Ain't the sun great!!

Yet another lovely weekend where the sun made an appearance. My mum came to visit this house for the first time and we made the most of the weather, Saturday visiting a country fair in Monmouth and yesterday going to visit the Point to Point races at Andoversford. The country fair was still a bit windy and chilly but a fun day out, bumping in to fellow Equestrienne artist Nikki Moore. The Point to Point races were lovely and sunny but no quite as successful as a day out as we didn't realise the racing didn't start until 2.30pm and my mum's train was at 3.10pm! So we never managed to see any of the racing, instead opting for a lovely lunch in a nearby pub.

My latest commission was of a beautiful Beagle called Parson.

He was a fantastic painting to do thanks to a very interesting and beautiful photo to work from. I love the breed, hounds being very handsome with particular characteristics that are fun to make sure you've got them just right.

Also, excitingly, I have just sold my painting 'Alert' which recently won the Director's Award with Art Horse Magazine and I sold it to.... Juliet Harrison who is the lady who awarded the Director's Award! It was such an honour to receive the award in the beginning but to then have her wanting to buy the painting is just incredible. I still keep pinching myself!

Artists Galore

I now have a photo from my trip to Wales of us artists and my hubby. From left to right we have Sarah Theophilus, Nick Beall, Me, Chris and Melanie Phillips. And once again I'm the shortest... :-D

Easter

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. It was great to have a few days off and for it to also be sunny! It's been a long time since that's happened in this country!

On Saturday Chris and I went to visit fellow artists Melanie Phillips and Nick Beall in Wales, who also happened to have another portrait artist, Sarah Theophilus visiting so there was lots of art talk going on which was great, it's always excellent getting to exchange ideas with other artists and discuss the business side, how tricky it can be to make a living out of it etc. They've all been artists for far longer than me and have very established careers so it's great inspiration for me. Mel and Nick also have a beautiful cottage so it's given Chris and I motivation to get our cottage in better shape!

Monday we spent sorting out the top part of our garden. We've a big garden which goes down in several steps as it's quite steep but it's also in desperate need of some attention so we're starting on the top part and working our way down. Most of it needs taking out and starting again so let's hope for a continuing sunny summer to help get us out in to the garden.

Today I've a commission to finish and then I need to put some hard work in to marketing, which can get missed out when working on paintings. I also need to start thinking about doing some original paintings, especially as I want to increase the number and variety of prints I have for sale. I'm not doing the big tradestands this year, which is where most prints tend to sell, but I am holding an Open Studio at my house over 3 weekends in the summer plus hopefully attending a couple of one day Country Fairs. I will be posting details of these on my website nearer the dates so if you're able to come and visit, it would be fantastic to see you.

Latest Commission and News

This is my latest commission, Clover. She is quite a local commission and was a present for the daughter's 18th birthday. I really enjoyed painting her as she's such a pretty horse.

I feel like I'm constantly painting at the moment as I'm trying to catch up after having a bit of time off and also because I need to get the money coming back in! So much do I need to get the money coming back in that I have been looking for a part time job and have just applied for a job in a local holiday park which, working Mondays and Fridays, would fit in perfectly. Fingers crossed!

I've also been getting a bit behind on the paperwork side of things and need to update my accounts but as it's my least favourite job, it's last on the list! It's amazing how many little jobs can be found to do when accounts are looming.