It's not my business

It's not my business to worry about what other people think, about me, about others, about anything. They will do what they do, they will think what they think, regardless of me. The only thing I can successfully change is how I react to other's reactions. Easier said than done sometimes ! 
I came across a a nice analogy today. What if we changed our perspective and viewed our lives as an artistic masterpiece....?

What if every day we viewed our 'painting' as an ongoing work..? every person we met had some little, or big, part to play in the composition. Every thing we encountered was there for the purpose of making our 'painting' richer. Whether it was a stranger in the street we passed a pleasantry with, or even an unpleasant encounter. Even the dinamics within our families. Every event teaches us something about ourselves. Looking at life in this way changes our perspective . We start looking for the lessons, the teachers, the reasons for an event taking place. What have we learnt from that....? We are the controllers of our lives. Everything comes from within us, not from outside of us. Suddenly every day seems like an adventure. It's all in the not knowing, expecting the unexpected.

The snow even reached Brightlingsea this weekend, what beautiful colours it gave the mud and cold water. 
I'm off to an island I visited a couple of years ago now, I'm not sure the weather is a whole lot better there in the winter, but a change is as good as a rest, as my Grandmother used to say. I am expecting the island to look quite different in the winter light, it was well into the 100's last time I was there. Looking forward to being inspired.

Keep warm.

The Art of Trying

Pablo Picasso said ' God is, above all, an artist. He invented the girafe, the elephant, and the ant. He never tried to follow one particular style. He simply kept doing whatever he felt like doing.'

Paulo Coelho said 'It is the desire to walk that creates the path ahead; however, when we set off on the journey towards our dream, we feel very afraid, as if we have to get everything right first time. But given that we all have different lives, who decided what 'getting everything right' means ? 

Why do we have to follow what everyone else has done? To learn from their mistakes? Or to follow blindly where others have gone, in the hope it will work for us too? More often than not, living in this 'safe' way, life becomes a prison.

Anyway, let go of the oars, let the boat drift.....those are my new year's thoughts.

Still experimenting with the watercolours. I'm finding a small sponge gives a nice bloomy effect. It moves colour around quite nicely and lifts off excess paint easily.

Having worked with layering materials and acrylics for so long, I am still finding watercolours a challenge. The last thing I want is to produce twee renditions of landscapes, and need to sort out which technique is best for me. So there is still much in the way of experimentation going on !
Going back through my photos of Valletta, I'm finding the crumbly architecture again very inspiring. But don't at this stage want to be drawn into the obvious colour palette of blue skies and ochre buildings. At the moment I want to stick to my usual limited colour palette of pains grey, raw umber, yellow ochre and a little ultramarine.
Every thing turned to black !

Too wet !

Being much more controlled as to where I put the water, keeping it very much inside a drawn area. Then when that is dry, moving on to another area.

Not sure I like it....thinks it looks a little too controlled. 

A view across Xemxia bay.

Onward and upward .....

Working with a goose and a bottle

A woman raised a goose in a bottle.  When the goose was grown, she wanted to get it out.  

How can you get it out without breaking the bottle?

I came across this koan the other day. For those of you that don't know what a koan is, google it ! Loosely speaking it is a Zen question on which to meditate. Not something that can be solved intellectually but only by somehow 'holding' the koan in your body until an insight reveals itself. 

My day today was mostly taken up with returning my son to Uni. All through the drive I had this goose stuck in it's bottle sitting at the base of my skull. Goose, bottle, goose, bottle. It was squashed up against the glass but was smiling (?) and quacking contentedly. Why would the woman want to get the goose out? it looked pretty happy to me. Was it to be in control of it's life? She had nurtured it to adult hood and now felt still somehow 'owned' it and was responsible for how it lived...? 

It's difficult letting your children go, but go they will. They will find their own path, they will learn (or not) by their mistakes and may or may not live the life you had intended for them. Ultimately they must chose for themselves and be true to themselves and take responsibility for their choices.

We reached my son's house only to find that the last students to leave before Christmas, had not done the washing up, or cleaned out the fridge of perishables....yuk. What a stench. Without a moan or groan boy emptied the fridge of gunk, cleaned it out, put all the dirty pots, pans, mugs etc into a big box and put it outside. Cleaned the kitchen and got on with his day. He wasn't judgemental or angry, just accepting that that was how some people like to live their lives. All he could do was to live his life the best he could. He does his washing up and keeps his room tidy. And that is all any of us can do. We can take responsibility for ourselves and allow others to do the same. It doesn't mean though, that boy won't voice his concern for every ones health and is thinking about how he can resolve the problem.

This was a boy who six months ago was was kept clean and well watered and really didn't have to think too much for himself and I am very proud of how he has risen to the challenge and managed to lever himself out of the bottle all on his own. 

 The Winter light is so special, the subtle greys and slight pinks that fill the sky are such an inspiration.
The watercolour at the top is just the first wash of a painting I am working on, trying to get the delicate colours. The camera seems to have made it a little pink though it could be my laptop....I am going to save the photo above as a pallet for interior colours ! Reminds me of peeling French Chateaux interiors, grey paintwork next to palest grey walls, held together by rustic tables and chairs.

Gratitude

We all need reminding from time to time. Have a nice day :0)

Blue Peter eat your heart out

Never a dull moment, and if there is, make something. I don't often have times when I am not inspired to do something creative, even if it's just pushing a camera into my pocket and taking a walk. Anyway on this particular occasion, it was raining hard and I didn't much feel like going out for a long walk. I had completed all the watercolours and I just wanted something to fill a couple of hours. So here is my master class in how to make three or more Christmas stockings out of a charity shop jumper.

First put on your coat and go to your local charity shop. Browse through all the fabrics and sweaters they have available. I was particularly looking for a wool sweater so that I could 'felt' it in the washing machine. There weren't any, so had to make do with an acrylic M&S cream one. I then found a child's red check dress that would do for ribbons and applique hearts etc. 

Cut out a template for the shape of the stocking. Newspaper will do if you don't have anything else. Pin that onto the jumper, bearing in mind the ribbing will make a good cuff. You should be able to get two big stockings out of the main part and probably two smaller ones out of the arms. 

Draw around the template and cut out roughly around the shape. Sew the two sides together. This is best done with a machine but equally effective by hand. All those Pilgrim fathers had to do it by hand, and it was good enough for them.

 Cut strips of a complimentary fabric for the ribbon ties, and thread through the top of the stocking and some simple heart shapes and initials if you like. The stitching doesn't have to be especially neat and actually adds something if you use a contrasting colour. I sewed my hearts on with scarlet thread. I also added a finishing touch of bells dangling from the toes.

Hey presto 3 fab stockings ready to fill with pressies and hang from the fire place (if I had one). My children are probably too old to have stockings any more, so I will have to find some other children with the initials A & P to give these to......unless......

So there you go, how to fill a grey and miserable Saturday afternoon !

Sunny Sunday

 Little mini watercolours all bagged up and ready to go. Just some snowy ones to finish and put on card. A couple of 3D works to complete and I am about done for Brightlingsea this weekend.

“No sky

no earth - but still

snowflakes fall”

- Hashin

 A beautiful sunny Sunday in November. Is there a better way to spend a day such as this, sitting in the lea of a beach hut chatting to friends.

 Thought for the day:

Conquer the angry man by love.

Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness.

Conquer the miser with generosity.

Conquer the liar with truth. 

- Buddha

The past is not clinging to you; you are clinging to the past. Once you are not clinging, the past simply evaporates.

— Osho

Indeedy !

Mini's

Getting things ready for the Waterside gallery exhibition. Tiny watercolours ready to send as  special cards or to be turned into pictures.

Each mini is lightly adhered to the card, easily removed to re-mount and put in a frame of choice.

3 mini’s look fab in 3 deep box frames to create a contemporary triptych, a really original and affordable Christmas present. 

“Letting go gives us freedom and freedom is the only condition for happiness.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

 

“Do everything with a mind that lets go. Do not expect any praise or reward. If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go

completely, you will know complete peace and freedom. Your struggles with the world will have come to an end.” - Ajahn Chah

“The one thing you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and dance and build and play and dance and live as only you can. The moment that you feel that just possibly you are walking down the street naked........the moment you may be starting to get it right.”
- Neil Gaiman

“There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty.” 
- Steve Maraboli

Sweet ! have a nice day.

Busy, busy

 Busy, busy afternoon, persevering with the watercolours. I am determined to get to grips with them and I think I have found a method I like. I didn't want to paint detailed traditional style watercolours, and have found (armed with copious amounts of water and a sponge) that the wash on wash method suits my style best. I really like the simplicity that comes from moving a little colour around in a lot of water.

I am producing some very small and simple paintings, which will be mounted on card. They can be used simply as greetings cards or could be individually framed to produce bijou and very affordable art works to hang. I think these small works look best in drifts of 3 or 5, and I will be selling them (along with other works) at the Waterside Gallery in Brightlingsea, from 17th November.
It is the last week of the Pilgrimage exhibition at the Naze Tower in Walton on the Naze, so if you haven't been yet, wizz over there before Sunday !

Christmas is a comin'

Gosh there is a lot going on in Brightlingsea in the next couple of months ! All starting early November.  I will be showing work at the Waterside Gallery, The Coach House Coffee Shop and at Sea Green Studio on the high street, all up until Christmas week. I will be exhibiting a mix of paintings, small and large, some 3D work and some small surf styleeeeee driftwood pieces. All three venues need checking out for those unusual Christmas gifts. The Waterside Gallery will be showing a collection of arts and crafts, a continuation of the last very successful couple of years. Alex at the Coach House Coffee shop will be hosting a wonderful selection of local artists work which you can peruse whilst pigging out on coffee and cake. Sea Green Studio  has a fab eclectic mix of art and vintage home wares, from 50's tea sets to drift wood signs and of course 

locally made handy crafts and art.

I have a great couple of days beach combing, all the wood is drying out in my shed. In the meantime I have been working on some small pieces, ever the scavenger ! and framed them in deep box frames.

 Thought for the day, taken from 'Buddhist offerings 365 days' October 20th :
'True love for our neighbour will be translated into courage and strength. The more we develop love for others, the more confidence we will have in ourselves. The 14th Dalai Lama

I was only dreaming about the sea.

Muddy ditches and boats

A start with watercolour. A creek view and big sky. I haven't finished either and if I am truthful, frightened of  going further and making a mess. There have been a number of 'failures' and I feel these two have had a good start! But as I tell my workshop students...'there are no failures, only learning curves!' A painting is only satisfactory or pleasing to the artist (or less so) and really it doesn't matter what other people think. I feel as if I am trying to work too small, and therefore being too detailed, but at the moment space is at a premium and I only have a small table on which to paint. I am really trying to achieve a very impressionist painting, using only washes.

 Maningtree is a muddy ditch at low tide, but the light on the mud is so silvery and beautiful. So many shades of warm and cool greys shimmer on the surface.

A very wabi sabi boat ! A net holds everything together, it appears to be the fabric of the boat. When it finally rots away so the boat will fall apart. Reminded me of Indira's net. The idea that every thing is held together by invisible links, everything is joined, nothing is separate. Every vibration made on the net, affects the the stability of everything (us) connected along it's fabric. A seemingly innocuous action or word, good or bad, will reverberate through the whole system, effecting everything, everyone.