twenty four paintings

CREATE: Not sure wether this is good or bad - but it feels OK - just counted the number of canvases on or around my easels that are 'underway' twenty four - yes - twenty four! that's a lot of pictures to keep in my head, but it seems to work for me.

Let me introduce you to a few of them....

 Left to right- may I introduce Llandysul, black & white; St Brides, in glorious 'Golden' colour and Llangrannog with foxgloves.

And here we have a nearly finished Newquay, behind that a project for Carmarthen County Council of Llaugharne, and behind that a nearly finished Llangrannog--- and to the right, a couple of paintings that have yet to find their identities.

Ah, and there's my sketch books, and on the left behind the empty wine glass, the book of flowers and kitchen roll is St Martin's haven, almost there (?) and waiting it's final couple of layers.

Each of these paintings (except the black and white one) will eventually have in the region of between 12 -15 layers of paint. I work this way as I'm never quite sure what the painting will be until it's finished and it takes a lot of layers for me to feel happy with it.

Connect, Create, Inspire - What we've been upto lately

This year's words for me are

Connect, Create, Inspire

So, here's some of what  I've been upto lately, Connecting, Creating & Inspiring

Inspiring - I hope

At the University of the Third Age - Connecting

Connecting & Creating - lovely young couple at our workshop.....

Creating & Connecting - a recent joint exhibition with my artist friend Diane Mathias. We've held annual joint exhibitions at the same gallery for 11 years now - thanks Diane xx

January's workshop was 'Inspired' !

Creating - a couple of recent commissions, the lower one for award winning

Clydy Cottages in Pembrokeshire

Clean up time

We had another great day on Monday - the monthly 'Creative Me' workshop day, I'm always amazed at the artwork that people produce in just one day.
This class included three absolute beginners, you can see their progress below. 

Thank you all for sharing your creativity and day with me x

So - a bit of clearing up for me today - this is the 'before' picture of my studio........

Creative Me workshop photos

Thank you to the lovely artists who shared their creative journeys with me today.

I'm amazed by your creations and impressed with your stamina.  I'm exhausted now, but somehow  finding the energy to finish the cake and have a glass of wine!

We start the day with a clean - erm, everything!

the blank canvases don't last long, within a few minutes the first layer is on and drying, and  we are looking  light heartedly  at colour theory & how not to make mud!

that's the way to do it!

already developing their voices - and yes that is a puppy!

and while we work... Bo has a nap!

 'Thank you for today Helen, I enjoyed learning new ways to apply and layer paint colour - the information about colour, use of the colour wheel and how to create contrast' CE

'The workshop ...gave me more confidence to paint on my own' LE


Link to workshop info - we hold our 'Creative Me' day long workshops once a month. For more info please follow the link.

Loving Autumn

Autumn's arrived here in wild West Wales and it's beautiful. Clear crisp mornings on the beach with the pups, me wrapped in scarves and jumpers, then home to squeeze out the jazzy autumn colours onto my palette and begin!
Happy to be back home. There's no place like it.

To the beach!

hello sunshine!

yes, it's back, after a deluge.

It's Saturday, 5.30, work done for today time to take this sad little pup to the beach for a run.

Promise more asap -busy living the life and being grateful.

xxxxxxxxxxHelenxxxxxxxxx

Cardigan Bay Seafood Festival

Hello my sweeties,
another week flown by, and it's nearly time for the Aberaeron Sea Food Festival - this Sunday, so we've been busy preparing lots of pictures for it, including a few new originals.....

Last year's stand - ready to go

 These are pictures from last year - and yes the forecast was also for rain - but as you'll see, Aberaeron has it's own micro climate and did very well in the sunshine... so there you are, you know where to head on Sunday for the Sun!


A big thanks to all who organise and clean up afterwards - you are a great team xxx

Thanks especially to Menna & Glyn at the Harbour Master Hotel, who devised the initial Fish Festival and continue to work hard for the event. Diolch xx (oh, and have some lovely artwork in their lovely hotel... ahem.. ;-)

end of the day...

Temptation!

SEE YOU THERE ....

(apart from Florence and her Mum & Dad ...next year she'll be in the picture too xxx)

Is there anything better....

Hello

really, honestly, truly, being an artist is there anything better than completing a painting that makes your whole being HAPPY,  feel JOYFUL and want to look, look, look at it again and again, drinking in the - what? the LOVE of it?

Well,  here we are - my painting I finished today. I say 'my' painting because I have also been working 12 hour days finishing a series of paintings of  Norfolk for an exhibition at The Red Lobster Gallery in Sheringham, which will be sent on Monday to them.

So whist painting for them, for sanity's sake, I've also been painting for me, here it is:

Ahhhh, now for a largish glass of Primitvo, grilled courgette and cashew nut salad, and relax......

thanks for reading,

Helen

Creative Me

Some very exciting news ..... finalised plans at our monthly business meeting (see picture...) for a series of 'Create Me' workshops, to be held at my home studio over throughout 2012.

Full details will be released when our new web site goes live - but in the meantime - if you really, really can't wait, message me and I will send you a sneak preview ....

Jasmine perfume, orange and blue

Hello lovely people

today I have been having some fun.

It's so cold and rainy here in West Wales, I turned up the music (Buddha Bar); selected some favourite paints and inks - lime green, process magenta, golden yellow, prussian blue; process cyan; relaxed my shoulders, breathed in the Jasime perfume and began to randomly made marks.

 Two lovely girls - Lauren & Zoe - visited the studio with their parents, they finger painted on some 10 x 10 cm canvases, and scratched designs into them. These I then used to 'potato print' onto a 60 x 60cm canvas, followed by some loose drawing - randomly with pen and florescent marker - then colouring in - mostly with just fingers - sometimes with a credit card ...




Whilst I was doing this I closed my eyes to listen to the music and had the most incredible feeling and sensation of COLOUR in my heart, throat and head - amazing orange and yellows edged with a blue, the intensity of  the blue I can't describe - yet alone paint...I've been trying to recreate that colour all afternoon! wow, what a feeling. I want that again - any other artists have this?

So this is as far as I have got today with my colouring in - and tomorrow I am taking puppy dog to training lessons (more for me than him, I admit it!)

Hope it's not to long before we get another rainy day, and I can have some more fun & get this one finished.

oh... the Jasmine perfume ...I have run out ...and L'occitaine have stopped producing it. Hmmm

Spring Clean

old office room

MASSSSIVE spring clean underway - had to be done, but so far it's taken 3 of us 2 days, and another day will be needed to find lost things and go to the recycling depot.

We were squashed in a room with the printer, framing bits & bobs, mount cutters etc...


...but now we have a lovely room with a garden view, space for two dog beds and a 'meeting table'..... for some reason I'm thrilled by the prospect of having meetings at a 'meeting table' ... why I don't kno.

Pictures to Poland

Three canvases packed and sent on their way to Poland for the International Festival of Naive Art in Katowice. Now to count my air miles to see if I can join them!

A good start

A good start this week on the pictures for a solo exhibition in Norfolk in July at the Red Lobster Gallery, Sheringham. Still looking for a title but the theme is definitely seaside with a smattering of windmills, poppies and hares. Here are a few pages from my sketchbook , and the start of a large 'beach hut' painting. Nice to be thinking about sunny summer weather whilst listening to a chilly downpour!

Cardigan Corn Exchange Gallery

Here we are another lovely sunny day in West Wales. This week I am showing paintings with my friend Diane Mathias - www.dianemathias.com. We have just realised that we have been holding joint exhibitions in this gallery for ten years - ten years! And it's all been fun..... Thanks Diane and here's to the next ten!