The Giveaway Post!

Hello!

 

I'm very pleased to announce a Giveaway today, it's to celebrate reaching over 5000 Likes on my Facebook Page! 

 

To say a huge thank you to all of you who support my art, and who like what I do, I've decided to offer TWO artist proof prints to you. 

 

These artist proofs are professionally printed images of Moon Fishing and Dream Haven.  They are printed onto high quality Hahnemuhle fine art paper courtesy of the wonderful Studio 61 Gallery printing department.

 

If you've headed over to my Blog from Facebook - a big warm welcome to you - while you're here you can choose to follow my Blog if you like by connecting with Bloglovin or by email, both of which you can click on in the sidebar here.  To my regular Blog readers, you are also very welcome to take part and all you need to do is leave me a comment under this post.

 

The Giveaway is open as of now - and it will remain open over the Christmas holidays to give everyone a chance to enter.  I will do the draw week commencing the 6th January, and announce the winner here.  Facebook friends will be directed back to this page to see if they're one of the lucky ones!

 

In case you're wondering why I'm hosting the giveaway here, and not simply on Facebook, well - I've read a lot of articles this last day or so about the protocol of hosting such a thing on ones page, and it does seem that there are some rather complex rules and regulations to adhere to.  So, in order not to offend or unwittingly make a mistake, I figured the simplest thing would be to share about it here.

 

Good luck to all of you who take part, and thank you once again for your amazing support, I'm in deep gratitude to all of you for making it possible for me to call this painting malarkey my job.

 

Merry Christmas to all of you, I'll be back in the new year to find a winner and share more of my work with you *exciting new things are on the cards too!*

 

Julia x

A Little Moment

I was in Bath a couple of days ago, we had met up with some friends and taken our children off to Longleat.  Before we went home, we stopped in this beautiful city for a few hours, and upon our wanderings we stumbled upon The Whistlefish Gallery.

You may or may not know that a while ago, some of my images were licensed to be sold as greetings cards by this art company, who have galleries throughout the south west of England.

I went inside, spotted the Christmas card stand, and suddenly, there they were.  Just like that, right in front of me amongst a collection of other festive images...three of my own wee pictures.

It's a rather lovely and strange moment seeing your work published and for sale in a real live gallery for the first time.  I've had real paintings in galleries and that is a spectacular feeling, but seeing your work printed as cards, and knowing that people might perhaps come in and buy them and send them to someone special, and to different little corners of the globe, well, that's pretty special.

Thanks to everyone at Whistlefish and Emma at The Paintbox for making one of my dreams come true.


PS - you can currently get 15 cards for just £6 - available in the shops and online at their lovely new website.

Glorious Golden Days

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog post, and since then we have been enjoying a beautiful Indian Summer here; honey tinged days warmed by the sun and brilliant blue skies above.  Sunflowers continued to nod their cheery faces at us from gardens still full of blooms but spirals of falling leaves and a nip in the air come teatime gently hinted that Summer was indeed leaving us, and yet it seemed to be endless.   

Then, just like that, it was Autumn.

A chill in the air and a wild wind arrived.  Like a travelling fair, Summer had packed away her glamours for another year and left quietly one night while we were sleeping.
A feeling of wanting to make the house cosy settles, I find extra cushions for the sofa, we light candles in the evening on the mantel and we put the eiderdown across the bottom of the bed for extra warmth at night.

We get out and about taking walks close to our home noticing the subtle changes in the light, the dusty green leaves turning crisp amber and gold, the flowers turning to sculptural seed heads (oh how I do love these) and the blackberries ripening in the hedgerows.  I like being outdoors, enjoying the shift of the seasons, and I relish the effect they have on all of my senses.  I love the scents and the colours of this season. 

I also notice how my grocery shopping changes, from crisp salad leaves and strawberries, to the rich sweet flavours of Autumn; butternut squash, mushrooms, parsnips and beets.  It's a time for hearty casseroles, chunky soups, warming and comforting flavours.

There is an abundance of apples in our neighbours garden and he gives us two carrier bags full, bulging with different varieties.  There is apple tarte tatin with thick, unctuous clotted cream and apple flapjacks for after school snacks.

We think the Summer Birds may have finally left.  As I stand on the back door early evening and search for signs of them, listen out for their familiar chatter I find empty and silent skies.  If anything marks a change in the season, its the arrival and departure of the beautiful swifts and swallows that swoop and dive above our river and over our rooftops each year.

With Autumn finally here, it's a busy time of year for me as I prepare for a Market Night.  I'm hosting this on my Facebook Page, so just like a real market you'll be able to browse and shop for Christmas goodies and gifts.  I'll share dates with you soon, but to be double sure you don't miss out, you're welcome to follow my page too.

I'm also putting together an gorgeous collection of cards for my Mailing List subscribers, which will be available at a very special price and exlusively to subscribers.  They'd make a fabulous gift, or a treat for yourself - why not sign up here to discover more?  The next e-zine will be published very soon, so don't miss out!
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Yorkshire Snow, a limited edition print (run of 50), professionally printed on fine art paper, are now available on the website: