A Lovely Dream

Im delighted to be able to show you my painting 'A Lovely Dream' which I completed today. It is another in the Little Red series, which seems to be building a momentum all of its own as more new ideas for where I can take it descend on me (usually as Im nodding off or cooking tea or doing something mundane when Im nowhere near a sketch book!)

As some of you may already know, Little Red has derived from several sketch drawings of my girl Carys, and for those of you who don't know, my little child is a flame haired, half Welsh firecracker of a tot who inspires me deeply on a daily basis - it seemed natural to include her in my work, and so from the earliest doodles she evolved to this little character, who has a dog, Bo, who has a bird, Dudie, and several other companions to be making an appearance along the way (including the gaggle of fabulous fat geese again).

I already have some ideas for my next painting, but for now Im doing alot of doodling
to get it just right before I put it onto canvas and I'll post some pics of the work in progress, probably next week :)

Well then, I think its time for a cuppa!! :)

Im finding this character work to be very fulfilling. It seems to have turned on a tap for me somewhere in the deepest reaches of my mind and for the first time in an age I am not stuck for new material. I remember many times wanting to paint something, and spending hours dabbling and messing and not really producing anything at all. The emptiness that I felt at those times was profound, and I think its because I was still searching for something that really made me tick. I would like to think that this is it.

Im going to be submitting this picture into a national competition run by an artists magazine. Well, you never know do you?

Im also promising myself an hour or so of crocheting later this evening as the past few days have seen me in a whirl of activity updating websites and general businessy type stuff for the other half and I feel a little bit worn at the edges, a sort of feeling you get when you don't switch off very easily because you're so absorbed in the task at hand.

Practising listening to my little old bod - its demanding a nice bath, preferably with something lovely from Lush and some serious R&R with perhaps the enticing prospect of an iced glass of Limoncello (ooh do try this if you havent, its an italian liquer made from lemons and its like drinking sunshine! Sublime!!!)

Is it summer yet with you? We are still dodging torrential downpours in between wearing sunshades and shedding cardigans as the weather still cant decide what to do. The hens over on the allotment across the road seem equally perturbed by the inclement conditions, ducking in and out of their little hut in mild bewilderment I think!! :)

My sister is coming to visit tomorrow, staying for the weekend and I have much to do to prepare a little birthday bash for a Certain-Little-Someone who turns 2 next week. A day out with her small cousins, Aunt, Uncle, Nannie-Mum & Grandad Joe (and us of course) is planned for sunday, as is a picnic complete with birthday treats and cake!!

Wishing you all a serendipitous bank holiday weekend, hope the sun shines for you - if not, dodge the drops and have fun regardless!

Love J xxx (off to get the long awaited cuppa :)