Class Of Dec 12th "Yesterday" (updated!)

What cracking day we had today! 10 students- 3 of whom had not been before--all of whom used the biggest canvas size 36in x 14in .
"Yesterday" was a new class subject--and the students were given a choice of orange/reds browns/creams or blues and purples.
We had a mix of old and new students--Sally and her friend Jan have been 3 times before--while Samantha and Gemma were newbies--within a few minutes there was lots of laughter going on between the 4 of them--Sal and Jen and Sam and Gem had discovered that they were a drugs councillor,and ex-family worker, a social worker and a mental health worker! So they all had lots in common and I believe they will be keeping in touch with each other!
They were laughing at their names being so alike as well!
Sal has asked if I will do a class just for her people she is dealing with in the future if she can get funding--we have agreed that it will be a helpful tool in helping them have a sense of achievement that they thought not possible-watch this space!


Everyone had some wonderful ideas of the effect they wanted-and the finished results were very individual-we all had great fun -and are seeing everyone again!
Pauline and Chris have been with us loads of times now-Chris has developed his own style up to a point and always does his own thing in his paintings--today he added a golden sun using the metallic gold paint-and a volcano as well! Sal followed his idea and added a silver moon as her painting was in a dark purple --- it looked great!

Two gift vouchers were sold as well-they have been very popular this year--there will be some happy artists in the coming year! Cynthia's painting is going to be a Christmas pressie for her daughter-they came by the market one week and she told Cynthia-that's what Id like for Christmas please!--I'm sure she will be over the moon when she opens it on Christmas Day!
14 year old Jess made a great job of her picture--she is not afraid of colour or using too much paint--as older students can be! Pauline really excelled herself today--she really got to grips with mixing the colours and was quite bold with it--she has been a bit unsure of using a lot of paint in the past.
It was hard to believe that Karen had never painted before-she really took to it like a duck to water-her first coat of paint was nigh on perfect-she had lots of light in the centre of her painting which was really warm and glowing. Her second coat of paint went on like a dream as well--she had to sit to paint -due to a recent op -as did Jan-and working on a 3ft wide canvas wasnt easy for either of them due to the size of it-but they both made a great job of it!

New Computer!

We have a new computer and we are still muddling our way through with the help of several people including my brother in law Graham--big thanks to you dear!
We took over 700 photos in Scotland and have only learned how to get those sorted tonight!
You will all have to bear with me while I get the hang of it!

Yet More Pics!

Here are some more of the photos from yesterday-we met some real highland cattle just outside Gretna Green.They are just so cute!

We went walkabout around Ullswater and found this pub-had to get a photo of course!

The weather has changed today-rain and winds but that didn't stop us from going off and having a good mooch around.

We went from Kendal over to Keswick, a lovely drive with some spectacular scenery en route.

We are going to try the Chinese restaurant tonight--its just up the road from the guest house-which is highly recommended by the way.

We have room 7 which has the super kingsized bed--it was so comfy---and so big!!! We both lost each other during the night--would love one at home----will have to see!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night we went to the pub recommended by our hosts Sturart and Yvonne from the Lyndhurst Guest House--The wheatsheaf was as expected. Stuart had warned us they serve great food, he advised us to share a starter as portion sizes were generous.

As we were both ravenous we shared a combo which consisted of scampi,plaice , garlic mushrooms and onion rings with some bbq sauce to dip in. Beautiful-- but lots of it!

Then we ordered the mini Lamb Henri with fresh veg. We couldn't believe the size of it-it almost looked like a whole shoulder of lamb on the plate-besides all the fresh veg and onion and mint gravy--no wonder Stuart had told us no-one had finished 3 courses there!Its hard to believe that anyone has ever finished 2 courses! The prices were very good though-with 2 drinks to start and a bottle of wine with the meal it was less that £35

It was a shame to leave it but to be honest one plate full would have been more than enough for the two of us!

Serenity In Green--CANCELLED

I'm really sorry to have to cancel tomorrows class.

My chest infection isn't getting any better and I'm coughing a lot.

Its a real nuisance-Ive let everyone know, and I will sort out a new date a soon as possible.

Im off for some more cough mixture now and curl up on the sofa.

New Year---Exciting Times

We have some exciting new things coming up in the new year--I am going to be working closely with one of my students to combine art with something else completely different.

Its unique and we cant wait to start putting our ideas into practise.



I will post more about it as and when it develops, but from the feedback recieved so far it will be very popular!!!!!

Another busy day.

Well I suppose its normal to a certain extent to be busy at this time of year!
After spending the morning finishing off the last of the wrapping, we then went off to deliver the pressies to the respective homes.
We called by my daughters new home-they have just got back from the Dominican Republic-they had the keys to their new home on the Friday and flew out on holiday on the Saturday! They got back 2 weeks later on last Sunday, and then the decorating etc began.!!
We called by with a couple of pressies and ended up helping to paint the bedroom and living room----thank goodness for slow cookers--I had started a chicken and pepper dish this morning and it was cooked to perfection when we arrived home this evening!! We were both starving, and with all the garlic that was added , the dish was absolutely beautiful! Its one of our favorite dishes and being done in a slow cooker , you dont have to worry about it once its in there!

My Managerie!!!!

Couldn't resist taking this picture of all my most precious things!!!! Bill , Paddy Sparky and all the tropical fish on one photo--dosent happen very often!!

Sparky is doing his party trick of begging when he smelt the chicken come out of the oven, he should have been a dog that one, he fetches paper balls from where ever Bill throws them , brings them back and drops them in Bills slipper!!

Christmas Pressies

I cant belive how long it has taken me to wrap up the Christmas pressies today.

It was a wet morning when we woke up so decided to give the boot sale a miss.

Then it was a toss up between the paper work or wrapping the christmas pressies!!!

No contest really-I hate paper work.But I will start it tomorrow.

Ive got all the dates to sort out for next year for the classes, have got my dates for some of the craft fairs sorted, and the talks and demos are done.

I am going to work on some new paintings this week ready for the students that have already got a few paintings under their belts and are ready for some new techniques.

I have to take out some more invites tomorrow for the private viewing and got a few people to chase up-looks like Im in for a busy week.