Massive Sale!

I have got round to putting some of the paintings onto the new sale page on the www.paintingmyway.co.uk
website---there are lots of bargains to be had-prices starting at just £45.
Encaustic, acrylics and oils-landscapes and abstracts
www.paintingmyway.co.uk/a1-gallery2.asp?roomID=2201

Hospital

Im off to hospital this morning for my op-hopefully I will be home tonight--many thanks for all the messages from everyone--
see you all soon x

Sale

While sorting out paintings etc to take to the Shobdon Food and Drink Festival, I found I had a few paintings that had been hanging around for a while.
So I have decided to have a sale and will be creating a new Sale gallery on my websites www.paintingmyway.co.uk and www.dianetheartist.com
I will try and load the paintings on there tomorrow-as Im off to hospital for my op on Wednesday-not sure how soon I will be able to get back to normal after so will and get most everything done that I can tomorrow and be able to relax after the op.
Prices will be better than half price and starting at around £50
Have a look and see if there is anything you like and grab yourself a bargain!
Everything from seascapes to abstracts will be on there!

Sam and Anna-Encaustic Stars!

I wasn't able to get photos of all the kids today having a go at the encaustic art--Bill went off with the camera several times to get some pics of things!
However I did get these two--Anna used a pretty combination of purple and green--she had lots of interesting things going on in her painting-including a lizard and a tiny bird!

Then along came Sam-who had been last year as well--he soon created a lovely caterpillar using the special electric tool--he concentrated hard bless him-it was finished off with a lovely silver moon!
Its lovely to meet up with the children year after year--this was our 6th Shobdon Festival--and we have met some of our closest friends there over the years--

Zac-Enacaustic Star!

It was lovely to meet up with Zac again after a whole year! Zac has had a go at the encaustic art for the past 3 years--he is now 8 years old-hard to believe he was just 5 when we first met him.When asked what colours he wanted to use he replied"My usual red and yellow!"
He created a beautiful picture in no time at all--and then his sister Emily had a go using shades of blues and reds.
She created a lovely scene with lots of distance in it-a cave with a path leading off into the distance.

----its become a tradition at Shobdon that Bill brings one of his Christmas cakes for all the traders to enjoy--and this year when it was cut-the smell of alcohol was quite strong ;-) --to say it went down a treat was an understatement--one of the new traders came round after and gave Bill her card and asked if he would email her the recipe-as she had never tasted cake as good as that!
All in all a great day was had by everyone--we met up with old friends and met some new ones!
Looking forward to tomorrow which will proberly be a bit quieter due to the world cup!

Cumbrian Heavy Horse Riding School

We had a lovely suprise the other morning when a beautiful calender dropped through the letter box-it featured some of the lovely horses from the Cumbrian Heavy Horse Riding School.
It had been sent from Wendy who works there.
We met Wendy at Ludlow market a couple of weeks ago--she loved the Summer Day painting--she rang up and booked the Oct class and asked if it would be possible to paint in some hoof prints on the beach-as they do beach rides with the horses!
It wont be hard to do that-and I will incorprate some hoofprints on the next Summer Day painting I do.
The website is http://www.cumbrianheavyhorses.com
Its a bit of a coincidence meeting Wendy-we had come across the website a few months ago and both said how nice it would be to go and ride these beautiful horses on the beach--we may find ourselves heading that way next year-and who knows what will happen then!

Hospital, Shobdon, and Everything Else!

Well after being told on Wednesday that my operation had been cancelled I received a letter marked 'urgent' today from the hospital telling me the op is to go ahead as planned! So I will be out of action for a few days recovering but am expecting to be able to hold the Poppy Field class on July 10th as normal.
If its any different I will contact everyone booked and let them know!

We had a lovely day at Shobdon today--its always lovely there-and because its quiet we can catch up with news from our friends there.
Our friend Elaine--alias 'Jones the Bead' always asks to be put next to us so we can have a laugh and natter over the weekend.
We have supported the event from day one 6 years ago and made friends with Elaine then--she is such a lovely person--she went round the food marquee today and came back with some beautiful fruit cookies!
I tryed to catch her with the camera having a munch!
Elaine makes the most beautiful beaded things-and always has something new to display-she is very talented and has more patience than anyone I know with those tiny little beads!

Last year at Shobdon we were fortunate to meet someone else who was to become a special friend--Lin.
I cant believe that its only a year since we met--it seems like we have known each other for ever!
Lin makes the greetings cards from my paintings-they are sooo popular-she has a great eye-and crops the photos of my pictures to create the cards.She knew I was getting down on my stock of cards so she sent along another 90 with her friend this morning to sell over the weekend!
We cant wait to meet Lin again tomorrow and catch up with everything.
Lin will be taking photos of my new paintings to turn into cards--and I know that the bluebell woods one will be used as one for a start!
I got some lovely snaps of the pool at Shobdon again--I will be using the images as a new class subject and I have logged the photos on www.protectmywork.com
The scene looks quite tropical, the water is covered in duckweed which makes it look completly green!

Shobdon Flower Food and Drink Festival

Well its been a mixed week--I had a call from Hereford Hospital yesterday saying that unfortunately they have had to cancel my planned operation next Wednesday--the surgeon also deals with breast cancer patients and to be fair she did say if she had an emergency cancer case my op would be cancelled. So I'm back waiting for a date.

Bunty the van is now fully kitted out all through with shelves for everything--plenty of room for paintings, easels, paints-and more! The stands fit nicely inside the back doors, along with the tables-making unloading easy.We have our little artist bear Bob sitting in the van window!

I love watching the transformation when we get to the various venues--we walk into the marquee to a bare white space-and quickly transform it to a black backdrop on which to display the paintings.
Its going to be very hot in there over the next three days--we are taking the electric fan with us to keep cool!
I will be painting while there-I have a couple of exhibitions coming up so want to try and get the basics done while there.I can finish them off at home when I have less distractions!
Shobdon is one of our favorite shows that we do-its always friendly and we have a great laugh with the other exhibitors.
There is at least one painting to string and one to restring--we laughed when we realised I had painted one painting without checking which way Bill had strung it---upside down pooies look odd when hanging on the stand!

At least now we shouldnt be forgetting to take anything--Bunty is well loaded up with everything bar the kitchen sink-though we do have a cooker in there for bacon butties if we feel the need!

Happy 70th Birthday Jeannie

We had a lovely time today at our friend Jeannie's 70th birthday party.
Jeannie comes to stay and look after all our pets when we go away.
20 of us went for Sunday lunch at The Down, nr Bridgnorth. It was fabulous-couldnt fault it at all!
Jeannie is one of the nicest people you could wish to meet-a heart of gold bless her.

Kaitlins Winter Wonderland

Kaitlin was painting her 7th picture today--she made a beautiful job of it.
She had her 10th birthday last week!
Kaitlin and her mum Yan were also entertained by Jake the parrot who enjoyed playing peep-po with Kaitlin behind the door, and chattered away all the time they were here.
Kaitlin also saw her very first woodpecker when he flew into the garden and landed on the post.
They also loved watching the koi in the pond and couldnt get over just how big they were.
All in all an enjoyable time was had by all!

Poppy Field--WOW

We passed this field of poppies at Bewdley on Tuesday when we went to see the van for the first time.
It was really sunny then and it really glowed--unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me to get any pictures.
It was raining tonight when we went to fetch the van-but the poppies were still a picture!
I will be using the photos to develop a new painting for classes and I have the photo copyrighted.

Meet 'Bunty'

Well we have finally got the van for "Painting My Way".
Meet 'Bunty' she got her name from the letters in her registration number!
She will make life a lot easier for us-loads of room in there for all the easels, paintings and everything else we need for the classes and craft fairs.
Next step is getting the sign writing done--have got some ideas for how it will look, but have to get it worked out properly now we have her here!

Class of June 12th "Serenity"

We had 6 in class today-Elaine, Gary and Sally couldnt come because of illness.
We had three generations of one family-Sam , her Mum Shirley and Sams nephew Will.
Sam recieved her artist brooch for achieving her 6th painting with me-while Will and Shirley were having their 2nd class.
Shirley also bought along her friend Sue who had never painted before .
Then we had Caroline and her Mum Mary-who were both first timers.It was a pressie for Marys birthday!
AS usual with this class there was a choice of colours to use-and we had a mix of blue, green and dusky lilac.Everyone was amazed at just how quickly the paintings came along-within an hour we had some lovely skies, water and some distant trees.
We stopped at 12pm as usual for lunch--the cafe at the centre takes our orders in the morning and has them ready for us-the ham and salad baguettes are stuffed full and are only £1.75 so are a popular choice for students!
The time flew by and although 3 of them were painting for the first time you would never have known it!
There were a few laughs when I explained about the tickling brush, the bush brush and the bashing brush, but it all made sense when it came to using them.
Will managed to get covered in paint several times today and gave the babywipes a bashing-and his Nan had several coloured streaks in her hair by the end of the class!
I dont know how we would manage without babywipes-they are amazing at getting paint off all surfaces!
The time seemed to fly by,everyone created some beautiful paintings-and we are going to see everyone again.

Latest Commission

Ive completed my latest commission for Alan-he wanted a version of Winter Wonderland.
It will take a couple of weeks to dry enough to frame and send up to Scotland where he lives.
I have posted the step by step stages on Facebook and he really enjoyed seeing it progress in stages.

Having Kids

FOLLOW THESE 14 SIMPLE TESTS BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO HAVE CHILDREN.

Test 1 - Preparation

Women: To prepare for pregnancy:-
1. Put on a dressing gown and stick a beanbag down the front.
2. Leave it there.
3. After 9 months remove 5% of the beans.

Men: To prepare for children:-
1. Go to a local chemist, tip the contents of your wallet onto the counter and tell the pharmacist to help himself
2. Go to the supermarket. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home. Pick up the newspaper and read it for the last time.

Test 2 - Knowledge

Find a couple who are already parents and berate them about their methods of discipline, lack of patience, appallingly low tolerance levels and how they have allowed their children to run wild. Suggest ways in which
they might improve their child's sleeping habits, toilet training, table manners and overall behavior.

Enjoy it. It will be the last time in your life that you will have all the answers.


Test 3 - Nights

To discover how the nights will feel:

1. Walk around the living room from 5pm to 10pm carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 4 - 6kg, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
2. At 10pm, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 11pm and walk the bag around the living room until 1am.
4. Set the alarm for 3am.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2am and make a cup of tea.
6. Go to bed at 2.45am.
7. Get up again at 3am when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs in the dark until 4am.
9. Put the alarm on for 5am. Get up when it goes off.
10. Make breakfast.


Keep this up for 5 years. LOOK CHEERFUL.

Test 4 - Dressing Small Children

1. Buy a live octopus and a string bag.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the string bag so that no arms hang out.

Time Allowed: 5 minutes.

Test 5 - Cars

1. Forget the BMW. Buy a practical 5-door wagon.
2. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
3. Get a coin. Insert it into the CD player.
4. Take a box of chocolate biscuits; mash them into the back seat.
5. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Test 6 - Going For a Walk

Wait
Go out the front door
Come back in again
Go out
Come back in again
Go out again
Walk down the front path
Walk back up it
Walk down it again
Walk very slowly down the road for five minutes.
Stop, inspect minutely and ask at least 6 questions about every piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue and dead insect along the way.
Retrace your steps
Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbours come out and stare at you.
Give up and go back into the house.

You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.


Test 7

Repeat everything you say at least 5 times.

Test 8 - Grocery Shopping

1. Go to the local supermarket. Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a pre-school child - a fully grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat.
2. Buy your weekly groceries without letting the goat(s) out of your sight.
3. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys.

Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Test 9 - Feeding a 1 year-old

1. Hollow out a melon
2. Make a small hole in the side
3. Suspend the melon from the ceiling and swing it side to side
4. Now get a bowl of soggy cornflakes and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon while pretending to be an aeroplane.
5. Continue until half the cornflakes are gone.
6. Tip the rest into your lap, making sure that a lot of it falls on the floor.

Test 10 - TV

1. Learn the names of every character from the Wiggles, Barney, Teletubbies and Disney.
2. Watch nothing else on television for at least 5 years.

Test 11 - Mess

Can you stand the mess children make? To find out:

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains
2. Hide a fish behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flowerbeds and then rub them on clean walls. Cover the stains with crayon. How does that look?
4. Empty every drawer/cupboard/storage box in your house onto the floor & leave it there.

Test 12 - Long Trips with Toddlers

1. Make a recording of someone shouting 'Mummy' repeatedly. Important Notes: No more than a 4 second delay between each Mummy. Include occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet.
2. Play this tape in your car, everywhere you go for the next 4 years.

You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Test 13 - Conversations

1. Start talking to an adult of your choice.
2. Have someone else continually tug on your shirt hem or shirt sleeve while playing the Mummy tape listed above.

You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Test 14 - Getting ready for work

1. Pick a day on which you have an important meeting.
2. Put on your finest work attire.
3. Take a cup of cream and put 1 cup of lemon juice in it
4. Stir
5. Dump half of it on your nice silk shirt
6. Saturate a towel with the other half of the mixture
7. Attempt to clean your shirt with the same saturated towel
8. Do not change (you have no time).
9. Go directly to work

You are now ready to have children. ENJOY!!

Expanding!

We have decided that its time to expand a little more with Painting My Way and we are now looking for a large van to carry the ever increasing amount of paintings,easels and stands etc that we carry to the various craft fairs and shows.
The car we have at the moment is a bit of as tardis and carries a huge amount of stuff when required--but its just not quite big enough any more!
It will also be nice not to have to take the back seats in and out all the time as well!
So we are looking for a large Transit/Renault or something like it that can be sign written -my son knows someone who does all that-the chap does his rally car signwriting for him--I'm getting quite excited looking at all the different options and weighing them up.
I hope it wont be too long til we find what we want!

Todays Class "Grasses"

We had a lovely day today--just Karen, Mercedes and Sara. Karen was with me for the 6th time and received her artist brooch from me!
Mercedes and Sara have been once before and painted Summer Day using oils, today's class was completely different as we used acrylics.
Karen has got more self confident in each class and today she decided that she would use orange instead of the yellow-and it worked well.
It gave a completely different feel to the finished painting.
We were kept entertained by Jake the parrot who was out on the patio-he was non-stop talking,whistling and laughing.
The time seemed to fly by- and before we knew it we were finished.
Lovely results again--all different-and when they are varnished tomorrow they will become even more vibrant.
Im looking forward to seeing everyone again!

WOW !

I had a phone call yesterday from Barbra who owns a shop in Ludlow.
The tenants have moved on to a larger premises and the shop is up for let again.
Barbra asked if I wanted to put some paintings in the empty shop until new tenants could be found!
So today we went down with a load of paintings and some posters about the classes and got it all set up.
The shop is in a prime position on the Bullring, just a few yards from the most photographed hotel in the UK--The Feathers Hotel-a beautiful black and white building.
It was amazing just how many people were looking at the windows when we setting up-so hopefully we will get some sales/ students from it.
The shop has 3 windows on 2 sides so great for display purposes.
It was lovely of Barbra to think of us and offer this opportunity.

Grasses class -June 5th--acrylic-places left

There are still some places left in this Saturdays class-we will be using acrylic paint on a chunky 12in x 24in box canvas.
The painting will be dry to take home as the acrylic paint drys very quickly.
It is suitable for all ages and abilities including first timers.

For more details please contact me via the website
www.paintingmyway.co.uk