Ho hum ...

Once again it's an apology for lack of posts - busy, busy, busy ...

Anyway, I just wanted to post a few pics of my Christmas cards - so here they are


Not sure what everyone thinks - but I'm really pleased with the results ...

christmas is coming ...

Sorry for the lack in posts recently - things in my 9to6 are pretty hectic at the moment - we've got a lot to get through here before Christmas.

On a positive personal front - I painted up my Christmas cards over the weekend, I've got one small bit to do on one (a bit of a shadow to lift it up off the white background a bit), then it's scanning and to the printers. I'm really pleased with how they are looking, I just hope that all the watercolour subtlety shows in the final printed cards. I hope to have some done for the weekend.

I'll post some photos when I can.

I've finally taken the plunge and bought a computer - I should have it delivered and all set-up before Christmas ... I can't wait, it will mean I will be able to do so much more online. I might even get my web site finished off and out there with a big push!

At the moment I'm in one of those "planning" and "list making" moods ... there's so much to do before Christmas ... where has the time gone ...?

back again

Well, we're back in Plymouth again after a fabulous week away.

It was an eventful week with Rob (my boyfriend) becoming an Uncle to little baby Harry who was born (3 weeks and a day early) on the 7th of November weighing a little over 5 pounds. We went to see the new family on Saturday and everyone was well ... Harry is absolutely adorable.

Now I seem to hear an incessant ticking somewhere in the back of my mind ...

here's one of the seal pics ...

I will be away from the Internet for a week - off to Yorkshire again - so I thought I'd leave with this pic...

frosty cold ...

Today has been really frosty cold here. I guess it's not been all that cold with the sunshine, but there was even a frost this morning, quite heavy in places, it looked like a fine dusting of snow in some of the fields ... does this mean winter has arrived?

last flutter ...

During my usual lunchtime stroll I was suprised to see a butterfly fluttering about - not what you'd expect on the 1st of November - even if it is a lovely sunny day.

I did a little bit of sketching while I was out (seagulls), nothing to write home about or to bother posting, but it's a little more than I've done for a while ...

I doodle all the time, working through ideas and thoughts, but this was observational sketching and it felt good! It suprised me how much better I felt in myself afterwards - calmer somehow - if that makes sense. I guess I should sketch more often ....

learning Flash ...

I really need to bite the bullet and get on with learning to use Flash - I don't really want to (I seem to have this mental block ... I hear the word Flash and switch right off ;) ), but it seems to have become a requirement in my present job ...

Anyone out there got any hints or tips, or a link to an online tutorial ... ??

music & faeries ....

For my Birthday I got several things including some chocolates, Corinne Bailey Rae's (she's amazing!) album on CD and a book about painting faeries from Rob. I also bought another book on Amazon as a present from my parents.

Those books have led me to a few interesting artists' web sites ... for example Linda Ravenscroft's Mystic Garden and Amy Brown.

It's always interesting to see work by different artists and areas of their work that inspires me.

I discovered another artist/illustrator Yoshitaka Amano, some of his work has a real feel of Arthur Rackham about it. I'd never seen or heard of him before and it was such a pleasant suprise to come across his work. Visit his site for a look ...»

happy birthday to me ...

Not a lot of people know this but today is my Birthday .... so Happy Birthday to ME!! ;)

so much can happen in a week

There's so much to catch up on with everyone's blogs and the forum I regularly visit - it will take me an age to catch up ... I was only gone a week ...

I'm back!

Back in Devon and back to the usual ... more's the pity :(

We had a lovely break in Yorkshire. We stayed for 7 nights in a static caravan at Primrose Valley on the East Coast, it was absolutely lovely.

All in all even the weather was also pretty good, we even had a couple of very sunny days, which is a suprise for mid October.

We visited some of our usual haunts, but also added some new ones ... amongst them were Hornsea Mere where we went to see the migrant geese etc (we saw a Hooper Swan - I've never seen one before - he was lovely!), and we discovered somewhere where we can see wild seals, there were some young ones there - what an amazing experience! I feel so privileged to be able to see wild animals ;)

I have some photos of the seals but haven't downloaded them yet - I must remember to post some here ...

not long now ...

Yeah - today is the last day of work for me before my holiday - it's only a week away in Yorkshire - but I just can't wait! Sometimes I get to a point where I just NEED to get away from the hum drum everyday things that make up my life at the moment ...

I've been doing a bit of planning and making notes about where I want to go with my creativity. I've got several projects planned and am starting to put them into action in the background - I'm actually feeling excited and positive about things which is such a change from how I've been feeling lately!

still bob, bob, bobbing along ...

Just a quick post to say - "Yeah, I'm still here - still alive - still bob, bob, bobbing along ..."

A quick catch up too ...

3 days and 30 minutes of work (9to6) to go before we have a well earned break in Yorkshire ... as you can see I'm counting the days ... As usual I plan to do some creative "things" while away from the usual pressures of life, hopefully I'll manage to keep to it this time! ;)

I can't believe it's already October the 3rd - this year has whizzed by - and with it so many of my good intentions and plans ... I think I need the time away to re-gather my thoughts and re-assess my goals and plans to move forward ...

On a different note - I also need to get the bits and pieces together for my S.O.S.F. parcel ... I'm hoping to "find" some things when we're away - I've got loads of ideas!

wistman's wood

On Sunday we went up onto Dartmoor and walked the 2 miles from Two Bridges to Wistman's Wood, an ancient oak woodland - it was a magical place, one I want to visit again. Here's some pics from our walk there and the woods themselves ...

fishy pics

Here are some initial idea sketches from last weekend ...


Sorry the quality isn't that good, I tried for some "arty" type photos, but they'd be better scanned, oh well.

I want to see how they work with colour now, I'll post the results when I've done those.

on a more positive note ...

I've some ideas underway for my Chritmas cards - I'm really please with them at this stage, so I hope to get the time over the weekend to get the paints out and do some colour roughs. I won't post those seen as they are my Christmas cards, but I will try and work up some of the other ideas I've been working on and post those ... ;)

I'm also waiting on a delivery of some bits I bought on ebay, if those arrive I could be busy doing something else too ... I'll post some pics if the stuff arrives, all all should become clearer.

it could be worse ...

Sorry, I just had to get this off my chest some where ... I've been having some hassles recently and the final straw came this morning when I was told that our central heating / hot water boiler has been condemed! It will be replaced late next week - so a week without hot water! A nightmare for me ... I've just got to console myself with the thought that it could be worse ...

the fairies have been ...

When I got home from work on Friday, after a stressful week, I was greeted with the sight of a suprise parcel. As soon as I saw the stamps from Cyprus I knew from whence it came ...

I was so excited ao I opened it very quickly, to reveal ...

... some delicious edible treats (nougat pie, almonds in honey ...), sparkling trinkets, with glass beads and rose quartz, Greek coffee, herbs and a beautiful card with even more beautiful words inside ...

Thank you to the very kind fairy (you know who you are), it was such a touching package ;) XX

quote of the day

Haven't posted much of worth lately, mostly as I don't seem to have much to say, so I thought I'd post a quote ... here goes ...

"So you see, imagination needs moodling - long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering." - Brenda Ueland

That's what I'm doing - "moodling". Hopefully I'll find something interesting to share soon ... ;)

a new blog - S.O.S.F.

Take a look at a new blog - S.O.S.F. ... there's an invitation if you'd like to join in ...

Have a go - I've got a feeling this could be fun ...

time flies

Wow, I can hardly believe that it August already. 2006 seems to have gone by so quickly. I must get my skates on and get moving with some of my personal projects ... I think I need to start making lists again ...

another friday afternoon

Well, time is really whizzing by - it's Friday again ...

I've spent some time trying to jazz up my blog - see the custom header - it took me ages to get it code in properly. It's not 100%, but it's better than what was there 2 days ago!

Have a good weekend everyone! ;)

hot ... hot ... hot ...

Phew it's hot here in Devon, and in most parts of the UK by the sound of it ... it's very uncomfortable sitting in an office all day (except for the half hour at lunchtime when I manage to "escape")!

I've taken to going for a little walk at lunchtime, just around the block from the office is an allotment area and across the road a field of corn (I'm guessing there) which leads off into the distance and the rural surroundings.



It's just so peaceful to stop and look out over the fields, with the corn rippling in the breeze and the swallows diving over it, almost like a golden seascape ...

still here, still alive ...

Just a quick post to say that I'm still around - not fallen off the face of the earth or anything - although it does feel like it at times ... It's been really hectic in my 9to6 recently - no time for anything other than the project at hand!

Yesterday was a celebration in my personal life as my boyfriend and I marked 6 years of being together - does time fly or what!

I'm hoping to squeeze in some time next week to beef up my blog ...

Oh, and congratualations to my friend Rachel who I've just had an eamil from telling me that she's just passed her teacher training course! Well done and good luck Rachel!

I'll be back soon - promise ;)

soooo busy ...

Sorry about the lack of posts recently - I've been very busy in my 9to6 and therefore haven't had much time for my "own stuff" ... Also I've had a bit of a cold - that hasn't helped! Feeling a little better now - but still not 100% ..

On Saturday I went to the Plymouth Calligraphers' monthly meeting where we did some marbling on paper (something I've never done before) ... I was amazed with the results ... I must try and get some on here, but I'm not sure how they will come across as some of my favourites were very subtle. I had great fun - it was like being back at school ;)

Light into Colour - Turner in the South West

On Saturday we went to see an amazing exhibition of paintings by JMW Turner at the Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery. It was really good to see such beautiful paintings as well as some of this great artist's sketch books. The exhibition was organised by Tate St Ives.

The gallery was empty so we had plenty of time to wander around and look at all the pieces. I have to repeat myself - it was amazing. The title of the exhibition says it all - Light into Colour. Well worth a visit if you are in the Plymouth area ... It's FREE too!

other blogs ...

I've just spent about 15 minutes looking around at other artists' and illustrators' blogs, and it's amazing what's out there ... everyone seems to be at this blogging lark. It's also making me think that things here in the land of my blog are a little bland, so I'm going to try and come up with some ways to spice it up a little ... any ideas anyone?? ;)

some sketches ...

Just a couple of sketches and doodles I've done over the past couple of days ...


... I doodle when I'm waiting for things to process on the computer ...
Have a good weekend everyone! ;)

introducing Callum James Bennett

Here's one of his first photos ...

welcome to the world ...

Yesterday my brother and his wife in South Africa had a little baby boy - Callum James Bennett - born 8.12am, 3.380kg, 49cm. Congratulations Carl & Liesl and welcome to the world Callum ;)
- A Proud Auntie Gail ;)

I'm still here ...

I've been a little quiet recently - my 9to6 is keeping me very busy - just a quick catch up ... the garden is going well (and looking pretty good if you ask me!) - except for the slugs, snails and greenfly who seem intent on wrecking havoc! I'm sketching as much as I can and the web site is formulated in my mind, but not quite on screen yet ;) I'll get there - I promise!

how does my garden grow ...

Last night when I got home I checked on the seeds I'd planted in pots in the garden I was pleased to see that some of all the different types have started to surface - from the corn field mix to the giant sunflowers ... it's sad I know, but I find it exciting to see the little plants poking through the soil ... fingers crossed they'll all grow and grow ... ;)

fishy tales ...

Just something I did the other evening, playing with colour ...

under the sea

my first attempt for "illustration friday" - not my usual style, but I thought I'd post it ...

the weekend

It's been a long and fairly eventful week for me, but now I can relax for the weekend and concentrate on some portfolio work and web site building for freelance illustration. I've got loads of ideas it's just a case of getting them from my head onto paper and screen.

I'm also inspired by the Illustration Friday topic ... so I might give that a go ... "under the sea" ... I feel a visit to the National Marine Aquarium coming on ...

Have a lovely weekend all ...

good news

I know this hasn't really go anything to do with my usual blog topic - but it has been on my mind (therefore having an effect on my creativity I guess) and I just wanted to "get it out" ... my boyfriend had an interview this morning (basically for his existing job, but recognising it at a new level due to re-organisation) - and he's got it!

I'm so pleased and so very proud of him. It's been a stressful few weeks while this has been going on (it's been hanging around for months really). I feel like we can now breathe and get on with our lives ...

setting goals

I need to start setting myself some goals and deadlines, I seem to've let things on the "freelance illustrator" side of things slide, there's always something more pressing! It's a problem I have, when I have tight deadlines at work I'm fine, but with personal "work" the deadline's down to me ... and well ...

But if I don't sort this out, I'll only have myself to blame. So here goes ...

My new schedule starts on Monday the 1st of May and includes (this is rough mind you ...):
- Getting my portfolio site up and running properly - goodbye holding page!
- Posting blogs more regularly
- Promoting my web site & there with, my work (links and listings on other sites)
- Start building a mailing list
- Sketching/drawing (at least something) everyday
- Working up portfolio quality pieces

Any other ideas ...?

pencil finally meets paper ...

I finally did it, I sat down on Saturday in the garden and forced pencil to meet paper! The results ...





What do you think?

I must force myself to pick up a pencil ...

I've been so "lazy" as far as drawing goes lately. While we were away in Yorkshire I relied on my digital camera to capture things rather than sketching. With the warmer and brighter weather I really must force myself to get that sketch pad and pencils out and do some drawing and sketching ...

Hopefully I'll have some results soon to post here ;)

and I think to myself ...

I note the passing of the seasons partly by the change of the look of the countryside on my long journey to work and back. It's better at this time of year as I get home in the light rather than the pitch dark, this makes it a more pleasant bus journey with lots to see.

I often see buzzards and rabbits, yesterday I saw a dead badger, which is really sad, you only seem to get to see them when they're dead!

This morning there were so many primroses about with patches of violets, creating a pale golden carpet dotted with purple ... what a wonderful world

wish we didn't need to come back ...

Well we're back, and it will be a while until we get a break away again. I think we both wished we could've stayed away, but such is life ... ;(

Archaeological dig

When we were in Yorkshire, we happened upon an Archaeological dig, it was really interesting and the Archaeologist in charge, Luigi Signorelli, was good enough to show us around and explain what was found. I've just found the following report in the Bridlington Free Press telling all about what they found, it's interesting to follow up on something you've seen ...

... it was just like Time Team!

I'm back ... but not for long

We had a lovely week in Yorkshire - totally relaxed and chilled out. I took loads of photos (which I'll post some of when I get them sorted out), but alas did very little sketching ...

We're back off up to Yorkshire on Thursday afternoon for the Easter weekend.

The cottage we stayed in was so lovely that we enquired if it was available again and thankfully it was, so we'll be staying there again this time, anything to make the most of our time off work! It's a lovely place with fields all round, the next door one has 2 horses in residence, at the back of the cottage there's a conservatory/dining area which is lovely to sit in with a coffee and watch the weather ... Sorry I've gone all dreamy ... wish I was there now! ;)

I'll do my best to get back into this blogging lark soon. The good news is we're looking at a computer for home, so I wil then have more time for this type of thing, rather than just rushed posts during my lunch. It was great to see everyone else's blogs and all they've been up to while I've been "off-line" ;)

a week away

Not long now and I can turn my computer here at work off for a whole week, leave the office and relaxxxxxxx .........

Have a good weekend and week everyone.

I plan to take loads of photos and do lots of sketching, drawing and painting - so I should have loads to post when I get back ;)

thin on the ground

Hi All ...
... my posts have been a little thin on the ground lately, but it's been so difficult to find the time to put something "meaningful" online, so I've just left it.

Last week I signed up for a distance learning course in Children's Illustration. Some of the content on the course is very basic, but this will help me to refresh/review these elements as well as to consolidate my knowledge. Then there's also the feedback from the tutor (who is an experienced children's book illustrator). The sample briefs in the course will hopefully be good portfolio pieces, or at least starting point. Oh well, we'll see how I get on. I might post some of my exercises and assignments here aswell.

I'm off to Yorkshire for a week from Saturday (a very, very welcome break - things here are hellish at the moment - but I won't go into that :( ). I plan to get back into this blogging lark when I'm back in civilisation ...

I heard this morning that spring is on it's way - dare we hope ... ;)

doodles

Some doodles I've been doing - inspired by the weather ...

and with some colour added ...


Thought I better post something before people think I've given up the blog for good ... ;)

Ten Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci

There's an exhibition coming up - in Exeter again at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum called "Ten Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci: An Exhibition to Celebrate the 80th Birthday of Her Majesty The Queen", that I plan to go and see with my boyfriend. Now this one I want to see twice, even if we go in on a Saturday in the morning, then pop back again before we catch the bus back to Plymouth in the afternoon. I can't wait.

I can't wait ... I remember when I was at college (in South Africa), studying the history of art section of my course, thinking that I'd never get to see any of the work by the great masters of art other than printed in books. Books never do art justice (in my opinion!).

It's a travelling exhibition, so people might be able to catch it elsewhere:
Aberdeen Art Gallery on 14 June to 28 August 2006
Leeds City Art Gallery on 7 September to 19 November 2006
National Museum & Art Gallery, Cardiff on 25 November to February 2007

illustration to animation exhibition

It was fabulous - worth all the effort involved! Well, I said I'd report back, so here goes, sorry no photos were allowed :(

In someways the exhibition was quite simple and it would've benefitted from a catalogue or guide booklet. It showed the progression from original illustration to printed book and then through storyboard to cells and final screen. Most examples were traditional animation with overlays of cells, but there were also some more recent examples using digital animation.

There were 2 presentation running (sometimes it was difficult to focus on only one ...) one covered more of the digital side and the other showed several animated films being made traditionally (eg Raymond Briggs' "The Snowman" and Beatrix Potter's "The Tailor of Gloucester"), both were fascinating.

Beatrix Potter is one of my all time favourite artists and it was a thrill to see an actual original illustration by her. (Wow!!)

I'm kicking myself now though, I wish I'd gone a few weeks ago and then I could've had a second visit. I often find that with exhibitions, after I've had a chance to think about what I've seen, I want to go back and check things out again.

superstitions

Just bought a book at lunch time, in a little local bookshop (I usually use Amazon, but this was a bargain). It's called "A Pocket Guide to Superstitions of the British Isles", I'd looked at it full price and decided no - but as I say this was a bargain ... Lots of inspiration for my portfolio pieces ... ;)

illustration to animation exhibition

Tomorrow I'm off to Exeter to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum to see an exhibition called "Illustration to Animation" ...

quote for the web site ...
"This exhibition reveals through original illustrations, animators sketches, storyboards and film clips how popular children's stories such as The Snowman; The Tailor of Gloucester and Angelina Ballerina are transformed from illustrated books into animation films for screen and television.

Illustration to Animation features work by illustrators Raymond Briggs, John Burningham, Posy Simmonds, Helen Craig, An Vrombaut and includes artwork from the hilarious interpretation of Beryl Cook's paintings Bosom Pals."

It's the last day of the exhibition tomorrow so I really should make the effort to go! I do like going off for the day, I'm really looking forward to a little adventure in my hum-drum life.

I'll report back next week ...

message to self ...

"If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it!"
- Jonathan Winters

what a lovely morning ...

It's been a lovely morning so far - brings to mind the song "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong ...

The bus trip to work takes me through the South Hams countryside from Plymouth to Kingsbridge and this morning it was spectacular.

It started with snow on the ground and thick fog in Plymouth, to clear bright blue skies with frost on the trees and grass half way, looking down onto the blankets of fog in the valleys ... wow (I guess you had to be there)! More thick fog in Kingsbridge which is just clearing away now ... and I think to myself, what a wonderful world ... ;)

happy st david's day

As it's St David's Day I thought I should do something ...


It's a very, very quick pen and ink sketch ...

a touch of colour

Hyacinth sketch with a touch of colour ...

this weekend ...

This weekend I did some sketching of some of the little plants I have around in pots, here are some of the results:

A pot of Hyacinths that we have growing in the bathroom, one that isn't open and showing flowers at all, and another that is fairly well underway - from the side and above ...


Viola odorata (sweet violet) details - I also painted these in watercolour, which I'll add to a post when I can get it scanned.


I had fun doing these, it took my mind off all sorts of worries ;)

let it snow ... let it snow ... let it snow ...

Yeah, it's actually snowing in Devon and has been most of the morning, although it ain't settling. It's great to sit in the warm of the office and watch th flakes whizzing by the window ...

the ginger cat ...

It was too cold outside to go sketching during my lunch break so I've been in the office playing in photoshop with the scan I did of the cat in the basket - just to get an idea of which colours to use. Here's what I came up with as a starting point ...



It's a little pale, but I'll bear that in mind when I work it up further in watercolour (when I have the time).

I've also got some ideas in mind for Mother's Day cards - I've said I'll do one for my boyfriend's Mum too ... I want to make a start on those at the weekend, as I have to send the one to my Mum to South Africa (that can take a while!), so hopefully I'll have something to post here next week ...

a rough idea ...

I've been working on some rough ideas, this is the one I've taken the furthest:

I hope to take this a little further over the weekend, in watercolour etc.

following your deepest instinct

I just found this quote ...

"It is only by following your deepest instinct that you can lead a rich life, and if you let your fear of consequence prevent you from following your deepest instinct, then your life will be safe, expedient and thin."
Katharine Butler Hathaway

It says a lot don't you think ...

snail mail ...

Last night I did a quick envelope for a decorated envelope / calligraphy thingy, today's the last day to get it posted, but before it goes I decided to scan it and post it here:

I've blurred the address on purpose to protect the recipient's privacy.

Here's a detail of my favourite bit - the snail ...


I'll find out what everyone else has done at the Plymouth Calligrapher's meeting on Saturday ...

today's sketch ...

I don't think today's sketching session was as successful as the last, but at least it got me out of the office and in to the fresh air and sunshine for a bit ...

Here's some of the results:



I've decided to try and share things here for feedback rather than hide everything away in a sketch book and never get any feedback from anyone ... ;) I guess it also makes it worth while for people to come and read my blog.

Don't worry, it won't always be seagulls - promise ;)

It's feeling a little warmer ...

Yesterday was feeling a little warmer so I managed to get a little sketching done during my lunch hour.

Here's some quick sketches of black headed gulls on the Kingsbridge estuary.



I try to go out and sketch during my lunch hour at least twice a week, but it's been a while with it being sooooo coooold! I often sketch the gulls, they can be really comical ...

it's sooooo coooooold

I just went out with a thought of doing some sketching, but I gave up - it's too difficult to sketch with numb fingers ... ;)

cyclamen sketch

This is a quick sketch I did last week of one of the cyclamen we bought at the garden centre last weekend - it's now happily planted in a pot in the garden ...

head hung in shame ...

Oops! It seems that when I changed the template on my blog I checked the "moderate comments" thingy, and then forgot about it. I was really wondering what was the best way to get people back to my blog, and in the end it was all my fault.
Sorry guys and thanks for still commenting ... and thanks Lorna for flagging this up!
- Gail (head hung in shame ...) ;)

just a quick doodle

Here's a quick doodle I did earlier ...

plymouth calligraphers

On Saturday I went to the monthly meeting of Plymouth Calligraphers. It was an interesting meeting about the use of Botanical Illustration in calligraphy, we had 2 members talking about what they've learnt over the past 2 to 3 years. This is an area I'm really interested in so I found it particularly interesting.
I also had a chat with Celia Lister, a calligrapher who I really admire, she's just had a web site built, so I've added that to my links opposite>

the past weekend ...

We've decided to make a big effort with the garden this year, so on Sunday we made a trip to a Nursery, it was really good taking those first steps.
At the moment the plants are indoors as there has been a forcast for frost midweek, but I'm looking forward to seeing things outside and beginning to grow. I have some cyclamen in flower in doors that I want to have a go at painting this week.
The garden isn't barren, I had a little go last year, but this is going to take things a lot further.
I'd like to have a large garden with lots of green and seasonal colour, but we've only got a small patch which is in the shade most of the time, despite this I want to make a real effort.

it's kind've dull

It's kind've dull when no-one adds any comments to my posts, oh well, I guess I'll just go in on isolation. Maybe it's my own fault for taking a while to get into this thing, and then no posting everyday ...
The thing is I work full time and snatch blogging time when I can.
I find it a little disheartening when I come back and it's all the same as when I left - no comments! :(

SORRY GUYS - I NOW KNOW IT WAS MY FAULT - THANKS FOR CONTINUING TO COMMENT - Gail xx

new characters

I've started working on some new animal characters for children, they're all going to be British animals.

The first is a hare ...

He's still in development, but it's a start ...

He was inspired by a Bill Oddie programme I saw the other evening on BBC2, about animals in the Scottish Highlands.

red sky at night ...

There's a lovely red unset outside, sitting at my desk wishing I could capture it somehow ...


Thank goodness for digital cameras - I just took this photo it shows more or less what I saw, but, well, I guess you had to be there!

friday 13th

So far, so good, no Firday 13th horror stories from me.

I've got a deadline looming for a Calligraphy exhibition - Saturday the 21st - so if I'm going to do anything I need to get it done this weekend! I've loads of ideas, it's just getting them done, but this weekend there will be no procrastination and loads of work!

Wish me luck ..... ;) He He ...

watching the weather

Last night I was clicking through the photos on my digi camera that I took over the Christmas break. We were staying in Bridlington on the East Yorkshire coast and from the bedroom we had an almost uninterrupted view over the bay - to me, who has only a street view from the bedroom at home, such things are a luxury!

It's so relaxing and calming to be able to open the curtains in the morning and see the day unfolding, the clouds caught by the sun or even a developing blue sky ... it seems to give you a sense of what the day holds.

It was great walking and watching the weather develope across the bay. I've got some lovely shots of the snow moving across the water from Flamborough head, as well as some really atmospheric shots taken on Reighton beach a little further north looking towards Bempton Cliffs. (Note to self: I really must find the time to post some of these here.)

I dream of one day living somewhere with that kind of view and to be able to record it's changing moods everyday in paintings ...

happy new year & happy new template

Happy New Year all - okay, I know it's a little late, but better late than never.

As it's a new year I decided to have a different look to my blog andhopefully to start being more active on here ... don't hold your breathe though!