive' display on Monday. It seems like there is a lot to do and not much to do. I suppose it doesn't help that I want to paint another picture to go up if I can, so that will be tomorrow and Saturdays job I suspect. 

In the meantime, painting number two is up on the website, my prices have been amended (on a piece of paper at least), frames have been ordered and sticky dots made ready for the name tags for all my work. I just need to write an artist blurb now which I am not looking forward to, well that and stick the stickers on the paintings backs, write the authentication certificates and sign all the ones going up on display. All while having a horrible cold. 

Hooray.

Not.

But this is a good warm up, I had a big birthday last week and all my friends and family clubbed together to buy me a two week exhibition space and opening night at my local gallery - Norden Farm, so I can't wait to get that in the diary! Hopefully I can have some more paintings of Cuba to show at it, which is the subject of my latest piece of work, and I have to say, even I am impressed with how this one turned out! 

Canopy Shyness

 Ironically after the last post, I did take a time out to sort out my health and clean out my house. My health is improving now, with the aid of a million vitamins and iron tablets, and the house is not only clean but decluttered, minus my bedroom which still needs doing. Going through clothes requires a different mindset to simply sorting out clutter. 

So this means, my mind is clear, I don't need to do any house admin things, and I found some more art cards and thing to post for sale on Etsy. Plus, more importantly I have finally done the first painting of the year. I went for a known quantity to start with as I feel so out of practice painting, that I needed something 'easy' to start with. The good news is, the painting went well, I have three commissions lined up to work on, and an 'exhibition' of sorts lined up in Maidenhead at the beginning of April. 

I say exhibition, it is an exaggeration; An exclusive pub/restaurant in White Waltham is showing my art on its walls for three weeks as part of a local artist showcase. Hopefully it can become a regular occurrence, but we shall see how it goes to start with. 

It sounds like my manifestations for the year are going well. Now if I could just paint a bit more regularly and sell a few paintings, I truly will be winning. Until then, here is the first painting of 2024 - 'Canopy Shyness' 

  

Happy New.....month?

 Happy February (and belated Happy New Year) Time flies when you get older. I miss the summers that felt like they stretched for years when you were a kid. 

Lots is getting underway this year, as 2024 signals me getting back on top of my game. I have big plans to get more disciplined and consistent. I am clearing some bad work vibes from my life and prioritising my creative side, because that is well overdue. I just need to work on my routine. Ironically it is easier for me to be creative with no routine, but I need some boundaries otherwise nothing ends up getting done. This is my manifestation for 2024, to find a pattern I can work with and stick to. I really need to make this work!

The last time I felt truly productive and organised was in lockdown 2020, but it would be good not to have to shutdown the entire world in order for me to have some peace I can work with. That isn't exactly sustainable! But maybe I can take some lessons from what I was doing then and try to reapply them now. 

The trouble with not being 20 is stamina. I used to be able to just do art related things in the evening and into the early hours, but I can't seem to do that now without needing a week to recover. I might have to teach myself to be an early bird! But we'll see. 

2024 is also about being kind. If I need a day off, or some sleep, or to concentrate on my health or tidy the house then that is ok. There is no rush to do everything all at once.

Consistency is key. If that is two hours a day, everyday then that is better than everything for a month and then nothing for 6 months. 

Fingers crossed.    

Promises, promises

 Its been a random lead up to the Christmas period. I have been very busy so not really managed to paint. Sales have also picked up in comparison to the rest of the year but been a bit lower than usual. That said I did have some random purchases and all my calendars sold out. 

Ironically I quite often sell more in January, at least original painting wise, but I won't be here this time as I am preparing to go on holiday for the first half of the month. Preparations are well underway and I am looking forward to having some sun and collecting some inspiration. 

So not much to report really, other than wishing you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! I feel like 2024 is going to be a good one. I feel like my motivation might be coming back, I am not unwell like this time last year, and I have a ton of resolutions ready to implement when I get back. 

It sounds promising, and that is the note I would like leave 2023 on.....

Post Number 3

So it has become rather apparent that I need to write myself a schedule. I am not sure if I can become one of those people with a tick sheet - get up, make bed, eat breakfast, write a blog post, post on Instagram, check sales, do some yoga, go for a walk, start a painting.....

But it feels like maybe I should try and start. 

I have a lot of time, but it seems like it is not always used very wisely. I could be a lot more productive than I am. But I am making progress. I started with painting, as I have managed 5 in the last 7 weeks, which is monumental considering I have only previously managed 7 in the last 8 months. So this seems like good progress. I have also already prepped my calendars and put them up for pre-order - please see below and click here to buy. Usually this happens in a dash on the last week of November. Next up is sorting out this years Christmas cards, which will be interesting as there isn't much to choose from in 2023, but at least the back catalogue is vast. 

I need to try and be good now, and maintain the momentum, but the next tranche of work is coming in which always makes it more difficult. But who knows, hopefully I can book in a painting for this weekend and go from there.

It feels like I am slowly waking up a bit. This is where my heart is after all, and I need to look after it. 

Traditional or Family?

  

Post Number 2...

This seems like progress to already be writing another post. 

The trip to Sweden was intense, but impressive, all weathers and all types of scenery so a few paintings should shortly emerge. The first one has already been created and I have just put it up for sale everywhere, except Facebook, as I haven't technically 'released' it yet.

In other news, I finally put all my missing paintings up onto Artgallery.co.uk as they moved website late last year and I hadn't got round to reuploading all my previous work. The good news was that doing it in one large burst meant the owner of the website took notice and made me 'Artist of the Week'! That was a boost I have needed recently as all seems quiet on the art front at the moment. Sales are slow, even on Etsy, I guess the summer is always slow as people are busy and preoccupied with holidays, but still. 

Never mind. I shall take it as a chance to try and get on top of everything. Work is generally slow at the moment so I hoping to start putting my massive stock of prints together over the next few days. But obviously, because I have said this some urgent work will come in as that is always how these things seem to go......

2020.... what?

 Gosh, well this is horrendous. I didn't realise I hadn't written a blog post at all in 2023! Is it too late to wish you all a Happy New Year? That would be a yes. 

Well 2023 is a mixed bag so far, an amazing, inspiration filled trip to Barbados, at the beginning of the year and a trip to Sweden coming up next week. But also an overload of architecture work, and a horrible cold, once, twice, three times and bam, pretty much in bed for a month dosed up on a cocktail of antibiotics and nose drops and still not convinced I am back to full health 3 months later....

But, I have managed to paint slightly more consistently in the last few weeks, and finally updated all my sites and website to show the 5 whole paintings of this year. I sincerely hope the latter half of 2023 is rather more kind and more prolific. This is the first time since I have started this journey that I have really struggled to stay on track, have wondered and forgotten what I was doing and why. 

But I am hoping it is just a blip, it seems I can still paint, and I still need to as I have felt better for doing the most recent ones. I just need some time and to stop putting it on the back burner.....