Exmoor view....oil on canvas

This is the latest one up for bat. I was starting to feel a little bogged down by the two large barge pictures I am currently working on, so took a busman's holiday with this landscape. I had my idea of fun by painting the sky upside down to freshen up my perspective- and have now realised I really do need to get out more! (Although I know I would only use the 'get out more' clause for a spot of plein air!)
Right, back to the barges.......

Clever husband alert!!

Oooooohhhhhhh! He's good! He's already a demi-god in my rose-tinted, biased eyes, but now I think it's high time he was elevated to full deity status. My husband has completely renovated my website. Rebuilt, rewired and rebooted the whole caboodle. In under a week. How impressive is he!? Every home should have one, I reckon. He has been really busy with his side of the business too, so 3 cheers for Mr P, and Mr P for president etc! I am so excited and chuffed with things I've come over all unnecessary! There are still a few bits to upload in places but it all works and it won't be long before all of it is on. He has managed to amalgamate all the bitty parts together, and incorporate everything to one proper website. Not bad for someone who was computer illiterate a few years back, heh?!

The Prodigal Lumix!

Happy Days! It has been 'mental,mental,chicken oriental' here at SerenArts! A doozie of a week so far for printing and painting. Early starts and late nights are the order of the day- wonderful stuff (well, until it all catches up with us, anyway!) And joy of joys, the camera is all fixed and back in my eager hands. It was victim to an episode of Serenitus and a rogue bottom stair. I went flying! So did the camera, and I also managed to pull the radiator of the wall too. I don't do things by halves, heh? On the plus side my hip replacements had been squeaking audibly up to that point...I think I must have scared them into quiet submission!
Instead of paintings today, which are all works in progress currently, here's a couple of photos to mark the return of Mr Panasonic. All of these were taken within 5 mins of our front door...we are very lucky people. Enjoy!

A combination better than Surf 'n Turf...

I had a mini epiphany today. Not the spiritual kind, of a Deity showing themself to me in all their manifested glory and what not, although I concur that would have seriously livened the cold and grey day up around here- but No! Something far better! I combined my two arty worlds today. Immense hey? (I wish!) I have amalgamated the abstract glass work with traditional canvas, bringing the best of both together. I've had a hoot ! What a thoroughly enjoyable day. The box canvases were given a white wash, followed by copious amounts of clear acrylic gloss to mirror the shine of the glass. The little individual squares look great as part of a whole picture. I had a play with styles etc., and this is the result. I still need to stick them on mind, so this big idea could quickly unravel at the seams! My favourites are the flowers, but I do like the mini 4's at the top - I used the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse as a guide (like you do!) and 'grunged' the different elements....red-war, green- pestilence, yellow- famine and black- death as the basis. My husband Mike came up with a good'un- the colours of the jackets the Beatles wore on Sergeant Peppers! Any more for any more?!

Two more oil paintings......

Um. Bad girl! Fancy not posting for yonks!
Here's two more oil paintings hot of the press. One is an impressionistic night scape of a beautiful little town in Greece, called Agia Efimia. My reference point was a corker of a photo that our Mems took. We smile every time we see it, so I thought I'd immortalise the scene in oils. Very self-indulgent, but it was a cracker of a holiday, and who said you can't enjoy yourself at work! I am merely redressing the balance of the many long hours it took to paint a tractor once...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!
The other painting is the fifth nude of six for the exhibition. I put the wedding ring in for a bit of drama and added interest, and have entitled it 'The Decision.' I hastily add this has abso-bloomin-lutely no bearing on our marriage here at SerenArts, just in case the Paparazzi are reading this. Although, truth be told I hardly ever wear my wedding ring- my hands are always covered in some sort of paint or other! I know I'm not alone in this, surely? No?
(See, I told you I was a bad girl!)


I am also an ejit- forgot the measurements! Agia 32"x12", and The Decision 24"x 32".

There's a cowboy in my swimming pool....24"x18" oil

Well I said the words, but I lied them-
I don't know any real cowboys and we certainly don't have a swimming pool! (A fish pond yes, but it's hardly the same!) Needed a catchy title though that could tell a story. This is my darling husband infact, cavorting around on holiday. He makes a great model in my wholly biased opinion. I have used him before as a male nude, but I gave him a full set of flowing locks on that picture to hide his identity! For this painting I used a palette knife on the patio area with some textured medium in the paint. It worked better than I expected, as I haven't really used a knife before (my one attempt is in the bathroom hiding bad plastering!) so I am pleased with this. More so than my hubby- he thinks I have given him extra chins! Maybe I could change him slightly when I have finished off his left hand.
Or not, who knows!

A quiet place.....

Mmmm....
oil paints to me are like doughnuts to Homer. It feels really good swapping from the glass and getting back into it again. It's like slipping on another pair of favourite shoes. This one is a 16"x12" canvas, called A Quiet Place. Another nude for the collection. I think I need to highlight her bun more, as it looks like short hair from this photo.
As a child I had a thing about making dens, anywhere and out of anything. A natural, born nest- builder, you could say. I would always fashion some sort of table and chair too- just in case of visitors. My best one was in the garden by the side of the house. It smelled of the damp fir branches I used for walls and it was nearly too dark to read in there. My cousin's jumper got left in there one night and the cat snuck in and ate it! The cat was evidently a lanolin-addict. I only ever got told off for one den, and that was at boarding school. I made a double decker den in a 'disused' cupboard. The strange cloths inside made for very pretty wall- hangings.......unfortunately, little did I know that they were actually hand embroidered silk altar cloths. Never made that mistake again! Albeit an adultish version, this painting is reminiscent of that urge to create a space for yourself somewhere, and to enjoy the peace and quiet you can generate.

Getting back to reality....

I don't know how they did it. Seriously. I haven't an inkling on how the ground staff got the show back on track. Even the Fire Brigade said it had been their busiest night in living history, having had call outs every 3/4 seconds. SECONDS! Mike and I realised we'd been lucky getting out when we did, as literally everything was being shut down behind us like a bad horror flick. We didn't know what to expect turning up extra early the next morning- but it wasn't the green and verdant land that greeted us! Medals. That's what the grounds people should get. Big, shiny, Mr T sized medals. On plumped velvet cushions. That, or at least a mention in my blog... I'm sure they'll be just as happy with that too.
We had a fantastic time. Everything surpassed the previous year- sales, commissions and leads. What more could a girl as for! The comments we received will guarantee my enormous 'headswell' for another year at the very least. Lovely, lovely comments indeed. I can't rest on my laurels though... I must use this feel good feeling while it's still all fresh and warm.
Going to sign off now, but thought I'd share a few photos I took on a my "non" smoking break. Well. I'm all for equality! The foal despite it's demure and cute exterior, was truly psychotic and kicked out more than a chorus line full of double-jointed can-canners. Feel very sorry for the person who had to hold it's reins! (If Chucky was an equestrian that would be his horse.) I had to take the picture of the miniature horse too- how Thellwell! That person sitting on top could have helped out a bit and just put their legs down, though. And the Bloodhound's face said it all, I think, for the aching, traipsing feet of a long, but worthwhile Show.
Have fun, chat soon ;)