Paris 2024

 I am a bit confused today, I feel like everything is out of sync. Paintings are posted online in some places and not others, new paintings need to be done, stock needs to be checked and reordered, a new painting needs to be put up for sale, real life admin needs to be taken care of. I guess the problem with deciding to just paint is that then a backlog of the other stuff grows.

I do however have a useful list I need to do this week, it has 40 things on it so far but I have ticked off 14 items already, 15 once this has been written, and if I check my print mounting supplies and finish a new Instagram reel that will be 17 things, so almost halfway there (lemon on a pear).  

But back to the main reason for writing this reel, which is another new painting! This one is Olympic inspired as recently everything has been about Paris 2024. It has been difficult not to get sucked in one way or another - starting with the build up and the opening ceremony, a lot of which centred around the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic rings on the tower lining up with the moon. I have never actually painted the Eiffel Tower before so now seemed like as good a time as any. I had in mind a painting I have created previously of the Leaning Tower of Pisa which had the flag of Italy in the background, so surprise, surprise, here is the Eiffel Tower with the flag of France in the background.

I was quite pleased with how this one turned out, as whilst a bit quirky, wonky and not entirely accurate it has the perfect feel to it, so in that respect, mission accomplished! Tom Dean, the swimmer who won gold for the 4 x 200m freestyle relay in Paris for Team GB lives just up the road from me, perhaps he would like it as a souvenir! 

  

 

Flower Rangers

 Obviously you will have noticed I have had a bit of a break since I last posted. I was getting seriously bogged down with trying to work out what I was meant to be doing and what to do first. I half started so many things that it seemed a bit of a mess. (Most of those things are actually still half done).

Instead, I took a moment. 

I took the bestie to visit my hometown on the Isle of Wight and introduce her to my parents which was a well timed perfect break. I did some work for an art company that occasionally commission me to do random things sometimes, like spray-paint plastic squirrels and make plaster of Paris circles. I took the pressure off and took each day as it came, and finally reached the conclusion that to start with, I just need to paint. I need to remember how to art, remind myself that it is a big part of my being and stop worrying about social media, making money, updating this, updating that. 

Breathe first, re-artist myself, promote later. 

So that is what I am beginning to do. 

My card packs are now up for sale on Etsy, some sold out already, the date for my Solo Exhibition is almost booked in, I have painted two pictures and I have an idea for a third which I will start tomorrow. That feels better, and importantly I have been pleased with the last two paintings. A confidence boost is always appreciated. The first painting is a purely organic one, I picked some colours, I painted a background, I decided I wanted to paint some white lines on it, and found some inspiration in a flower tattoo online, and so this was born, and I don't know why but I feel better every time I look at it. So lets thank this painting for grounding me a little, and bringing me back some roots. 

'Flower Rangers' - 40" x 30" Acrylic on Canvas