Kingfisher resting .........

Boy oh boy, didn't I just get the best present ever! I have been after a set of these for far too long now, and had all but forgotten my urge to spend more money on yet more watercolour pencils! For some people it's shoes- me? Art stuff! In my defense, this was a real bargain, promise! £40+ off the cheapest I could find anywhere else AND free p and p. Good 'ol Ebay. Got enough left over now to buy...a pair of shoes!
I have been toying for a wee while to a range of birds in the same manner as my butterflies which have proved so popular (well, if it isn't broke etc!) I enjoy this type of work too, with monochrome backgrounds off-setting splashes of colour. Tres effective methinks. So here is the first..... and yes! I have unashamedly gone for a crowd pleaser, but then, what's not to like about a kingfisher?! A simply stunning bird.

I'll huff and I'll puff.....

I invented a new drink today. Coke zero with gold coloured 'perfect pearls' iridescent powder. It looked lovely- didn't taste too good though! Oh, the joys of card-making today. And why did I have golddust in my drink? Simple really. Clarinet lessons when I was 11. All I had to do was gently blow the powder onto the wet paint (Ha! That just has to be said in a Michael Caine accent!) Instead I think I gave the Solar winds a run for their money. It went everywhere, and more besides. However, if you ask my hubby, he'd say it was because of my big breaths, boom boom, 'cause he's funnier than me! He too has been working on cards all day- personalised Christmas cards for businesses etc. Sigh.
Whatever happened to summer?



P.S. A big high 5 to Babs for starting something funny off!!!
And of course her lovely comments- I am still chuckling away! Babs- your the coolest!! TC x

Back to work?!.........

We went back to the grindstone today. Well, when I say we, what I actually meant was my husband worked , while I, (and get this!) HAD to read a book for research! Straight up! Am I not the most jammiest, luckiest person? It was a cracking read too! The Iraqi, by Julie Mulholland. We are meeting tomorrow to discuss a possible book cover design, so I thought it only right and proper to check out her work. A quick-paced read, that keeps you going to the last page, with it's adventures. What a way to spend the afternoon! My poor hubby on the other hand, is still catching up with printing orders. However, he is of course Superman, and has now got his new site up and running. If you fancy a nose, check out YourStart .We now are gearing up for a big advertising campaign to get it 'out there'- fingers crossed and all that.
The picture posted is of two more glass panels I have completed- one in blues and greens, the other in tongue-in-cheek leopard spots! I just have to tidy them up ready for the mirrored backings to go on, and Bob's your uncle! Enjoy

It's all Greek to me!

These photos are the reason why there has been precious little going on here at SerenArts, for the last week or so! Too busy chasing the sun, instead of working. "Well!" I hear you cry. " It's all right for some! And it was- in fact, better than alright! It was just perfect!!! Parts of Greece, as anywhere, are beautiful, but this part was truly breathtaking... on the foothills of the mountains with only the wildlife breaking the silence. Oh, and us of course shrieking with childish abandon in the pool! We shared the pool with frogs, bats and swallows of an evening, and the little private beach with a very odd, octopus fisherman, that you could hear for miles hooking up the entire contents of his throat to spit out between the stanzas of his badly sung sea-shanties! Maybe it was bait, who knows, but we all got a fit of the giggles over it!
I hope you like these photos- I have come back full of inspiration for new paintings and cannot wait to get on with things. So watch this space for all that is Greekly sunny, calm and tranquil, inspired by our little slice of paradise we were privy to. Enjoy!

ps... can you see the little praying mantis in the leaf photo? What were the chances of spotting that fellow, heh?!

Oscar the Tibetan Terrier....

Hmm. Posting this blog via an old laptop- so it is this font or nothing else! I'm not complaining. What this 'puter lacks in memory-sapping typefaces, it more than makes up for in warmth for my lap! This is just a quick post to keep on top of things. The new domain for YourStART has now been registered etc., and is just waiting to be uploaded. Mike has now added 5 more art templates to choose from and fine-tuned his services package. I too have been busy, and completed 4 more commissions of the freeform abstract glass panels that are proving very popular. As a busman's holiday I did this little chappie for a friend of ours. I don't often do pet portraits, but it got such a rapturous reception, I may do more! Apparently these little Tibetan Terriers are lightning quick, mini sheep herders and have flat feet so they can stand on fences. Well.....it seems very plausible to me.

(Might just go google this now!)