Power and Grace

This is no 5, Power and Grace, a stunning Andalusian. The photography was beautiful, many thanks to Linda on Wetcanvas for letting me use her image for this painting. A lot of detail was involved but I haven't had that much detail to do on my last paintings so really enjoyed all the little fiddly bits! The size of this painting is 12x12" on a box canvas.

I'm currently on the last painting but my motivation still hasn't turned up so I am struggling a bit. It's probably because it's so close to the deadline and I'm subconsciously panicking but I'll hopefully get it done!

Anyone seen my motivation??

I'm getting near to the end of these paintings, I finished no 5 yesterday which I need to get a photo of and started the last one today but I seem to have mislaid my motivation! I sometimes find starting a painting difficult because, before it starts to take form, I just can't visualise what I'm meant to be doing so this morning has been spent sitting, staring at the painting, adding a bit of paint, coming down to check my emails, then repeat. I've got this afternoon and 2 whole days left in which to finish this painting and varnish it as it's hanging day on Saturday. Please, if you see my motivation wandering past you, return it to me as soon as possible, I miss it very much!

Slowly getting there...

Here is no 4, currently unimaginatively titled "Chestnut" because I really am rubbish at titles! It was a bit tricky to get a photo of as I normally get help from my hubby, one of us holding the painting straight and the other sorting out the camera on the tripod but on my own, it's trickier mainly due to my lack of patience! The only space we have outside for setting up my easel and tripod is a very uneven concrete patch, the painting is fine to set up straight with the help of blue tac but the tripod is a different matter! But I think it came out okay, not too much light reflection. I can now get these 4 off to the framers as the other two canvases already have frames so that isn't a worry.

This painting only took me a day which I was very surprised about but I was helped by the fact that yesterday we had no electric all day long due to works going on in the village and it's amazing how much you can get done when you don't have the distractions of the computer and take a lunch break infront of the telly. Don't think I'll try it again though!

Two more.

Here are the latest two paintings for the exhibition. The sizes and titles are the top one "The Grey" at 16x20" and the bottom one "Silhouette" at 22x16". I managed these much quicker than I had expected so the stress is starting to ease slightly. I have to decide on one more image to use and then the next three paintings will be under way.

One Down...

... five to go! This was quite a tricky painting for me and took an entire week. It's 16x20" as I like to paint large but I find making an image blurry with acrylic very difficult because it dries so fast so thanks to my water spray, I think I pulled it off. The background has also darkened because I wasn't happy with the first attempt. Now I just have to think up a name for this painting. My brain tends to be mush by the time I've finished a painting so trying to think of a title seems to be a hard process for me! Any ideas are always gratefully appreciated. I'd better also get this painting off to my framer tomorrow and grovel to her to check she'll be okay framing all my paintings ready for the exhibition in such a short space of time. Perhaps I should go armed with a bottle of wine....

Exhibition No 2

I have been offered the amazing opportunity of exhibiting my work with just one other equestrian artist in Cheltenham from 3 March til 19 April covering the Gold Cup Festival. It's to be held at the Spice Lodge restaurant http://www.spicelodge.com/ but the main problem right now is that I have no paintings to show! All my work is currently in another exhibition until 9 March so I'm busy painting away in the hope that I will have at least 6 pieces for this exhibition. Above is the beginnings of one painting which I hope to have finished by the end of today. I also have several commissions lined up, one with a deadline of 10 March so it's going to be a very busy time, but well worth it. I will update my paintings as I go so please feel free to comment on them.

With regards to this exhibition, I also have to attend a press launch on 3 March in which there are going to be local papers etc to advertise it so I need to make sure I remember to put my make up on and not blush too much! I'll let you know how it goes.

At last...

As you'll have noticed my shop if finally up and running on my website. I mean finally because it has taken months to get that far!! Part of the problem was finding the money to start investing in getting the prints and cards made but hopefully now I've started I'll have to continue so keep an eye for further choices in the future. The other "problem" is that my webmaster is also my husband so, believe it or not, I don't feel I can nag him to get the work done like I could someone I was paying. But hasn't he done a fine job?!

I've had a couple of weeks off from painting, one week away and this past week catching up on household jobs, giving the house a good clean, getting the website updated, visiting the exhibition at Iona House etc but it's also given me time to think of ideas for marketing, paintings etc. I'm desperately thinking of ways to market myself and my work with the least outgoings possible so I'm going to approach as many local magazines and papers as possible to see if anyone will do an article on either me or my portraits so keep your fingers crossed.

I'm also searching for inspirational photographs to use for paintings for exhibitions and to sell. The weather here is still too bad to go out with my camera and the horses too woolly so it's tricky finding good photos. Also, being quite new to this area I'm unsure as to where all the horses are hiding so I need to ask around and find out if anyone minds me "borrowing" their horse for a photo session. You never realised there was so much involved in being an artist did you?! Honest, it's a hard life. Who am I trying to kid???