Little Artists.....age 2 and 4

We have had our little granddaughters Hollie and Lucie staying with us since Thursday--- and I  had promised them they would be painting a picture with me to take home to their other nanny for her new house..

Little Lucie is just 2 years old bless her...but had great control on the big brush  I gave her,,,some bright blue sky with some bashed on clouds together  with some green background for the poppies was soon done..

Hollie being 2 years older had a bit more control over the brushes,,and decided that she she didn't want poppies in the sky as Lucie had done!  But as I explained to Hollie afterwards---the poppies would look like they were in the sky when you are as tiny as  Lucie is--looking up at them from her angle would look like they were in the sky!

Lucie looking very proud of her finished painting..she will grow into her apron as time goes by bless her

Hollie with her finished painting-lovely job Hollie!

Beautiful paintings girls!

Grasses Workshop Oct 29th

Everyone gathers around to watch each step...we are working in acrylic today so we have to work fairly quickly...the paint dries very quickly and to get it to blend easily you have to work wet into wet.

everyone is hard at it--its always amazing to see just how different everyone tackles the subject at each stage..

Karen has been just once before,,,and travels all the  way from Mansfield..today she bought along her mum as well..

Irene travels a fair way too..from Stoke On Trent but comes on the day before and stays overnight ...she made a lovely job of her picture...

Ron was painting for the 3rd time with me...

Sandra was a bit nervous--understandably so as it was her first time painting....but she soon realised there was no need to worry..she blended well in her sky and sea...

I loved Karen's dramatic sky...and he tree suited the painting well--it looked like it had been stood there in the wind for years--

Lyndsey received her artist brooch today for attending 6 workshops...

you would never believe that this was Jenny's first painting! We met on Wednesday at the market when Jenny said she had found my website but she was a bit scared to book up--after we had a chat she booked up for today's workshop and she really enjoyed herself..we will see her again soon...

We had some lovely results today--I showed the students a lot of variations that they could use in their paintings..from trees to poppies and daisies -we covered everything...we had lots of laughs-- and several sessions of everyone holding their breath when doing the trees ! All in  all a great days painting...

West Shropshire Flower Club Demo

We had a busy day yesterday..on the market until 4pm then home to sort out everything ready for the evenings demo for West Shropshire Flower Club...we had a longish journey to Yockelton and arrived there at 7pm and was set up ready to start at 8pm.  There was a good turn out of ladies there..all very interested in what I was doing and having a good look at the paintings and photos I had on display.   The time as always flew by and I had the paintings completed in the hour as usual! Afterwards we had time to chat and answer questions with the ladies.My greetings cards proved VERY popular and I have sold out of loads of the designs again...we arrived home at 11pm completly knackered and ready for bed after a nice hot mug of chocolate!

 

Sue and Liz won the paintings....

Ollie---Growing Up Fast

We called by to see our little Ollie when we got back from the hospital today---took him a few toys around to play with that I had picked up at various boots sales etc..Ive had some lovely bargains--and they are soon cleaned up with anti-bacterial cleaners to make sure they are safe for him! He loved this toy that makes various car noises..

and the Bob The Builder phone too...

he looks like butter wouldnt melt here bless him!

Think he is telling Grandad a secret here..

I could munch him to pieces!!!

isnt he cute?

Busy Week Ahead...Bits And Pieces...

We are on the market tomorrow -I hope the rain has stopped by the time we go down in the morning..We will finish a bit earlier than usual because I have another demo tomorrow night at Yockleton which is quite  a way from home.One of my students Caroline has organised it for the Flower Club..should be a busy evening as there are quite a lot of members..but it will be a long day for me!
I managed to drop another 2.5 mg of my steroids in the past week with no ill effects as well which is VERY good as its recommended that you choose a quiet period in your life in which to do to minimise the effects of taking less.
LOL ...Its turning out to be one of the busiest weeks Ive had  for ages....on Thursday I have got our 2 little granddaughters Hollie and Lucie coming from Sunderland to stay until Sunday with their mum and dad so Ive been busy getting their bedroom sorted out--it was full of the Christmas pressies Ive been getting throughout the year,,,so they Ave all been sorted out into the various Christmas  sacks for all the grandchildren, children, friends, family etc ready to wrap ! It also means I know what I have already bought for everyone now as I found loads of stuff I had forgotten about!
So it will be a busy few day with the girls, have found their favorite games and will be having a look through the Wii games to see what we will be playing--am quite looking forward to that now I'm feeling so much better than I was! I have a workshop on Saturday as well so it will be a tiring time for us all...but its been months since we have seen them and cant wait to see how much they have grown!
Then Sunday we are off for a short break--we need it after the busy times...we are off to Warwick to stay at a pub/inn for 2 nights to refresh our batteries,,another KGB deal that was too much of a bargain to resist! I will cut back on the steroids by another 2,5mg on Sunday morning before we go and fingers crossed will drop with no more side effects...the quicker I can get down to 10 mg the better! My diabetic count is getting better as the steroids come down so again,,,fingers crossed I can get down quickly!
We had a visit to Bills diabetic specialist at Shrewsbury hospital this morning and he has had the news we have been expecting for a while--he will have to start a small dose of insulin as well as the other injection he has daily along with various tablets, looks like his pancreas has stopped producing insulin altogether..he has been on insulin before when he had his heart attack so he knows what to expect with it...

Alveley Ladies Guild Demo

We were at Alveley Ladies Guild last night to give a Painting My Way Demo...it wasn't the biggest audience Ive ever had but that didn't make it any less fun to do ! It was a lovely cosy room and I was able to set up my paintings around the room and the smaller ones on the table by me..

The Summer Day painting is always a popular one with people..

I did the 2 paintings in an hours as usual....lots of interesting questions from the ladies while I was painting as well...

Lynn won the Summer Day painting and Beryl The Waterfall..I hope they managed to get them out to the cars OK without getting them wet!  It was pouring down when we left...called at a great chippy in Bridgnorth called the Seagull on the way home---the fish and chips were to die for!

Stormy Poppies Workshop Oct 22nd--results!

We met Ebony and her mum at Burwarton show earlier this year...it was Ebony's 7th birthday yesterday and Mum booked her in as a surprise ---she didn't know until this morning what she was going to be doing-and she was chuffed to bits to find she was coming to paint with me!

Lin hasn't painted before but has done creative things like making cakes and icing them--even down to making the flowers from icing for the decorations..so she has some creative flaire to start with....

Pearl making great progress...first time for her with oils..

Svana made a beautiful job of her painting...she used the bashing and tickling brushes with ease..

Kay is making a start on her grasses here...a mix of light and dark ones before we get to the poppies....

Wow Ann...you are making a lovely job of those poppies..

Laura came along for the first time with her aunty Elaine-who we met recently on the market...they were both astounded at their results and how different they turned out to each others...

Elaine decided not to add poppies to her painting--but to just emphasise the grasses instead....and it worked well..

hard at it..

hardest part--the signing of the paintings!

Lovely work from everyone....

some great stormy skies and poppies!

Ebony's mum wanted to get some pics of everyone's results as well...I'm sure we will be seeing everyone again for some more painting workshops!

Some very happy artists!

Back Home!

Well we are home and unpacked and Jeannie has been returned to her home after looking after all the livestock and the house for us...one little extra that we bought home with us was this lovely little artist bear, I found him in a charity shop for just £1....he will sit along with all the other artist bits and pieces I collect!

The scenery has been just stunning--Wales is hard to beat on that score...I forgot to take the camera with me yesterday and I missed out on loads of beautiful photos---but never mind-we will be going back soon and will make sure I have it with me at all times LOL..

We stopped in Rhayader on the way home today for some lunch...we found a quaint pub called The Eagles Inn...

it was  choc a bloc with all sorts of interesting things..

the specials board had some interesting things on it as well--we opted for lambs liver peas and chips though--and very good it was too...will leave the crocodile for the more adventurous!

it was lovely to watch the red kite start to circle overhead as they wait for the feeding to start at the nearby farm...we went there to watch them being fed last year and it really is worth going to see for yourself....

the sky was looking quite stormy...and dramatic

we are painting Stormy Skies tomorrow in class--cant wait--its one of my favorite ones!