Medieval Fair Ludlow and more.......

Well the weather was vile last weekend but it didn't stop the people attending the Medieval Fair in Ludlow..Wind and rain--we had it all! But we had plenty of waterproof sheets around the outside of the stall and it was quite cosy inside..

Don't think Bill wanted his photo took LOL...we were non-stop all weekend with customers--lots of folk down from The Wirrel,, lovely chatting with them-one of my favourite accents! The wind was gusting really bad on the Sunday so we packed up earlier than we would have normally-stuff was blowing around and it could have been dangerous...we had all the sheets to get dry ready for Wednesdays market...

It was quieter on the Wednesday market after the weekend, the Christmas shopping rush just didn't happen!!! However Bill did spot these beautiful lilies (My Favourite) on Farmers stall next door--I had to cut them right down as they were 4 ft tall!

I have been raising money for the past few months for the O'Connor ward at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital where my son Jim has been treated for Hodgkin's Lymphoma for nearly 12 months now..I was able to buy these 2 Dyson Fans to donate to the ward this week, after getting them at a better price for Black Friday! £50 off so £180 each--I was well chuffed. The patients will be pleased with them, as the chemo makes you very hot and sweaty sometimes, and there isn't enough fans to go round--these are ideal because there isn't any noise or a blade to hurt anyone..I will be dropping them off at the hospital next Tuesday..

Jim will be going into the QE hospital ,Birmingham next Thursday to have his stem cell treatment which hopefully will put him into remission....they have harvested his own cells to use, but they have also found a perfect match donor if they need one..The treatment will be really harsh-he will have 5 days very intensive chemo to wipe out every cell before giving him back his own stem cells which hopefully will grow into healthy cells and make him better..he will have to stay in until his white cells are high enough to help him fight any infections ...fingers crossed he will be out for Christmas but if not Christmas will go to him in hospital!

''Into The Light'' Workshop

A lovely new subject for last Saturdays workshop. Using acrylic paint is shades of purples and blues--(the purples are not showing up at all in the photos for some reason ..) we soon had a really atmospheric background.. 9 of the ladies had come as a group for an early Christmas Treat, and bought along a few bottles of wine to enjoy which helped with the nerves a little! They all had lifts home so they could enjoy it!

Chris's background is looking great here ..

enjoying lunch!

more trees going in for Jackie...

One or two ladies wanted to add some snow to the paths...

Jan's painting is really taking shape now..

I love how everyone finds their own style so quickly-- some really lovely  results!

well done ladies..

its such a shame you cant see the detail of the twinkling stars  and the snowflakes floating down...it certainly isn't one of the easiest subjects I teach, but well worth the effort!

Serenity Workshop Nov 22nd

Sorry about the delay in updating the blog--life has got in the way! Its been pretty hectic in one way and another-combined with me having a big flareup with my illness..pretty much back to normal now thanks goodness! We had a lovely time in the Serenity workshop in November...Cathy -above came from London the first time last year to paint with me--but has now moved quite near--She loves purple--so naturally chose the lovely dusky mauve as her colour!

Ruth has been once before with her Mum Beverly, they both chose to use shades of blue and purple for their painting--it worked really well...so well in fact that I did one myself in the same shades the following day on the market! It will be an option in future-along with the green,grey and dusky mauve.

Beverly making a start on her snowy path,,

Jerry was booked in as a pressie from his daughter who has been once before..he really enjoyed himself..

Carol used the lovely soft green for her painting--

Loved the grey version...Alison seemed to find it very easy!

Sheila was convinced that she wouldn't  be able paint anything worthwhile after being told at school that she wasn't artistic...she got quite emotional as the day went on and her beautiful painting progressed.. I feel so privileged to be able to give people the feeling of achievement that they get when they come to a workshop...

all hard at it!

Stacey adding the finishing touches

Hazel is a bit blurry--but the painting is just great!

The last bit of snow really adds a big difference..and the final touch of subtle glitter on the snow really makes a lovely touch..

Grrrrr too much sun on the paintings-- what a shame!

Beautiful results!

well done everyone!

Emerald Woods Workshop

Ollie age 11 came along with his Mum Chelley for the first time..they had seen some friends work who had been to my workshops before and fancied having a go! Right from the start Ollie developed his own unique style--and his painting quickly took shape..I loved his conifer trees-very bold- and the pink foxgloves are just beautiful--well done Oliver!

his mum Chelley wasn't quite as bold as Ollie, in fact she was reluctant to put any extra trees into her painting! We persuaded her to add a few more..

Trish had been to a workshop 3 years ago with daughter Hannah who was just 7 at the time..this time she bought along her friend Janet as a surprise  for her 50th birthday as well as Hannah. Janet came down from Stockport, Manchester the day before and had to leave for home right after the class..she left her painting with Trish but had lots of pictures on her phone to take home and show everyone..her hubby didn't believe she had done it when she showed him!

Janet knew nothing about it until they pulled up outside the room so she didn't really have time to feel nervous....she got stuck in to it and was surprised at how easy it was...

Hannah managed to create a double pond without trying--and boy it worked really well!  Like Ollie she soon had her own style of trees going very early on!

Its been lovely watching Jackie develop her own style in the workshops and outside of them too--we are friends on facebook and she has been painting some beautiful pictures at home--quite different to what we have done in class...she is coming on in leaps and bounds!

Anne is another student who has come on in leaps and bounds--it does seem to become addictive this painting lark!

all hard at it...

engrossed in what they are doing...

we had lots of photos being taken through the class--all lovely memories for everyone there!

all so very different--

can you believe they are first time artists? Well done Ollie and Chelley!

Janet added some foxgloves to her painting just to add a touch of colour to the otherwise monochrome painting.Hannah went for the mystical, magical feel with the blues and purples..Trish made a great job of her painting,lovely bold trees and a great shaped pond too--the pond can be a difficult thing to get right!

This shows the difference colour can make to a painting--Anne went for the autumn colours of yellow ochre and browns, and Jackie for the fantasy look-- love both of them--Jackie is going to add some silver dragonflies and fairies when its dry!

Medieval Fair

Well what a day we had on Sunday at the medieval fair...we were up at 5.30am which was a bit of a killer--I'm not a morning person at the best of times...but it was well worth it--we were down the market and set up by 9am,,The extra layers we had on were really needed as it was bloody freezing!

We had lots of paintings out on display and the miniatures just flew off the stall all day long-thank goodness my delivery of new blank ones came today--I will have to work hard to get some more done and dried for next weeks Sunday market..Back on the market tomorrow shame it wont be as busy as the weekend! .

Medieval Fair Ludlow

Its nearly that time of year again---the Medieval Fair in town! We will be on the market on the Sunday in our usual place...

We have great fun-everyone gets dressed up in their finery..

Ive been busy getting lots of my mini canvas done ready-though sold lots of them today, so got to try and do some more before the weekend!

We will be making our stall into a walk-in one as usual--its very warm and cosy and nice for folk to come in and chat...I have some nice new work to hang on the sides of the stall too...really looking forward to it--the weather forecast is for dry and cold so should be a good day! If you are in the area call by and say hello!

Business and Pleasure...

Ive had a lovely week--my daughter was called for jury service so I had little Tommy for 2 whole days! He was as good as gold-as usual...but it was so nice to be able to pick him up and carry him around-even up and down the stairs when I needed to! The turmeric is still working its magic on me and I have no pain at all , cant wait to see the specialist later this month and tell him how well I am!  Tommy loved feeding the koi carp in the pond--its amazing that they are still feeding-they have usually stopped by now--but then again it hasn't been that cold yet so maybe when the nights get colder they will start hibernating in the bottom of the pond!

He enjoyed his pasta dinner--looks like he is wearing most of it here!

could munch him!

The little miniatures are selling well at the moment--they make lovely little pressies!

had lots of lovely comments about my latest painting ''Lest We Forget''..

We have plenty of room to put out lots of paintings! We are looking forward to the Medieval Fair in Ludlow on the 24th Nov--we always have a lot of fun dressing up for it! We are off this weekend to The Art Show at the NEC--got 2 day tickets so we can go round it at leisure , and have booked into a lovely posh hotel overnight on Saturday nearby..so that will be a lovely end to a lovely week for us!