Birds In The Garden

We have a wide range of birds here in our garden--Bill puts loads of food out for them all year round and it pays off.....these are some of the visitors we have had today.....above is the male Brambling..beautiful colours,it can be mistaken for a chaffinch from a distance..

a female Brambling--not quite as colourful-but still a pretty little bird.

Loads of Brambling feeding on the floor..

We have had loads of thrushes here today.....

The Nuthatch has been here a lot--even saw him on the floor eating which is very unusual for them..

The Woodpecker stopped off on the washing line pole first of all...

then landed on the fat balls---the little Tom Tit wasn't fazed by him at all...

The Robin is always around...saw 2 of them today..

We have a few wood pigeons coming here to feed....they are comical birds...

The Starling is a beautiful bird...pretty markings...

We love to see these lovely little birds--Long Tailed Tits...they come in droves-feed quickly and are gone as quickly as they come...

Close up of a Long Tail Tit

Mr Blackbird after the mealy worms Bill puts in a tray in the curly hazel tree....

I'm not 100% sure if these are Thrush or Red Wings.....they look very alike until they fly off--and you can see the red under the wings of the Redwings! I didn't see them fly off so don't know if they are or not!

the birds Christmas wreath is being eaten--but wasn't touched until Bill laid it down--scared them to death when we had it hanging up! All sorts of birds have been feeding on it...

The Nuthatch in his usual position upside down,,,,

The robin after the mealy worms.. how lovely it is to see all the little birds here--we have many other sorts visiting us regularly--that I haven't taken pictures of,,,, we are very lucky--all Mum seems to get is pigeons!

latest class updates--Winter Wonderland- Oct 18th

I have the ladies of Sundorne Wi coming from Shrewsbury on Oct 18th to paint Winter Wonderland.

Joining them is Carole who is one of my long standing students.
Carole has painted all of the class subjects except for this one.
She currently has an exhibition of her work in the window of the Leominster Information Centre-its lovely to see just how she has developed her own style.

She called by the class yesterday and admitted to having withdrawal symptoms -its ages since she came to a class-though we keep in regular contact via the phone!

So that leaves just one place for this class.
This is just one version of the finished result-we put fences and all sorts of extras in on the day.
Its suitable for first time students as well as more experienced ones.
Please contact me via my website www.paintingmyway.co.uk
if you would like to join us in this class.

Busy Painting

Ive had quite a productive day today--got one of my exhibits finished off for the Ludlow Art Society exhibition--a massive 3 ft square canvas.

Ive been working on it for a couple of weeks now-Have almost decided which others I'm entering too--only allowed to enter 5 so its quite hard to make a decision. This isnt the finished result, Ive done more to it since this photo was taken.

I have logged each stage onto the copyright site www.protectmywork.com

We wont be around for the private viewing of the Ludlow Arts Society exhibition as we will be away doing a big event at Tern Valley-things are getting busy now with lots going on at the moment!

Ive also managed to finish off a couple of other works that were hanging around--now just got to get them varnished when completely dry! A job for Bill---he makes a better job of it than me!

Rumour Has It----

That we love birds in the Jennings household!

Sparky the cat has obviously noticed and last night he bought in this little baby bird.

I think he found him on the ground, and didn't fetch him out of a nest,he was absolutely freezing and very weak, so I warmed him up in my hands before putting in a nest of kitchen towel, not expecting to see him alive this morning!

However this morning he was chirping for some food. We mashed up some mealy worms and bread with some water and we have fed him with tweezers every 20 mins from dawn til dusk , as he would be in the wild.

He takes the food very well and is quite strong.He has got most of his feathers and cant be far off being able to fend for himself. You can see how tiny he is compared to Bills hands!!

We think he may be a chaffinch but we are not entirely sure,his chest is a bit redder than appears in the photos, and we have had a pair of bull finches feeding here everyday, so maybe he is one of those?

If you think you know what he is please get in touch.

Bella's Christening

We had a lovely afternoon today--my daughter Becki was Godmother to this beautiful little baby(BELLA) whose mum is Becki's best friend Shell.

Bella has been named Bella Rebecca after my Becki which is lovely!

Bills son and his wife Hayley were also there along with this other little chap-our grandson Callum.

As you can see Callum got stuck into the chocolate cakes and made a right mess!

Now Im off to do the finishing touches to the 2 paintings that have been commissioned!

Class Of July 12th--African Dream

African Dream is painted using acrylic paint, a beautiful warm painting, it will brighten any wall!

You will learn to use several techniques, brushes and other materials .

This painting is suitable for all abilities from first timers to more experienced artists.

If you would like to join this class please get in touch via the website http://www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Lots Coming Up

We have lots of things coming up on the agenda soon! We are off to Wellsbourne Art Society for another demonstration on Tuesday. We were there in November and they enjoyed themselves so much they asked me back. Ive been working on some new paintings to show them in the demonstration, and Im sure they will find them inspirational!
We are booked into an olde worlde pub for a couple of nights, so we can take in some sightseeing as well!!

I am busy making more lists for the pet sitters---now we have Jake the new parrot there is a whole load of new stuff to add to the already long list of do's and do not's !!!!
Jake really is a darling, he learns new words and expressions so quickly its unreal!! You really do have to watch what you say in front of him!!
We cover him up with a black cover at night when we go to bed and we do not hear a peep out of him until we uncover him in the morning--then he docent stop talking! I don't think we have watched any TV program all the way through since we had him!
He is so amusing, he shouts Hello Bill, Wheres Bill?
Trying to get him to say Hiya Di at the moment!
Bill is having fun with him--he whistles a tune and Jake repeats it exactly note for note back to him-hes a really clever bird.
He will be spoiled rotton no doubt when we are away as are Paddy and Sparky and the fish whenever we go away.
As long as he has plenty of company and someone to talk to him, Jake will be happy.





We are using a clicker to train him and he is responding so well to it.

Holly

These two pics were taken just 30 mins apart! Holly was as lively as a cricket when she had her bath in the kitchen sink-but after being wrapped in a warm towel and snugged up in her babygro she was soon out for the count after her bottle.She slept all night til 7:45am this morning and woke up really happy.She really is the most placid baby ever!

Sundays Craft Fair

After the awful weather on Saturday and during the night we were not sure whether we would be going to do the Craft market or not until we woke up and saw what the weather looked like on Sunday morning.
After losing an hour's sleep with the clocks going on the last thing we wanted was to start unloading and getting soaked!
However the morning was bright and the sky was blue, so we decided to chance it.I'm so glad we did.
We had a lovely day, several of my students called by to see us for a chat too which was lovely.
One of them ,Kay took the opportunity to book up for another 2 classes.
Chris and Pauline who had attended yesterdays class,also booked up for May too.
It stayed lovely and sunny all day, there was a steady stream of visitors to Ludlow,and some locals were mooching too.
All in all we had a good day, we seem to get quicker setting up the stall-we were done by 9am.Its been as late as 10.30 sometimes but we have got it off to a fine art now!
We know how many paintings we can fit on the stands and roughly where they will go.
I like to have all the class subjects together so I can explain to potentual students the sort of thing they will be able to paint when they come to class.Then all the other paintings, that I dont teach can be displayed together.It works very well, but I leave the hanging of them to Bill-he gets them up nice and straight--unlike me!

Todays class

We were minus one student today--Yvonne had to work.Im sure she would have rather been painting!
We had a mixed lot of students today,
Sam who had been once before bought along her mother in law who hadn't done anything like this before.
Pauline and her hubby had been once before and Jack and Mandy have been quite a few times.
Right from the start you could see that the paintings were going to turn out very different to each other.
As soon as the surgical gloves(Supplied by me to protect their hands) went on and they picked up their natural sponges, the paintings all evolved in different ways.Jack had several spooky faces appear in his pic straight away--he always laughs at me picking them out!
But soon everyone was spotting faces of trolls and all sorts of things in the paint!We had a a great laugh as usual in the class.
The pathways all went in different directions which made it very interesting.
The trees were a bit scary for some of the students to do, but everyone soon settled sown and when it came to the splattering part, we ended up in fits of laughter! I ended up with black spotted boobs, and feet after some of the splattering went wrong when I was holding the plate with the paint on (thanks Gwen!!) But everyone soon got the hang of it in the end!
When it came to the finishing touches-adding the foxgloves with the encaustic pen --there were lots of nerves , but again after a few practise runs on some card everyone produced some great foxgloves.
I had previously ordered some acrylic varnish from the SAA, as I knew we had some acrylic classes coming up.
All acrylic paintings benifit from a couple of coats of varnish to bring out the colours and protect them.
I am happy to supply the varnish at cost price from the SAA to my students.
Pauline and Chris also went away with the SAA joining forms, catalogue and a free copy of Paint magazine.

Dilwyn WI Thursday March 20th

We were at Dilwyn WI on Thursday evening doing the usual demonstration,there were lots of questions from the audience during the demo, as several of the ladies were already artists.
One of the ladies went away with a free copy of 'Paint' magazine and the catalogue and joining forms for the SAA of I am a Professional Associate of the SAA (Society for All Artists) which means I carry their endorsement as a tutor and demonstrator.
For just £22 a year you recive high discounts on art materials, a bi-monthly Paint magazine and lots of other goodies.You can also enter their yearly art comptition.Well worth joining. The postage and packing is free if you are a member and they deliver the next day as a rule.

News Letter

I have been asked by several customers if I will produce a regular newsletter to show people my latest paintings and also with details of classes that are coming up in the future.
I shall be sending the first one out at the weekend. If you want to be added to my mailing list please email me on enquiries@paintingmyway.co.uk

Dusting !!!!

Ive nicked this off one of the artists forums that Im on--sums it all up really! lifes too short to dust!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dusting!

Remember...a layer of dust protects the Wood beneath it.

A house becomes a home when you can write 'I love you' on the
furniture

I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were
just perfect - 'in case someone came over'
Finally I realized one day that no-one came over; they were all out
living life and having fun!
NOW, when people visit, I don't have to explain the 'condition' of my
home.

They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing
while I was away living life and having fun.
If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice.

Life is short. Enjoy it!

Dust if you must ......

but wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter,
bake bikkies or a cake and lick the spoon or plant a seed, ponder the
difference between want and need?!
Dust if you must,but there's not much time . . . .

with beer to drink , rivers to swim and mountains to climb,
music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must,

but the world's out there with the sun in your eyes,
the wind in your hair,
a flutter of snow, a shower of rain.
This day will not come around, again.

Dust if you must ,
but bear in mind, old age will come and it's not kind. . .

And when you go - and go you must - you, yourself will make more dust!

Spell Checker

To help with such things ...this made me laugh!

Eye halve a spelling chequer,

It came with my pea sea;
It plainly marques for my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a quay and type a ward
And weight four it two say
Weather aye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee four two long,
And eye can put the error rite
It's rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
Aye am shore your pleased to no;
Eats let her perfect awl the weigh
My checker tolled me sew.

Todays Craft Fair

The weather was very kind to us today on the craft market.We got down there at 7.40am to get set up.
Bill had been busy for a few hours the day before making new bubble wrap bags for some of the paintings.
We soon got into the swing of things and the paintings were hung in no time.
The morning was pretty quiet, which was good as it gave us the chance to catch up on all the gossip from the regular stall holders.
It would seem we made the right decision not to do the craft fairs during the winter months-it has been cold and wet and windy up there, and haven't missed anything!
As soon as lunchtime came it got busy and we had a great time.One of the stall holders bought a gift voucher for her father as a surprise 60th birthday pressie.
His birthday is just after my Bills in May, so we will see him sometime after that.
One customer was really happy to see us-she had been going up to the craft market looking for us every month since Oct.!!! She had picked up a leaflet from me previously and had mislaid it-couldn't remember the name and wasn't on the Internet.
She has gone away with a business card and a leaflet this time, we will be hearing from her soon.
We went for a great meal tonight -well recommend it.The Traveller's Rest near Craven Arms.They do a special deal of 3 courses for just £10 each Mon --Thursday.
We couldn't fault it at all.Great choice of starters-we both had prawn cocktail followed by roast beef for bill and Roast pork for me.I had some of the best stuffing Ive ever tasted with mine-it really was tasty.
There was about 10 veg's to choose from and homemade Yorkshire puddings too.
We really did struggle to eat it all.
But when the waitress bought the dessert menu we just had to try to fit a pudding in!
Bread and butter pudding with cream ws lovely-I couldn't finish mine-but I tryed really hard to-Bill just about managed his.
Back on the diets tomorrow--I think being out in the fresh air all day gave us an appetite today.

Bird Table

Here are some of our regular visitors to our bird table.
The bull finch and his wife arent showing up very well in this pic,we counted 16 siskins on the table and feeder at one time, but wasnt quick enough with the camera to catch them all.
We love watching them from the house, the bull finches are quick to chase off anything else that comes near until they have had their fill!!