Busting out of my skin.

On Sunday 15th May I wrote:

After a winter of painting mostly small pictures I have a huge urge to paint something enormous. I'm challenged that right now I need to finish my series of smaller paintings for "Boundaries" and can't afford to lose concentration on that.

Some of the "Boundaries" images are bursting out of my brain clamouring to be made up.  I can feel the bluebell wood as a vertical 4' x 2' with more detail in both the trees and the bluebells.

The recent sky motifs with silvered winter wheat are screaming to be rendered - also 4' high.

I also have to do the cherry blossom - NOW whilst they are in bloom.

What to do????


It was quite cathartic writing that - I realised that I just needed to get on and do - rather than thinking about it.  It is now Wednesday and I have just added what I think are the final touches to a painting that incorporates most of the above.

Every spring for the last several years I have tried to paint the cherry blossom.  It only lasts a day or two and is like lace blowing in the breeze.  I finished this with a healthy slather of white using a tiny painting knife, which gave much looser petal forms than the brush did.  This is a spot on our daily walk with the dog - still on PF thus only two people (or the favoured few) get to see it.  The winter wheat is just beginning to form and the awn glints silver in the spring sunshine.





I feel like singing and dancing (even though it is raining today) think I shall now go and paint wheat fields and bring some more sunshine into my world.

Getting ready to exhibit.

This has been a busy week - again.  Started off well have 2 small paintings on the easel prepping work for Boundaries in July and 4 on the floor next to it that need finishing glazes for Dorset Art Weeks.   Then I decided that I would spend my time better hanging the work I want to show for DAW and that way clear out my mind.







Had to paint a couple of extra walls in the shed/studio and the hanging system using fishing line is too complicated, but have managed to hang 17 oil paintings, 24 watercolours and 23 pastels.

(I ache in places that shouldn't and on the last step off the ladder yesterday I twisted my knee, but such a a feeling of satisfaction - I could conquer the world!)

This is how I work - laying everything on the floor and then have to scramble around choosing things that will hang well together - its rarely about the image and almost always about the size and shape - so that you end up with a harmonious whole on the wall.

The watercolour wall needs some adjusting to its bottom row so that it lines up and doesn't stutter along.

There's still quite a along way to go - prints cards signs and the biggie - working out prices, but I can do that slowly over the next couple of weeks.

The facebook page set up for the North East Dorset Artist Trail section of DAW is going quite well. I have managed to post something about every venue - the last one goes up tomorrow (Monday 2nd May). Hopefully when we get together on Saturday I will be able to demonstrate to the non believers that social networking is a good thing. I don't think many artists understand that it is all a question of numbers - if you get 100 people to your studio one or two may buy something - if you get 1,000 10 or 20 may buy - that makes a huge difference to the cost of opening your studio to the world.