Latest Creations in Etsy

I have recently listed my latest mini art and trinket box creations on Etsy, which you can view either from the link at the right of this page, or by clicking on the title of this post.

Struggling to find a suitable title for these two items, I decided to do a bit of "cheating" and just entered the two main colours, yellow and red, into an online anagram solver. The result actually astounded me by providing over 4,500 solutions!! I went with "Lowlander Dye" because it just seemed to suit it, somehow, although I have to admit there were a few ridiculous ones in there that I was tempted to select!

Here are the two items as a set, although I am selling them separately:

Latest painting

 Aitch At Sea

Today I have finally decided to upload my most recent painting to my web-site. The idea behind this painting is that I have the letter "H" (my alias is the spelling for the letter "H" - Aitch) embedded within the painting. I plan to create a small series of these paintings with my initial letter hidden in one way or another, either in a subtle way or an obvious one. I have been in two minds about this one for ages, but as it's been hanging on my hall wall for over a week now, I have grown to like it more and more. I used some lovely acrylic inks in the sea part of the painting, which catch the light beautifully every now and then. The painting is 8 x 10 inches (that's 20 x 25cm for metrically minded folk!). It will be available for sale on my personal website and on the Affordable British Art website  should you wish to have a look at it in more detail and maybe think about purchasing!

First painting of the year

My first painting of the year was a surprise birthday gift for my sister - a portrait of my niece, Charlotte. I hinted at this project in my earlier blog post but couldn't be specific about it in case my sister read the blog! The painting of Charlotte was based on a photograph I took when the family were here for a meal on New Year's Day - so she is seated in her high chair. I used acrylic, which I favour over watercolour, and completed the painting in approximately 10 or 12 days. On a box canvas, sized 20 x 25cm, I was rather pleased that my sister liked the end result!

Charlotte is 7 months old and really starting to take an interest in the world around her now.

The reference photo I used had a very dark background and a green tablecloth. I changed the background to a colour I thought Rachel (my sister) would like, and the tablecloth colour I altered to a deep red. I think I could have spent even longer fiddling with the painting, as perfection takes forever, but in the end I decided to leave well alone and all in all I am fairly happy with the finished piece of art.

Here's the reference photo I used:

Painting and crosswords

I have spent another day indoors due to this awful weather. I don't really care whether or not it looks pretty out there any more - I am quite fed up of it now. Snow is nice to look at but not so nice to get about in - I tend to walk like an old woman when I have to go out in snow or in icy conditions - each step takes forever and I walk along walls which I hold on to in case I slip!

Driving is out of the question. I am in a permanent state of anxiety about skidding and therefore feel a danger not only to myself, but any other drivers out there, too. From what I've heard over the past 24hours, every journey in a car is taking approximately 5 to 6 times longer than normal due to black ice on the roads and everyone having to drive so slowly! I am thankful that I do not have to go out to work. We have cancelled our usual rehearsals with the Junior and Youth sections at Bilton Amateur Dramatic Society this coming week - only hope the weather improves and we can start again before too long!

Anyway, I have spent the day working on a painting that is, at present, a bit of a secret project. I am doing my best to make it a perfect painting as it will be judged not only on its merit but on the content when it is finished. It may sound mysterious, but all will be revealed in a week or so. I have spent several hours on it during the past couple of days, and will continue to do so until I am completely happy with it. I can tell you that it is an acrylic painting on box canvas, but no more than that for fear of spoiling the secret!

I have been giving my brain a bit of a work-out today, too, with the crossword in "The Week" magazine. This is the only newspaper we get, and it is ideal as it is in the form of a magazine on a weekly basis, covering the main news and events from all the other daily newspapers combined but in a condensed format. The crossword is a cryptic one. Usually Keith (my husband) and I do the crossword together, taking it in turns to solve the clues until one of us gets stuck or bored. I was up earlier than him today so I had the first shot at it.

I read a great article on a fellow artist's blog today, too. It had some great advice about promoting yourself as an artist. If I can find out how to link to it, I will do so, then you can share the advice if you're interested. Oh, I think if you click on this, it will work: peter-williams-art.blogspot.com/2010/01/selling-your-art.html?spref=fb

Well, it's nearly time to do my daily (almost, I've only missed one this week) exercises on my Wii Fit Plus - the good thing about this regime is that it's fun to do as well as keeping me fit. I try to do at least half an hour each day, sometimes up to an hour.

I may write more on here later - I can see me using this as a diary of sorts, but I may get fed up of that, so we'll see!

First post testing!

Thought I'd start the new year with a new thing to try - my own blog. I really don't know how effective this will be either as an interesting piece of information to anyone other than myself or as a regular activity.

Initially I will be blogging about my work, my paintings and craft-related items that I create and sell through various outlets on the internet and in galleries.

Let's just see how it goes eh?

The image here is of one of my new series of artworks/craftcreations. I have co-ordinated a set of mini canvases and easels with some trinket boxes I'd already decorated. They are both for sale on Etsy and can be viewed here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtyAitch