UNEXPECTED PLACES LEFT IN THIS SATURDAYS CLASS!

We have had 4 cancellations for next Saturdays class"Yesterday" A wide variety of reasons! Lins hubby Dave has been rushed back into hospital after developing some complications bless him-we both wish Dave all the best and a speedy recovery-so she cant make it to class because hopefully he will be home by then fingers crossed.
Jan is moving house week on Thursday and will be rushed off her feet getting packed--
Vicky has to work and Sandy is not very well--so that means that there are 4 places going spare.
There is a choice of colours and size of canvas too--shades of reds/oranges there is blues/purples and and also browns and creams too-just cant find the photo of that version at the moment!
The class is suitable for first time students.

Chickens!!!!!!

A few weeks ago we picked up my friends chucks to take them to their new home as Jan and John were moving and couldn't take them with them.
They have settled in nicely in their new home with Maryjane,Wayne, Harriot and George.
They have got lots of space to roam free range and have been rewarding them with lovely fresh eggs everyday.
The kids love them to bits- they have been known to have a ride in Georges trailer behind his tractor!

Class of dec 5th--Mystical Moon

We had 14 in class today--Jess couldnt come as she was poorly with a bad cold-however she will be with us next week.
We had 8 newbies and 6 who had been before. A lot of nerves were evident-from the first timers -though everyone settled down to the painting quite quickly and the nerves soon vanished.
10 year old Courtney came along with her nan Alison--they had seen Liz's paintings on facebook and wanted to join in the classes.
We had a mixture of blue, grey and purple versions of the Mystical Moon paintings.
Everyone was amazed to see how different they all were right from the start of the class.

I had met Gary and Elaine up at the market a few weeks ago-and also Lindsey a week later-Alison, Lindsey,Gary , Elaine,Liz, Bev and Val have all booked up for classes in the new year, so look forward to seeing them then.
There were a few conflabs going on in class as to which ones were being done by whom!
We had some stunning results from all of them-all very different(Garys had the addition of a bat and Courtneys and Val's a flock of birds!)

We used some metallic paint to do the moon which will look stunning when the light changes at night and the light catches it!
It was amusing to see most of the class on their knees painting the bottom of their painting and signing it--I tild them to say one for me while they were down there!
All in all a great class--the Christmas Truffles we took along went down very very well-though I did have to warn the students that they are very high in alcohol!
We had great fun as usual--we have 14 in again next week--the last class before Christmas--Im really looking forward to it-everyone is doing a 3 ft canvas so taking the photos will be interesting-will definitely have to do them in batches!

Christmas Cheer!

Well its the season of all sorts of good things to eat and drink so today after my student Karen had left we decided to have a go at making some truffles for Christmas.
We had a lot of Christmas cake left over from last year that we didn't know what to do with.
So I asked on the UKcampsite forum and someone suggested truffles.
We didn't do them exactly the same as was suggested--we did our own thing!
We crumbled the cake into a bowl and soaked it in some cherry brandy, brandy and port overnight.
Then today we rolled it into small balls and coated some in dark chocolate, some in chopped nuts and some in toasted coconut-which smelled lovely as it was doing in the oven!
We will take some to class on Saturday as a treat as well as the usual biscuits and mince pies.

The campsite forum is full of people with great ideas for all sorts of things-- the other week Max and Paddy gave the recipe for Baileys Irish cream drink--got round to trying it tonight--its very simple-though I altered the ingredients a bit to make it lower fat !
Take one pot of Elmlea whipping or double cream,
one can of lower fat condensed milk,
2 large eggs,
3 heaped teaspoons good quality instant coffee
4 or 5 tablespoons boiling water to dissolve coffee in,
large mug of whisky-any sort will do, mix all together and whisk gently by hand-not electric whisk, strain through fine sieve to get lumpy bits out of egg-then pour into a litre bottle
store in the fridge for up to 5 weeks--if you can leave it that long!
We tryed it and its lovely--will be good in a hot coffee too!

Karens Painting

I first met Karen over a year ago when she bought a poppy painting from me-since then Ive done commissions for her and she is one of my biggest collectors of my work!
As a result we have become close friends with both Karen and her partner Steve.
Karen fancied having a go at her own painting and decided on Yesterday-a bright , vibrant painting on a large 36in x 14in canvas.

We had a lovely relaxing day , Karen got the hang of it very quickly and before long the painting was finished!

We had a lovely time chatting and putting the world to rights, we only stopped to enjoy a salad roll and of course a mince pie as its that time of year!

Bevs Birches

I had the pleasure of one of my class students Bev coming to do a one 2 one session today. She really wanted to do a 3ft birch tree painting before Christmas!
Bev has attended 3 previous classes and has picked up the methods very well so far-she has even carried on painting at home and emailed me 3 paintings she has tackled on her own.

It was lovely being able to spend time chatting with Bev as we tackled this popular subject-though it was rather cold in the garage where we had to go to do the splattering part!
The painting quickly took shape and Bev loved seeing how quickly the perspective and distance happened so easily.
We used a metallic paint for the water in the pond which set the painting off lovely.

We are seeing Bev again this Saturday in the Mystical Moon Class
this is now full with 13 people booked in though I have a feeling we will have a no-show again from one of the ladies who is very nervous and has cancelled 2 previous classes due to nerves!

I dont think I will be on the market tomorrow, Im feeling stiff and I think my fibro is playing up so am going to stay in the warm and not chance it-dont want to be ill for the weekends class.

Todays Medieval Fair

We were up at what seemed the crack of dawn this morning in order to go down to the medieval fair and get set up.
We had a laugh last night getting Bills outfit done for today!
I had a bought blue throw from a charity shop which I cut up and shaped into a cape, a hood and some gaiters in around 15 mins-some elastic criss -crossed around Bills legs and one of my antique copper artist palette clasp at the front of the cape/hood and he really looked the part!
The weather was much better than forecast-the rain didn't come until we were packing up at 4.30pm
We had a cracking day-the town was heaving with people all day, I didn't get chance to check out who else was on the market other than our near neighbours.
We are back on the market on Wednesday -weather permitting, and then we are doing the market until the week before Christmas and we are then having a break until the end of March-beginning of April-depending on the weather, I will post the dates on the website when I know when we are starting.

Medieval Fair In Ludlow

We are on the Famous Medieval Fair market tomorrow-I'm busy getting my outfit turned up ready!
Ive been loaned a peasant outfit from someone who does renactments-its just a foot too long for me!
It is very warm though so even if the forecast is right and its wet and windy I should be OK!
When we set the stall up we are completely enclosed and its quite snug in there.
Ive just finished making 30 bookmarks as Id sold out over the past few weeks-they make great stocking fillers.
Ive just got a few new price tickets to print out and I'm finished.
I'm quite looking forward to it to be honest. The town was heaving with people today-and there were loads of idiots parked where they shouldn't be making it difficult for everyone else.
There was no excuse for it--there is a free park and ride service--
There were quite a few tickets on the cars when we returned from town-and they only have themselves to blame.

Latest Commission

Well Ive really got on well with the latest encaustic wax commission.
Smantha has recieved her Birch Tree commission last week , so I was able to make a start on her new one.
Its the biggest encaustic one Ive tackled so far-measures 105 cm x 70 cm. It will be much bigger after its been framed by my friend Steve who runs his framing business Framing Mad.Its having a large double frame in black and white and in the mock ups that Steve has sent to both Samantha and myself it looks stunning!
Ive recycled some card that was destined for cigarrette packets as I couldnt find any suitable card anywhere to do this on.
Ive painted over the red print with white acrylic paint so it dosent show through the transparent coloured wax.Im pleased with how its turning out-- Ive got a lot more to do yet, Samantha wants the red centre to be highly textured so that its touchy feely, so Ive got a lot of building up to do yet.
there are lots of faces and animals showing up in the wax already-the painting will keep them all amused spotting the various things.

Ive a few more days work yet , Im waiting to hear off Samantha about what Ive done so far.
As always with any commission I send photos of each stage so the commissioner can see what Ive done so far-I also print them off and send them with the painting so they have a record of just how it was created.

Stormy Skies

Places are going fast for the first class of the new year "Stormy Skies" which is on Jan 16th--there are now just 4 places left in it.
If you would like to join this class please get in touch via the website
www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Todays Class--Topical Sunset

Well I had 2 last minute cancellations-one from poor Rhada who has had a really bad migraine since last night and one from a new student Val who had problems with a relative who was ill.
However the four students who did attend the Tropical Sunset class all achieved great results.
Lin was convinced she wouldn't be able to take anything any good home-when she finished her painting she announced that she would be hanging her painting in pride of place in her front room-she has visitors coming for lunch tomorrow!
Lin has also booked in for the Stormy Skies and Grasses painting classes next year.
Bev is coming for a one to one to paint a large brown birch trees on 1st Dec and also the Mystical Moon on Dec 5th.Ive nearly completed the commision of Thailand for her,just got a few bits to add when the paintings dry.

Emerald Woods

Ive just taken another booking for the Emerald Woods painting making 5 in total now.
We are doing this one on Jan 23rd 2010.
Its a lovely painting to do-we use acrylic and oil to create it and its suitable for all students from first timers upwards.
If you want to join this class please get in touch via the website
www.paintingmyway.co.uk