Starlight!

Do you remember a while ago I said I had a clock disorder? I have 5 rooms in my flat and about 20 clocks. Well, I think I am starting to get an obsession with unusual lampshades too. I currently have one in the shape of a lotus, one curvy, amorphous, blob thing, one purple 3D star cube, a side lamp in the shape of Miffy and now this latest addition - a super colourful 5 pointed star.

I can't wait to see what comes next. I also need to say look how colourful my house is!  I always find it strange that the least colourful thing in my house is always me...!

Joyeux Noel!

I am cheating slightly as I have pre scheduled this post to run; It is Christmas Day and I refuse to turn on my computer or think about work.

Today I am eating.

I am drinking.

I am being merry.

I AM NOT DOING ANYTHING CONSTRUCTIVE unless it involves playing with lego or winning Monopoly/Jenga.

So, without further ado, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a day just as it should be with the people you like best. Here is a festive photo (thank you Brussels) to help drum up some of that Christmas spirit. Enjoy!

The Angel Pudsey-el

I like having sold enough paintings to realistically be called an 'artist'. Artists have a good deal in some respects because they can get away with anything. We are meant to be an eccentric, slightly crazy, unusual bunch of people and so when we do something weird, people are not usually that shocked. In fact they are more shocked when we do something traditional.

I am, anything but traditional. Just take the 'angel' on top of my Christmas tree as a good example.

See, if I wasn't an 'artist', I couldn't get away with that...

Castel del Monte

This last week of hectic-ness has seen me paint my supposed last painting of 2014, I say supposed because it would never surprise me if I managed to squeeze out another one somehow. At the moment I can't really see it, but in the spirit of never saying never.....(I am saying supposed)

The last painting of the year will be the painting that I should have painted when I painted the Castillo Belmonte after a hearing problem/memory lapse. So here it is - the Castel del Monte...

Castel del Monte 20" x 16" Acrylic on Canvas

The Reason

Because someone asked me to.

The Setting

A conversation in a Japanese restaurant in Laguna Beach, California. Some Sake. A 'Have you seen this castle? I think you should paint it' Ok. Why not!

The Inspiration

Does inspiration count when in comes in the form of insider knowledge? I always like it when someone suggests something for me to paint with no commission pressure. I can check out the subject, see if it works for me and then paint it at my leisure. I like having a few things lined up so when I am in the mood to paint, but don't know what to do I can look at my 'list' of suggested subjects and go from there!

Inspiration on tap...

 

Brussels Sprouts

Does anyone have a hole I can fall down? I need to hide for a moment and empty myself. This year has been so exciting...too exciting.....I need a moment to collect myself and get in the zone ready for the start of 2015. I feel a bit like the filing cabinets in my head have just emptied themselves onto the floor and I need a few days to sort through everything and get it all back into the correct drawers.

I think this is called 'Christmas.'

I am frazzled! On the plus side, my recent bout of super organisation (that has resulted in this temporary burn out) has meant that I have sorted through my Brussels photos and selected the following ten shots for your artistic enjoyment.

It was nice to have some photographs to sift through for a change; I feel like I haven't taken any for ages, mostly because I haven't. The leisurely walks and photographic strolls are one thing that has had to take a bit of a back seat whilst I have been so busy. Busy working, busy painting, busy getting an annoying twitch in my left eye that just won't go.

Twitch.

Leave me alone!

Twitch.

Humph.

Your battery is running dangerously low.

I have been working too hard recently. I have had so many things going on at the same time that it has been a little difficult to keep an eye on everything. Art sales coming from different sites, updating my website, blog and facebook, working on three or four architecture projects simultaneously, buying and wrapping Christmas presents and socialising in between.

I am somehow on top of everything. On top of it all so much so that I am finding it difficult not to keep working. Surely I have missed something? Free time? What on earth is that? I am currently trying to persuade myself that it is perfectly acceptable, on a Friday night to sit back, watch a film and do nothing. I feel more like I should be on the computer doing something. There are still approximately one million four hundred and sixty five thousand things I could be doing but nothing is urgent. I can feel that my head is full, so I do need a break, I am looking forward to relaxing for a week over Christmas and switching off. I need a recharge.

Laura Hol & Britsh Vogue

As well as the excitement from Brussels to deal with, I also had a super exciting, well kind of super exciting email arrive into my Laura Hol art account.

It was from Vogue. Let me just say that again,

It was from Vogue.

VOGUE

FROM VOGUE!

Did I tell you it was from Vogue? Well it was, this is why it was particularly exciting. It was also flattering and uplifting so yes, I have printed it out to frame on my wall, next to my desk, pin on my pinboard, tag on facebook, scatter on the floor....

I am going to remember to read the first paragraph when I am having a bad day...

Brussels has Muscles.

I visited Brussels a couple of weekends ago - there will be a slideshow of my favourite arty photos when I have time to work out which photos they are. In the meantime, you can enjoy this video...

The light display went on for about 20 minutes, with atmospheric music throughout. This light show, combined with the Christmas Market, the amazing food and the mulled wine means I am now a little bit in love with Brussels.

I think I shall make this Christmas Market malarkey, a holiday tradition....

Christmas Cards

So it seems I have been a bit too busy to blog recently. I have had this Sunday to myself though which means catch up time! Interestingly I have a blog post written down on my to-do list, specifically the words 'blog about Christmas Cards' written in blue biro.

I am going to do this blog post now although it is going to end up being redundant....

Each year, this one being no exception, I release a set of 6 paintings which are made into shiny A5 luxury Christmas cards which are then offered up for sale. These are the on the 2015 edition:

You could have bought some, if I had blogged about this earlier. I have however, decided to blog about it today, when I have no cards left. They are officially out of stock. 'This is not helpful' I hear you cry. Well no, it isn't. If you want one now, you will have to hope you are on my mailing list.

I will make sure next year I

a) Blog about them earlier
b) Stock pile more of them.
c) Don't tease you by showing you what you missed.

Well, rumour has it this will happen next year....

The Drive

And lastly, the latest painting I have done that is still awaiting a write up. The Drive:

'The Drive' 24" x 12" Acrylic on canvas

The Reason:

An idea fixed in my mind that I knew wouldn't leave me until I had painted it.

The Setting:

Driving back from a weekend in Lyme Regis, in my friend's new Mazda convertible, the top down, the wind rushing through my hair, the autumnal trees and the cool wintry light. 

The Inspiration:

The colours, the expansive view, the lines of trees, the endless road, the wondering what is round the corner, the peace, the freedom, the quality of light, the erratic dappled sunshine.

The drive....

Hampton Court

Next up is Hampton Court:

Hampton Court 30" x 30" Acrylic on canvas

The Reason:

I wanted something to paint, not too complicated and friend's had just had a day trip there.

The Setting:

Seeing a photo that made me think 'yes' I want to paint that.

The Inspiration:

From when I briefly visited Hampton Court, remembering the flowers, the multiple colours, the order of the gardens, the maze. Having just painted Patina, neat, ordered, geometrical and patterned. I wanted this to not be an accurate representation but an impression. An impression of the elevation and of the gardens. I consciously chose not to include the statues that lead along the path to the entrance. I am still not sure whether this was a good idea or not, but I always stick with my first conviction. (I don't know whether this is a good idea either, but to me, if it feels finished, it is finished).

I think I may well paint this building again at some point, and it will be a very different take from the above....

Patina

I am getting a bit behind (quite frankly with everything) at the moment. I need more hours in the day, or I need to be able to survive on less hours of sleep. I fear neither of these things are likely to happen so I will just make the best of it.

I am busy at the moment, architecturally busy, artwork busy, socially busy. It is making for an exciting life but also making it increasingly difficult to balance everything. I am keeping all the important things going but I can tell I am letting my blog slip slightly as each time I think I will sit and write something, something else gets in the way. Not today though, today I am devoting myself to catching up with some Birth Certificates.

First up is Patina:

The Reason:

The problem with leaving 'Birth Certificates' for a while is that I have no idea where this came from. I think I just wanted to paint something 'neat' and not in my usual expressive style.

The Setting:

A feeling, wanting to do a landscape, remembering Big Sur, being in the mood for masking tape, wanting to make it up as I go along.

The Inspiration:

When I make something up I tend to go for trademark themes, in this case the ocean, sunsets, my usual pattern choices and colours. The idea to add the white silhouetted plants came during the painting, resourced online after looking at various plant shapes. Making something spontaneous is very different from deciding what you are doing in advance. It almost feels like a different piece of you is working, a piece that deals with a different type of creativity.

When I want to purge, I make something up, if I am inspired then I already have an idea planned, if I want to relax I just copy something. Patina was, or is, a little bit of all three.