Tommy

I cant believe that our little Tommy is nearly 2 years old..where has the time gone to? He is a darling little chap--as good as gold-always happy and smiling he is bless him!

he hasn't quite got the hang of the car yet and still only goes backwards!

we had great fun out on his patio-he loves playing in the stones! And when I tipped the bit of water out of his car after the rain he was in his element! Boys just love getting dirty don't they?

He has been on holiday all week and Becki bought him round to see us this afternoon--he loves Grandad Bill and loves playing 'high-five' with him! We couldn't get over how much he has grown in such a short time....

love those eyes!

happy chap

his mummy says he has to have a hair cut soon--all those lovely curls --but I'm sure they will come back!

Jake

As you can see Jake has settled in very well with us.

He really is a laugh a minute-the sounds he does are crazy--fire engines,telephones etc.

He whistles the Mc Donalds theme tune perfectly.

When he coughs and sneezes its so realistic its unreal. He does a real smokers cough!!

He says lots of things too-''get down Jake'' ''good boy Jake'' and all sorts of thing.

At the moment he doesn't say much when we are in the room but as soon as we go out into the hall or kitchen he starts off. Yesterday we were stood in the hall listening to him, Bill started laughing and immediately Jake copied his laugh perfectly-its a bit spooky when you hear it.

Paddy is a bit miffed that Jake can produce so many sounds-maybe he will learn some of the things from him!

Its going to be a long job introducing them to each other--it has to be done very slowly so they dont get stressed.

At the moment they are at different ends of the sofa in their cages so they can both see each other but at a safe distance.

I think life is going to non stop fun with this new addition!!

Birthday

I had a lovely birthday yesterday, I received lots of lovely cards (and emails) and pressies from family and friends.
Bill bought me some Armani Code perfume and I also had a lovely surprise when I opened the front door to find a beautiful bouquet being delivered from him too, they are absolutely beautiful.
I had more lovely flowers off my sister and daughter too, so have run out of vases now!
I have been thoroughly spoiled by everyone.!!!
Bill cooked a delicious meal in the evening for us to round off the perfect day!

class for May 31st--Spirit Of The Falls

A very mystical painting--"Spirit of the Falls" is painted onto a black background which makes it a great painting for first timers and more experienced artists.
The waterfall paintings have been some of the most popular ones to date.
Please get in touch via the website if you would like to join the class.
www.paintingmyway.co.uk
Check out my 'snaps' pages on my site to see all my happy students with their paintings---you will see that many of my students come back time after time--my classes get booked up very quickly and I have a waiting list for some subjects.
The classes are very friendly,laid back and informative at the same time- great fun and a beautiful painting to take home as well!
Take a look at my Guest book on the website to see what the students have to say about the classes!
I have kept my prices the same for the past 4 years--£35 which includes all materials used in class. We paint on a high quality box canvas which does not need framing-although if you wish to do so we supply a lovely frame to match your painting for just £12. Great Value!

Latest class places

The phone has gone mad today with people booking classes--it looks like I may have to start doing classes on a Sunday as well as a Saturday-just to fit everyone in!
The latest are
Feb 16th---Oriental Dawn--full
Feb 23rd--private encaustic party
March 1st--Snowy Reflections--Full +1
March 8th --African Dream --full +1
March 15th --Summer Day --Full
March 22nd --Winter Wonderland --4 places left--this class is Easter Weekend
March 29th--Birch Tree Walk--2 places left
April 5th --Eternal Dawn--Full
April 15th --Advanced Class-for students who have been to me at least 5 times before
April 19th--Stormy Skies--1 place left
May 3rd--Emerald Woods--2 places left
for more details and pictures of the class subjects please check out ''classes'' on
www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Results from Jan 12th Advanced Class

We had a very interesting day yesterday doing the advanced class.

Sharleen and Hayely were unable to make it unfortunately, but Jack,Carole, Yvonne and Jan came and as you can see we had some fantastic results. Four totaly different painting!

Jack had a copyright free book of photos from the SAA(Society for all Artists) which he bought along to show us--brilliant for giving some inspiration on what to paint--I will be ordering a copy for myself tomorrow.

He had scanned and printed his and Yvonnes choice of subject and bought them along.

Jan bought along a picture her hubby John had taken on the Welsh coast, down by St Davids.

Carole had a birthday card that had given her some ideas for a floral painting.

This was the first time for everyone--The idea was to give the student the confidence to paint on their own at home with out me !!

They had to do everything for themselves--with my supervision.

I had already prepared some work sheets , printed and laminated them for them to use both during the class and at home.

To start they had to prepare the undercoat that we use to coat the canvas--some old yogurt pots came in useful for this--everyone agreed it was easy enough to do--so that was the first scary thing out of the way.

Jack had decided that his choice of painting needed a canvas in both black and white--after a few tips he was soon done.

Everyone was a bit apprehensive about things for a while--they had to decide on the best brushes for the job, help them selves to paint--everything as if I wasn't there!

It was great to see everyone thinking for them selves and making decisions.

I was able to correct some small things that happened- but everyone agreed it was a very useful day,everyone learnt a lot and it has given them all the confidence to start painting at home.They all know they can ring me ANY time and I will help them.All in all a great day.

We took Carole back to Leominster did a bit of shopping and then finished the day off with Jan and her hubby John up the road at The Squirrel.

We all had a steak and some wine, the time just flew by we arrived at 5pm and in no time it was 9pm--where did the time go to?

A thoroughly great night--thanks both!

Get A Wobble On

This is the latest in my ''manic series''

It measures 16in x 20in and is very intricate! Some of the lines are not straight-hence the title!

The sides have been left black.

The cost includingP+P to UK is £100 if you are outside the Uk please get in touch

ALL MY WORK IS LOGGED AT http://www.protectmywork.com/

Nice To Be Appreciated

I have hd some lovely surprises over the past few days-on Saturday Carol presented me with this beautiful arrangment that she had made as a thank you gift for me, its really beautiful and is sented with rose oil so my room is filled with the most beautiful scent all the time.

I had a letter from Jan (Mrs Subtle!!!) who attended the class at Hadnall a couple of weeks ago thanking me for a great time and booking herself and her daughter in law in for the Tropical summer day class on the 10th Nov.

This morning I had a lovely letter from Alice who I met on Saturday at Onslow Park. She was a very keen student and created a beautiful encaustic painting.Her dad came back first thing on Sunday morning to buy an encaustic set for her as she was so excited by the experience.

Unfortunatly I had sold out of everything except for my demonstration set and a pack of card, I managed to make up a box of waxes out of my own and we eventualy managed to make up a set for Alice to start creating at home. Its so nice when youngsters take the time to say thank you. I will be writing back to Alice and enclosing a few more encaustic cards for her to frame and hang on her wall!!

Next Job

The next job is to sort out the dining room-lots of stuff has been dumped in there from the kitchen--we are sorting it out bit by bit--Freecycle is great-the double glazing is going to a new home in the morning, and my daughters old bike has gone to a new home instead of going to the tip.
Bill has knocked out the old dining room door and is going to plaster board it tomorrow, then it will be cleared ready to tile the floor.

New Class Saturday 20th Oct

''Mystical Forrest'' is the subject for Saturday 20th Oct.

It is suitable for both beginners and experienced artists alike.

PLease get in touch to book through the website

www.paintingmyway.co.uk

BBQ

Well after a morning mooching at the car boot sale, we decided to hold a family bbq, so we rushed off to the supermarket to stock up with steak and burgers, I have made some of my celery,nut, apple and sultana colslaw and Bill has made his own colslaw cos he dont like celery!
I have also made a delicious mango and tomato sweet chilli salsa to go with it all--I think the diet has gone out of the window this weekend somehow-but you have to make the most of this weather!!
Off now to prepare some more food!