What Shoe Been Up To?

So what shoe been up to??? Outside of making up lame puns, I have been busy bouncing around like a mad thing with some illustration projects, some organising in the studio and endless errands, but I have been happy doing it as I have new studio shoes... For years now I have been wearing my trusty red studio shoes... and they have been a faithful and loyal companions, but they are looking a tad worn and sad. I have loved them dearly but it is time for them to retire. Or at least I made that decision on spotting the black and minty loveliness that is the new studio shoes, but though they aren't all swish like the newbies, I shall miss their weird paint repelling magic that saw them not succumb to one drip in all those years. This is amazing as somehow there are regular splats, drips and marks on the carpet, my hair, face, glasses, clothes, the blinds, windows, walls and oddly, even the ceiling... but those shoes remained pristine. It was like they had a forcefield. 

The newbies however have no force field and already have a some paint splats... in fact that is why I splattered a bit of paint on the sketch because they already are wearing a touch of the blue I used, which on reflection was totally the wrong colour as they are more an electric mint shade... you would think I would just look down at them and check the colour... but no I just sketched and painted them up... but on the plus side I get to paint them again in the right colour... there is always an upside to these things.

Dodgy painting colour choice aside, these babies are awesome... they have memory foam inners and are all sorts of comfy... plus I suddenly feel like a sporty type who is wearing sneakers during the day. I can practically feel the fitness seeping into my body via my feet. This of course is in complete contrast to the reality that I am perhaps the least sporty person you will ever meet and sport for me consists of lifting a full kettle onto the hob, or maybe hefting a pile of books from place to place, but maybe in these I will suddenly break out into actual sportiness. In case I don't though, they work a treat as I spend most of my day standing at my work benches in the studio and these very welcome by the end of a long day I must say. The final clincher is that they have no laces. I am a big fan of the slip on... not out of laziness or not being able to tie a shoelace... although that gets me thinking that it has been some years since I tied an actual shoelace... Phants did her own from a young age and not being the sporty type sneakers were never on the radar, and I am a sandals girl so it has been so long I can't actually recall the last time... which now has me wondering if I can still remember how to tie a shoelace... you know I am so going to find some shoes and give it a go now... just to check!

And once I have checked that I am going to make a cuppa, rest my poor painty sneakers and madly try to finish off my new crochet blanket before the summer creeps up on us. It is huge and getting a touch heavy as I am avoiding having to sew the bloody thing like the last one, but as it grows it is getting quite the weight to it... oooo maybe I can call it exercise if I wear the sneakers!!!

happy painting all...xx

My Week On A Page #5...

loving... Loretta's tomato relish

 I would happily sell any member of the family for a jar

 putting this stuff on toast with a slice of cheese is beyond addictive

 buying... a rag rug from Seventh Stone Design

eating... zucchinni and pea soup... or zucchini and pea soup

if you happen to spell better than I do!

drinking... Campos coffee with Nat 

while eating delicious smashed avocado toast at Rabbit Hole Cafe Wynnum

and maybe chattering a bit... ok maybe quite a bit

catching up... with Von... the birthday girl!!!

Happy painting all...xx

The Peek A Boo Spring...

Spring is kind of part time springing. It is playing that slightly mean seasonal peek a boo with us at the moment and it is a bit of a crapshoot as to what you will wake up to each day. Some days are glorious, as long as you stay out of the wind which is still carrying whiffs of arctic tundra temperatures, but some days are just plain grey and awful. Or you get the annoying days like today that are bits of both, but even they aren't too bad because there are all sorts of signs that spring is almost with us. I love spring an inordinate amount so I am hunting for those signs like a crazy weather savant, and this week I have had the pleasure of seeing a veritable tsunami of spring indicators...

Every time I go to the store there are more and more magical blooms on show and available. It is like an exercise in medieval flower torture and I spent stupid amounts of time standing in front of those buckets of blooms trying to decide who is coming home with me. It creates such angst it is like the Sophie's choice of flower decisions for me. I think you should all prepare for quite a few flower paintings in the coming weeks as more often than not they are both coming home so our house is not just filled with a million blooms wanting to be painted, it has also morphed into hayfever heaven being so filled with all sorts of beautiful flowers.

Of course hayfever heaven is sadly not what it used to be and I no longer get to be woken by Mushu the wonder mutt sneezing all over me, and while some of you may question me missing being showered by dog snot, it isn't the actual snot I miss but that glorious little hairbag snot delivery system who for 11 years was my early warning spring detector

I now rely on our neighbour who has the most extraordinary, epic, insanely loud sneezes in the history of sneezes. These things make our light fittings rattle so I can only guess at how impressive they are inside the actual house next door. I am kind of thinking of inviting myself over so I can experience their awesomeness first hand... though quite how you invite yourself to your neighbours at the crack of dawn I have no clue.

One of the more annoying spring indicators is the randy birdlife. Seriously! I spend half of my day in the studio being serenaded by a veritable orgy of very very horny birds. What it is about our back yard that is so conducive to birdy sex I have no clue, but they are all mating like crazy and it drives you a bit nuts at times.

But epic sneezes, randy birds and being besieged by flower choice anxiety all mean that spring is on its way so I am loving Spring... even if it is still playing peek a boo with us...

Happy painting all ...xx

My Week On A Page #4...

 Scoffing... strawberries

  Trying not to wreck... new brushes

 Adding a moustache to... Pedro the Pinata

  he looked a tad incomplete and not really dressy enough for a 70th birthday celebration

  Watching... Grandma bash Pedro... who knew she was such a slugger... it was impressive!

 and slightly scary at the same time

 Decorating... cupcakes for Grandma 

 Drinking... Lady Grey Tea

 Coveting... orchids for Grandma

 Loving... new koh-i-noor brights

happy painting all..xx

A Cuppa Colouring Page...

Something a bit different today partly because I have been crazy busy and don't have a lot of painting to share, but I thought it was time for a little fun so I made a colouring sheet based on some of the awesomeness that is the Cuppa With Friends Project. Everywhere I look at the moment people are colouring in like crazy. Which I kind of love as I have always been a bit of a fan. When Phantom was little I was the horrid parent who was still sitting at the table colouring away while she had wandered off, watched a movie, had a nap and was madly hitting me with her plastic golf clubs to get my attention so I could feed her. She never showed any staying power at the old colouring in so I always felt it was my job to do it for both of us. Phantom, the little freak, loved puzzles, and maths books from the age of about two which was like torture for me... I however, spent many a happy afternoon gloriously layering colours and adding stuff to make the pages more interesting while Phants tried to get my attention, and in one memorable incident, led to the smart arse little minx climbing up on the table, taking the pencil out of my hand and jumping down and putting it in the bin... with great force too . A sign I had a problem... maybe...  

So here is a colouring page for you to play with... I spent forever... well at least ten minutes ...trying to embed it as a pdf, but it was sapping my will to live so you can just save as an image and print it out... or pin it and download it, or whatever you usually do... you are more adept at all this than me I would say. 

Happy colouring all...xx

Have you caught up on my week on a page posts... it is the only non work related painting I have been doing lately and I post them on a Tuesday... the link is below if you want to have a squiz

My Week On A Page #3...

PS there is a giveaway over on my instagram account too if you want in... just look for this post and add your name

My Week On A Page #3...

eating too much... Tom Yum Soup

finishing... the blanket... 

I blame Pip from Meet Me At Mike's for starting down this path!!!

making... washi tape bunting

loving... seeing sunflowers as I come in the door

Coveting... these beauties... tea cup lamps

Then buying said tea cup lamps... my life is now officially awesome!!!!

A Not So Tiny Miracle...

Anyone who has known me for some time knows that I am a complete sewing/ craft tragic. My lack of skills and talent in these areas are the stuff of family legend. Anything that doesn't involve paints, brushes, pens or art processes and I am in trouble. I can sometimes stretch my skills to ceramics and am known for slightly wonky pots on my best day, but in an odd twist I am scarily adept with a set of lino tools. Any time I have a knife or scissors in my hand I am a chance of losing a limb, but those sharp little blighters are putty in my hands. If you really want to talk horror movie style debacles though we need to talk sewing. In my hands it is a bloodsport... we are talking brawl at the ice hockey level injuries and I have been known to need a half box of band aids, an ice pack, large alcoholic beverages and a good lie down after attempting a button.

With all of that in mind you can imagine the level of fear and horror that struck me when I realised the panels I had been happily crocheting would have to be attached together. I watched youtube videos on attaching them via crocheting, but my skills are still at that enthusiastic beginner stage and as I had sort of freestyled the whole thing and they didn't fit too neatly together that seemed like it was way beyond me... so I decided to sew the thing... I mean how hard can it be, a darning needle is bloody huge, and I can even thread the sucker without changing glasses. I happily announced to Phantom that I was attempting this feat, which prompted her to make a huge bucket of tea, grab some snacks, and settle in for the "show" as she called it. After about ten minutes the funny bugger disappeared and reappeared with bandaids, bandages, and a makeshift sling, and just lay them on the table while giggling like a maniac... soooo hilarious... Phantom then had a stage of commentating the whole process like it was sports channel event, which led to me declaring all sorts of creative threats to her skinny, smart arse little self... and they must have been dire because she retreated and left me to my mumbling and sewing frenzy.

In the end all expectations of blood being spilled were dashed, and I managed to attach all of the panels and remain bodily in tact. It is a not so tiny miracle, and while I would like to declare myself a competent sewing person, it is pretty much like my crocheting... gloriously half arsed and openly dodgy in the extreme. By the time it was done I was exhausted like I had run a marathon, I had an epic hand cramp. I had consumed my body weight in tea,I was mumbling incoherently, and had crazy eyes happening, but it was complete. Phantom, the cheeky bugger then swooped and stole the bloody thing and it has been on her bed ever since. Those are her little skinny chicken leg ankles sticking out the bottom of it. It is magnificently dodgy in places, and gloriously colourful, but I have to say it will be some time before I attempt another that will require sewing... 

I am going to stick with paint for a while

happy painting all...xx

My Week On A Page #2 ...

loving tulips...  Cuppa with Angie

smelling... Iris Practice candle

snacking on... macarons

sewing... yes sewing!!!! ... blanket together

planting... begonias... nobody can kill those suckers... even me

loving... how cool Marji is... and the amazing owl mug she sent me

so blessed to have magical friends