A Case of the Pretties...

It would appear I have a bit of a case of the pretties

which is very odd because I'm not really a pretty girly girl at all

and have never really bought anything flowery before

but as I rapidly approach 45

I am finding I am drawn to some pretty things more and more

this has become a concern because now I am starting to worry 

that I am going to end up all out chintz by the time I am 60

talk about shudder inducing... 

but rather than panic just yet, I think I will blame the weather 

because Spring has sprung

well not fully sprung, its more in a half crouch 

but the studio is being flooded with lovely scents

and that sweetness must be affecting my brain chemistry or something...

I am therefore blaming my purchase of this Cath Kidston Hand Cream

on a combination of the glorious weather

and the endorphins left over from my second favourite day on the cleaning calender

that is known as 

bash the living crap out of the duvets and pillows day

I do it twice a year and it is my sort of cleaning... 

give me a five iron and a pillow and I am in heaven

I make all the appropriate beating up and karate noises

which may raise some eyebrows with the neighbours

but the fun overrides any sense of propriety and I highly recommend

 that you throw in a few ka pows and take that you scoundrels

next time you are doing this chore

you will be smiling the rest of the day

guaranteed...

Of course there is a downside

and it is obviously that you will go and buy hand cream in a pretty floral container

bloody endorphins

because while the packaging is all lovely and it smells pretty 

it has a screw on lid

which is hand cream torture for someone with my coordination

and I will now spend the next few months hunting for the lid

which will roll under furniture and go missing every single time I try to use it

I swore I would never venture down the screw top hand cream road again

but I have never been great at keeping up things I swear to

and it was fun to paint so maybe it will be worth 

all the cursing and crawling around lid hunting that is to come..

Happy Paint Party Friday everyone... xx

This week I have blogged about...

Inspiration ...

The Alvey Feeling...

Inspiration....

Talking about Inspiration can be a tricky thing at times

because I sometimes struggle to see how people can't find inspiration

it usually feels like my brain is being bombarded about twenty times an hour 

with images that are crying out to be drawn and painted

and most days I go to bed feeling slightly beaten up and overwhelmed 

by how many things there are to draw and paint

and how on earth will I find time to draw them all

but it hasn't always been this way

and I used to get all angsty about what I should be painting

and what sorts of images and techniques I should be exploring

and where I should be taking my work and all that other utter crap

and it turns out the freaking shoulds were killing my inspiration

I was trained to draw and paint

I went to college back in the good old days when we actually had academic drawing classes

and tutors and professors who extolled the virtues of being able to render

and create tone in paint and it was generally a mix of technique, history and aesthetics

which meant I was lucky, as a lot of graduates now don't get that now

but the thing that stayed with me the most, that stuffed up my work for years

was image development

what are you saying, where do you want your work to be

how does it reflect and inhabit your beliefs about art

how is your style developing and reflecting your process

and all that other complete and utter nonsense

which completely did my head in and stifled any enjoyment I may have had

and don't even get me started on inspiration

I couldn't even spell it by the time I got through thinking about all that

But then after a shocking session of angst ridden quasi creativity

I gave myself a mental uppercut and told myself to stop being a complete tosser

I like simple things

I like what is around me

and drawing and painting them brings me great pleasure

I think the pleasure is doubled because it is fun to draw and paint them

and while doing the work I am made to look closely at the object

and get to appreciate its loveliness

even if it is just a favourite giant tea cup

and I feel joy in painting the same thing many times

I have attacked these mugs a couple of times

and love the bowl shape and the crispness of the blue and white lines

there is something timeless and comforting about them

not to mention they mean my tea cools nice and quickly

So I gave myself permission to not worry about image development

and to explore whatever takes my fancy

and it was kind of addictive

everything is fair game

the labels on a can, the mess in the pantry

the teetering pile of ironing with all its different textures and colours

the jungle I call a garden, my art supplies, the contents of my handbag

a trip to the pharmacy... it is all drawing and painting fodder

and my whole life has opened up into a sea of inspiration

and I find it alternates between exciting and bloody terrifying

which means sometimes I have to Do the Lean

but it is never boring and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way

because now from the time I wake up I am noticing things around me

I get to be immersed in my creative bubble even when I am doing the dishes

it is such a lovely place to be and I wouldn't go back to my old way for anything

So a big thank you to Jen at The Artists Playroom

for setting the topic of Inspiration

and reminding me to stop and appreciate how much I love what I do

and how I do it... xx

My last few blog posts have been about...

The Alvey Feeling....

The Brocolli Chip Effect....

The Alvey Feeling...

Every family has their own personal mythologies

in ours if you have the feeling you are going to win something it is called 

the Alvey Feeling

which is named after an Alvey fishing reel that Sinus won

when he was about 14 or 15 and he just knew he would win it

so every time we are feeling lucky we have "the Alvey Feeling"

I am not one to enter contests or draws or things

I'm not quite sure why, but it just isn't me... 

but then on Facebook I came across the Enjoy Every Day competition

on the Twinings page

and I love Twinings tea, especially Lady Grey and so I thought I would enter

The weekly prize was $5000 which was pretty spectacular

so I entered this painting which is one of my favourite Lady Grey paintings...

On hitting that enter button I was immediately and completely overcome by the Alvey feeling

I was soooooo winning five grand

I was mentally spending it

new computer, new printer, completing my set of Wedgewood tea cups

the list became alarmingly long ... alarmingly quickly

but I was convinced the Alvey feeling wouldn't let me down

I told Sinus about it and he was excited too

figuring that if I finally had the Alvey feeling it was quite the sign

and he took to making fishing reel motions all the time and patting me on the back

and welcoming me to the club

which was fun for about an hour

but quickly morphed into ... 

pat me one more time and I will show you where you can put your Alvey reel

yet somehow I still thought it was going to happen

which was crazy and delusional because in the twenty something years I have lived with Sinus

I have never seen any evidence that the Alvey feeling actually works

Every second week he has it with the lotto draw, and all sorts of other situations

and never has it come off... not even close

except when it comes to getting parking spaces

he always gets the perfect parking spot... even when the mall is packed

the minute he drives in it seems that about ten people

are overcome by the overwhelming need to head home

it is freaky how he gets those parks.... and every time

but parking spaces aside

I had somehow morphed into this  Alvey believer... I no longer scoffed and snorted

I actually thought it was going to come through

but on seeing the winner announced I was instantly plunged into utter despair

how could the Alvey feeling let me down so thoroughly

I was in shock... no new computer, or printer

turns out that the Alvey feeling is indeed the crock I had always thought it was

of course this tin arriving as a consolation prize sorted out my despair

as it is not only great for storing teas, 

but of course it is something new to draw and paint

which always sets the world to rights

and I do love seeing it there on the shelf

but now Sinus is declaring that the Alvey feeling works

because I did win something

even if it wasn't what I had hoped

he is taking it as vindication and I figure I can look forward to 

another 25 years of the bloody Alvey feeling...

lucky I have my Lady Grey to see me through the Alvey filled next few years...xx

Linking up with Sunday Sketches... 

head over to see what people have been drawing this week...xx

My last two posts have been...

The Broccoli Chip Effect...

 Cereal Killer....

The Broccoli Chip Effect....

Let's talk Broccoli chips

now if you are a normal person you will look at this painting

with a sort of horrified fascination that these things exist in the world

a normal reaction is...

they can't taste good

not on your sweet Nelly am I eating them

or in what universe do you think they are making it onto my plate

dear Phantom Steve's reaction was ...

cool can we get them to try... can we .... I think they will be awesome

seriously that is what she said

I pointed out that the same brand of banana chips had not been a winner

but relented as I was still on a high from finding the cereal that I talked about in the last post

so they ended up in the basket

and were duly taken home for Phantom's snacking pleasure

Now Phantom is actually one of the most brillantly stupid people you will ever meet

she has a monster IQ and a freaky brain that does weird and wonderful things

but seems unable to grasp just how bad a broccoli chip could be

I mean seriously

would you eat something that looked like this for anything other than a dare????

Fifty bucks, a pile of chocolate and a weekend with George Clooney

wouldn't be enough to get me to try these suckers

but Phantom and Sinus are either crazy brave or crazy stupid

or maybe a bit of both

because the packet is opened and we are met by the unmistakable waft

of fish food

and not the mild kelpy smell, but the rotting in the sun kelpy smell

these things smell nasty

one whiff and my lips are clamped so tight they couldn't be pried open by the jaws of life

but still Phantom and Sinus eat one.... 

I actually thought Sinus teared up a little bit it was so bad 

but he manfully got it down and declared them the worst thing in the history of the world

Phantom gamely hung onto her poker face for all of 30 seconds

before bolting to the kitchen bin to spit it out

and spent the next ten minutes trying to scrub the taste from her tongue

while shooting me dirty looks, as I was , by this stage,

laughing so hard that I was having trouble breathing

I really regret not having the camera out... 

it would have been a youtube sensation let me tell you

Even more exciting is that I now have the ultimate weapon in my mum arsenal

in the war against teenager-dom

the threat of broccoli chips is being used at each and every opportunity

to great evil effect... 

and just the sight of the box is reducing both Phantom and Sinus to my slaves

which they totally deserve by the way... 

the scales have finally tipped in my favour

and I am mad with the power of it all ...

My domination of the house is not quite complete though

as any sign of any box makes my mutt, Mushu think he is getting a treat

mainly because he is alarmingly stupid and has the memory span of a goldfish, 

so even if we had given him a try of them he would have forgotten what they tasted like 

about two minutes after throwing them up

but he is cute and cuddly and is too gentle a soul to be tortured by such horribleness...

Someone who totally gets how sweet he is , is my friend Von

 she has done the most beautiful painting of him

how wonderful is this

she has caught his eyes so perfectly

check out her post about it here ...

I love it so much.... so a huge public thank you to my friend

Happy Paint Party Friday to all

I am so looking forward to being able to catch up on what you have been up to

head over here to see what other painting goodness is on show... xx

this week I have been back from my studio break 

and here is what I have been up to...

A post over at Dion Dior for the When Artists Cook series

Cereal Killer....

Trevor the Pocket Deity....

Cereal Killer....

I challenge anyone of my vintage

to not want to buy this cereal

is that the greatest cereal name ever or what...

my Daughter Phantom Steve is a coeliac

which necessitates us making regular trips to the natural foods grocer

or as I like to call it

the hand over your life savings to buy three products grocer

Okay it isn't quite that bad, but it can feel like it sometimes

So on the trip to stock up on rice bread we came across this cereal

which made me immediately want to don a huge white Choose Life T-shirt

and dance down around the store singing Wham at the top of my lungs

which would have embarrassed Phantom mightily

especially as my singing has been compared to putting a squeaky toy through a mincer

which personally I feel is harsh... 

surely volume and enthusiasm should count for something

but we succumbed to the purchase and I managed to not sing

until we got into the car

at which time I assaulted poor Phantom's ears with gusto

and now you are all humming it too aren't you

going to be in your head all day now....

On getting home bowls were taken out

milk poured and the cereal was declared "Killer"

which felt all wrong considering the Choose Life associations with the song

but hey it is pretty good for gluten, wheat, and everything else free

so wins all round

and as a bonus I get to sing at 5.30 am as I pour it for her

now that is a great way to start the day...

Another great start to the day today

was turning on the computer and seeing my post for When Artists Cook was up

I am contributing to a series over at Dion Dior

and it has been great fun to be part of

you can see the post here ...

and in a great twist of fate the challenge at

Artist's Play Room

was illustrate a word

and this is close as it has words in it right...

so the day is going swimmingly

turns out starting the day with a song makes everything better... xx

If you have missed them

here are the links to my last two posts...

Trevor the Pocket Deity....

Things I Have Learnt...

Trevor the Pocket Deity....

It is great to be back in blog land after my studio time!!!

 not just great... that's an understatement

It is crazy great... I missed it an unhealthy amount great

feel like I am home after a long trip great... well you get the idea...

So how did studio time go you may be asking?

Did I get all the things done that I had on my desk?

Are deadlines no longer crushing my will to live?

Did I give the blog a facelift? 

and set up a blog shop?

Did I give in and clean the house?

well the answers are

fine thanks, not really, kind of, added some pages at the top, didn't even think of it and briefly

I got enough done that I can at least delude myself that things are under control

which sums up the state of the house as well come to think of it

and while I didn't make as much progress in some projects as I had planned

and didn't even start others

the imminent deadlines have been met 

and all others appear to be manageable

so crisis averted and the world is looking just fine and dandy ...

I may be a touch misguided but I kind of think I was helped along

by the appearance in my life of a pocket deity

This thing must have some pretty powerful vibes 

as it managed to offset possible bad mojo 

that should have accompanied the fact that I swiped it from Phantom

but is there such a thing as stealing from your teenage daughter???

I mean what's hers is mine I should think

and he probably felt unappreciated by Phantom anyway

after all she just had him sitting on a shelf

behind a model of a pregnancy pelvis and beside an model of an eyeball

don't ask!!!!! trust me we are all pleased the fascination with all things medical has passed

Sitting on my desk however,

being surrounded by colour  and being lightly splattered with paint 

seems to suit him

and while I haven't officially named him yet 

because I'm not sure what the protocol in these matters is

I am considering Trevor as a name

Which appeals mainly because then I can walk around the house

calling his name and asking if anyone has seen Trevor

because ...

he fell out of my pocket, has been stolen by the dog

or was last seen backstroking in my paint water container

I have tried out some other names over the last few days 

but Trevor is winning at the moment

I have no clue why I find the name Trevor so funny

and a Buddha named Trevor just strikes me as hilarious

mind you I could be swayed to another name if you have any suggestions...

this naming business isn't meant to be blasphemous,

 but he is, 

after all, a pocket buddha

and I can't imagine deities being too impressed with spending the day

being buffeted by my lip balm, spare change and the odd tissue

so being out in the air and immortalizing him in paint

and naming him

has to offset any offence he may be feeling at his lot in life...

So I am sharing all the good vibes, great karma, positive mojo

and peace that Trevor can bring to the world 

with my dearly missed bloggy friends

and my buds over at Sunday Sketches.

and a special birthday shout out from Trevor and I to Alex... 

our wonderful hostess with the mostess..

ahh it's great to be back xx

You haven't missed much in the last two weeks as I have been

on a break... didn't you read the post???

but here are my last two posts anyway...

Things I Have Learnt....

Studio Time...

Things I Have Learnt...

Update time on my blogging break

which kind of defeats the purpose of the break I know

but there are a few things I have learnt that I wanted to share

That you should never think smugly that you have escaped the winter flu season

just because the first hint of Spring arrives

if you do that it will bite you

big time

and poor Phantom has been horribly sick for days

which has meant I have been on nurse duty

though happily she is finally on the mend

I have also learnt that I would have been a lousy nurse

That I am also really bad at keeping aquarium plants alive

which I needed to pick up for Phantom to take in for a chem experiment

but then she got sick

so now I am trying to keep them alive long enough 

for her to take them to school and kill them in a variety of ways... 

how's that for irony

Also that I really don't like Moleskin notebooks

I did this drawing of an Apothecary jar that I had bought a while ago

and yes I should have bought one that takes watercolour

and yes I know lots of people love them

but I can't get my head around the yellow paper

maybe it is something I will get used to

I also learnt that such a disrupted week means I have gotten little done

especially as despite practically bathing in hand sanitiser

and scoffing vitamins like tic tacs 

the dreaded lurgy is not quite being held at bay

soooo

another week off is going to be needed for me to get some work done

but most importantly I have learnt how much I have missed blogging

so I will be scoffing extra vitamins

mainlining tea and working my fingers to the bone

so I can get back to it... you are all missed...xx

PS. Phantom Steve is doing the forty hour famine

well she isn't not eating because she has some health challenges

which require her to eat regularly

so she is actually giving up the letter "e"

I know... seems a bit weird, but for a while there she talked about taping up her thumbs

until I pointed out that would mean needing help getting dressed etc

that was soooo not going to happen let me tell you

but if you would like to support her you can head over to this link to donate

thanks all... will let you know how it goes...xx