"Pucking Fuzzled"

This is the latest in my "manic " series.
The title was suggested by the guy who commissioned the painting,he thought the whole series of painting titles was hilarious (Mucking Fuddled/Get A Wobble On -etc )and came up with "Pucking Fuzzled" for his painting.

I encourage people to think of a personal title for the painting when they have commissioned it--it adds a personal touch when the painting is for a present.
The title of the last "summer day" commission includes the name of the puppy owned by the gentleman who the painting is for.

I have had a very enjoyeable day doing the Pucking Fuzzled pic-starting early this morning -having a break in between and finishing it off this afternoon/evening.I love watching these paintings evolve-each layer adds character to it.I havent used much of the vibrant green in this painting because the commissioner wasnt keen on it.

ponderisms

PONDERISMS

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

Gardening Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

Never take life seriously Nobody gets out alive anyway.

There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.

Life is sexually transmitted.

Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?'

Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there? I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its butt.'

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

aura

Here is my latest painting "Aura"
I painted this aura after watching my friend Jan who practises Reiki ,working on another of my friends and giving her reiki healing.
I have always been able to tune in and see someones aura, but have not done anything with it until now.I feel the time is right for me to develop this and do something positive with it.While I have always been able to see auras, I havent known what the colours mean, so I am learning very quickly to 'read' the colours.

Calming and Healing, the green represents the healing power.The green glow around the 2 of them while the healing was going on was so bright and vibrant.
The yellow is the colour of inspiration and creativity, and also means easy going.
Violet is funnily enough connected with psychic power and of attunement with self.It also represents the nervous system.
The orange can be from experiencing stress.
The orange /yellow is a perfectionist.
The blue is very apt- it relates to the thyroid , also shows a caring , loving person, who loves to help others, sensitive and intuitive,
This painting will be relaxing to have in a room where you chill out,it is painted in oil onto box canvas which is 16in x 20in.

It will be ready to post in around 3 weeks time. and the cost is £140 including P+P in uk.
If you are outside UK please get in touch.

Update On Stormy Skies class

I have just one place left on this class. As you can see from this picture of a previous "Stormy Skies" class , we get fantastic results-even from first timers.

If you would like to join the class on April 19th please get in touch via the website
www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Latest update on Emerald Woods class

I now have only 2 places left for Emerald Woods on May 3rd.
Places are going very quickly and if you want to join this class please get in touch.
This class is suitable for all abilities even first timers!
Please get in touch via the website www.paintingmyway.co.uk

2 places left on this class

I have just 2 places left on the Birch Tree Walk painting class on March 29th.
This painting is done with acrylic paint and encaustic wax. Its suitable for everyone -even first timers.
I have fantastic results with this class subject , as you can see from the photos a little further on in my blog and also on my website www.paintingmyway.co.uk
If you would like to book this class, please do so earlier rather than later, as places are getting snapped up very quickly.

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

Tenbry WI Demo

We had a very enjoyable day at Tenbry WI . Pictured is Linda who won the raffle and chose "Summer Day"
I think everyone was surprised at quickly the paintings developed before them--I had lots of questions from the audience and I think we may find one or two joining in the classes!

Baby Sitting

We had Baby Hollie down from Sunderland last night.She is growing up so fast bless her.As I have got all my wet oil paintings standing in the downstairs bath drying out of the way of the cat and the parrot we decided to bath her in the kitchen sink--she loved it.The kitchen was soon covered in water! She had a bottle of milk and was in bed for 8pm. She woke at 3am for another bottle and then slept through til7.30am.
Grandad Bill got up with her in the night--I was so tired I didnt hear a thing!

Places Left in Classes

The class for Saturday March 1st is now full---Snowy Reflections
I have had an unexpected cancellation for the African Dream class on Saturday March 8th. So just one place left on this acrylic class.

There are 4 places left for Eternal Dawn on Sat April 5th.

There are just 2 spaces left for the Stormy Skies class on Saturday April 19th and 3 places left for Emerald Woods on Sat May 3rd.
The classes are getting very booked up very quickly

Daisies and Dunes

Daisies and Dunes has been sold. Its been bought as a St Valentines Day Present for his wife.
I shall really miss this painting--I have had it hung in our bedroom opposite our bed.
Its been wonderful to wake up to and see the view!!
However --Im so glad its been bought for a St Valentines present--I knew it was waiting for someone really special!

Todays Class

We had a great day today. It was held at a new venue in Telford.--thank you Sharleen and Dennis .
We were able to have all the brush strokes projected onto a big screen for everyone to see as they were being done.
We had some very nervous 1st timers with us today! Amanda, Michelle and Sue had never painted before and were quite frankly scared to death!!
All were convinced they wouldnt be able to do it, so the big white canvas was very nerve racking for them all!!
As soon as we started putting the black paint onto the canvas they all started to settle down, and they all did some beautiful paintings.
I had told everyone that they could go back to being a child again when painting this painting--we started off with natural sponges and ended up splattering paint at the canvas--all of which has everyone laughing.
To the do the detail at the end of the foxgloves we used encaustic wax and a special heated pen-something no-one has ever experienced before--everyone agreed it was the mosy marvelous tool, and everyone was amazed at the difference it made to their painting!
I recieved a call tonight from Michelle who wanted to book another 3 classes. She said her son and daughter didnt belive that she had painted the picture when she had taken it home!!
It is such an ego boost for people when they take their paintings home and they get comments like that!!! I am sure they all got the same reaction when they took them home!
I think Amanda is the furthest travelled student I have have had--she lives in St Lucia--lucky thing--but she is coming again to the Stormy Skies class.
The classes are getting booked up very quickly,so if there is a painting you want to paint---- please book it sooner rather than later,as the places go very quickly,having a max of just 7 students in a class .

Finished Painting

I have emailed Bet, who commissioned the latest Summer Day ,the image of the finished painting and she loves it!!!!
As you can see on the close up, I have added the ladybird she requested.
Its only a rough draft of the ladybird, will have to wait for the paint to dry a bit more and add more colour and detail to it in a couple of days.
I have really enjoyed doing this painting, I think the addition of both the daisies and cornflowers as well as the normal poppies really adds to the tranquil feel.
It will be around 3 weeks before I can post it to her, so it will in time for the birthday she commissioned it for.

New Commission

I recived an email late last night from Bet who wants to commission a Summer Day painting.
She has told me that it is her first time of commissioning a painting, so I have explained to Bet how I work.
I photograph and email each stage of the painting to the client for approval, before going onto the next stage-this way the client is in complete control of the finished picture, Ican add or take away anything they dont like or want in the painting.

She particualy like the 9th version of it that has already been sold, so I set to work tonight, feeling very energetic after todays great Reiki session.
I have done a lot of the background stuff.Lots of building up in the sky and the sea.
I have put several layers of clouds into it, each layer fluffed up and blended so there are no hard edges.
Next came the sea, using both a beautiful seagreen and the same blue as in the sky, again building up the layers of colour until Im happy with it.
The first layer of sandy beach colours were applyed before putting my brushes into a plastic bag and wrapped up tightly ready for tomorrows session.
I dont bother to clean my brushes when Im going to be using them the next day-as long as they are wrapped up they will be fine and they wont dry out and spoil.
It has been known for them to be in a bag for 3 or 4 days after a class--when Ive been busy and forgotten about them!!! They have always been ok!!

Reiki

Well I had a wonderful day today having my Reiki session with Jan.
It was the most relaxing and engergising experience at the same time!
Reiki is a ancient Japanese therapy-the word Reiki means universal life force energy.
The therapy involves the channeling of the energy that surrounds all of us into our bodies.

The session takes around an hour and invloves lying on the very comfortable reiki couch, fully clothed -but with watches , belts etc taken off as they can interfere with the energy.
There is lovely soothing music and candles in the room, and also incense burning,it was very easy to relax fairly soon in the calm atmosphere.
Jan began on my head, just gently holding it to start, I soon felt the heat of the energy coming through her hands.
She slowly carried on working down my body-there were times when the hands felt really cold as well as when they felt hot.
I could also feel a lot of heat when she wasnt actualy touching me-just holding her hands above me.

People can feel different things, some people dont feel very much but that dosent mean nothings happening, the healing will still be transfered through the practioner to the client.

She can feel where parts of the body need more healing than others and concentrates on those places.
I could feel a tingling sensation sometimes especialy when she was working on my back, after I had turned over onto my front around half way through.
I am sure I had just drifted off to sleep to be honest when Jan spoke to me and I came back to reality!!

It took me a few minutes to come round properly and sit up--I could have slept for days if she had left me there Im sure!!
I have never felt so relaxed and peaceful.
After having a drink of water-something I have to do regulary for a couple of days to help get rid of the toxins out of the body,I realised that I felt really full of energy as well.
Its very hard to describe to be honest!!
I would recommend it to anyone who feels under the weather for whatever reason-Im definatly going to have another session before too long.
Jan charges just £30 for this session of Reiki and belive me it is worth every penny.!!!
She can be contacted on 07837939797 if you want to book a session with Jan or just find out more about it, please give her a ring.

Reiki By Jan

I am really looking forward to tomorrow--Im going to have a session of Reiki done by my friend Jan.
Jan has been one of my students for some time now and she is a fully qualifyed Reiki practitioner. She is in the process of setting up her business in the beautiful Clee Hill area.
I treated one of my friend's to a session with Jan a couple of weeks ago and she said it was absolutly fantastic.Its really done her the world of good.
Very relaxing, and thereputic,Jans hands get very hot as she works on every area of the body.
Im going to be the very first person to try out Jans brand new Reiki treatment couch, which is specialy designed for the job---must say I really cant wait!
Will let you all know tomorrow how I got on!!!!

Callums 1 today

As you can see little Callum, our first grandchild is enjoying ripping open his bithday presents.
Its hard to belive hes a year old already, hes a happy little chap and he looks just like his proud daddy!!
Dont they grow up quickly!!!

Summer Day Walk

This is the latest in my "Summer Day" series of paintings.
Tranquil and calm, the poppies and daisies lining the meandering pathway down to the beach, are bobbing gently in the sea breeze.This painting can be framed in a matching lightwood frame for an additional £15.
It would make a great Valentines Day gift for a loved one.
I always post my paintings by special delivery, so they are recieved the next day.They are also insured and trackable.
The Summer Day Walk is £120 including P+P in UK-if you are outside Uk please get in touch.

2nd Feb Class--Poppy Fields

We had great fun today in the Poppy Field Class.
I was a bit worried last night when I saw the weather forcast-snow snow and more snow! As 3 of my students were travelling a fair distance from Northampton I wasnt sure if the class would be able to go ahead if the weather was bad. The other 2 students were coming from Leominster and Bishops Castle.
However-everyone arrived safely and we started more or less on time.
There was the usual nerves to start with--the first timers---Chris, joan and Maureen were all a bit on edge -not knowing what to expect.They soon settled down after the initial bashing and tickling of the canvas!!
It was interesting to see both Cheryl and Maureen turn their canvas upside down in order to paint the grasses background-both said it was much easier than doing it the other way round.Ive no problem with it-as I told them-if they find it easier to do it upside down thats fair enough!!
The canvas got turned up the right way to paint the poppies and cornflowers. The class went very quiet at times while the flowers were being painted-so much concentration was required, there was a lot of debate about where to place the poppies.
Then after they were done, it was sugested that a few daisies would look good too, so I showed everyone how to do them.It was amazing as always to see just how different all the paintings are in the end.
The palette at the top of the page belongs to Chris--he ended up using mine as he had run out of space to put any new paint.Its not quite as colourful as Jacks was the other week though!!

The signing of the pics turned out to be very interesting too--Joan painted a little ladybird bug in the corner of her painting instead of a signiture,Cheryl painted her sig then wiped it out and put a little mouse charactor there instead.
Maureen was really nervous about spoiling her pic but managed a good signing in the end!
Everyone enjoyed them selves, and agreed that it had been a lot easier than expected, and a lot more laid back.
The classes are always very ''easy on''
We learnt that Chris is a proffesional chef who is creating his own Pate as a business--we are looking forward to trying some out.When asked if he made any low calorie Pate he replyed "not the way I make it" must say Im looking forward to trying some!!

As we were packing up after the class a gentleman came in and asked all about the classes, he had seen all the comings and goings over the past few months, as he lives near the room we use-- and Greg will be joining us for Emerald Woods in May.

Next weeks Birch Tree Walk class in Telford is fully booked-as is the Oriental Dawn class the week after on Feb 16th.I have one space for the Frosty Reflections on March 1st, the African Dream class on March 8th is full.
I am advising people to book up as soon as possible for classe subjects they want to do, as places are taken very quickly. I may have to start holding classes midweek in order to fit everyone in--could do with 2 saturdays in a week now!!!!!
One for new students and one for returning students!!!!!!
I only have 6 people in a class in order to keep instruction to individuals as detailed as possible.

Poppy Fields

I have just one place left for this Saturdays Poppy Fields class.
This is a beautiful painting to do-and gives everyone the opportunity to really express their creative side painting the poppies!!!.
If you fancy having a go at this one please get in touch via the website
www.paintingmyway.co.uk


It is suitable for 1st timers and as always we go through the painting step by step and I explain each stage as I demonstrate it to you.
The last time we did this painting in class we had some fantastic results and all of the poppies were sooo different to each other!!
I have a group of 3 coming here from Northampton which is over 3 hours away, so an early start for Cheryl and her friends on Saturday.
Cheryl came with 5 of her friends last year, one of her friends Nicky has since been with one of her friends and thoroughly enjoyed it, and it will be great to see Cheryl again.