Raining....

Guess what? It was raining up at the studio today!! So I had another REALLY productive painting session!

RIP Beryl....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7424091.stm















"I feel much better when I'm painting. It isn't why I paint. I paint because I like doing it, but at the same time I wouldn't be worrying about anything else - only my painting." Beryl Cook

Beryl's fans have started to fight back against the art snobs who have given her work the cold shoulder.

In 2007 they launched a campaign against the Tate Modern in London for spending thousands of pounds on a can of conceptual human excrement, and not buying a single painting by Beryl Cook.

The artist reamined unconcerned, however: "I don't see the point actually," she said. "What would they do with one of mine I ask you. And anyway, how can I compete with tins of you know what! Unless I paint them!"

For Beryl, it was not the idea of seeing her paintings hanging at the major galleries which thrilled her - it was the enjoyment they bring to people.

"They actually do still cheer people up and I'm awfully pleased about that." (taken from the BBC Culture Show interview)



















I found out today that Beryl Cook died..... so its not fashionable to like her, but I always have. She reminds me not to get pompous about painting and why I do it, despite us having wildly different styles.

I felt quite sad when I heard....

Yamash!

Got back from Greece a couple of days ago...

It was such a good holiday! Lots of sun, swimming in the sea, relaxing, reading, cocktails and good food! And now I feel ready to come back to reality, as this holiday has made me feel rejuvinated.....

My new favourite thing.....

Is being up at my art studio painting whilst the rain hammers down outside. The roof there has little corregated skylights, and the sound of the rain is amplified so it sounds much heavier than it probably is. But theres something about it, a bit like that feeling when it is raining heavilly outside and you are tucked up in bed! I loved it up there yesterday.....

Studio Upstairs.... Visual Arts gallery is LIVE!

The Studio Upstairs gallery is now live!! And I'm on it!

Check it out by visiting the link in my favourites here on the blog

Camping musings

Had such a good weekend. It didn't matter that the weather wasn't great, it was just good to get away and be reminded yet again of why I love camping so much. Its all about living in the moment and getting back in touch with what you want to be doing and what your body needs, rather than rushing from place to place and being too busy to stop and think. And bad weather can sometimes add to the expereince I think. There is nothing quite like being tucked up in a warm bed with the the noise of the rain falling inches from your head, but knowing that you are warm and dry and cosy..... sigh! I love camping! I love sitting round a stove, fire or BBQ with friends, just talking and laughing and drinking late into the night, no need for TV or computers to provide entertainment. I love waking up really early, having no idea what time it is, but just getting up because it is light and I have heard that there is a brew imminent! I love being scruffy and not showering and not caring what I look like. I ESPECIALLY love getting home and then having the longest bath in the world, and then stepping out and feeling cleaner than I have ever felt......

I learnt to properly knit this weekend, and I intend to keep going with it. Don't know if I am going to be any good, but i plan to persevere and find out.

Also, i had a moment which I want to hang on to. Its difficult to explain, but it involved a frantic search for chocolate, the Jurrassic Park theme and laughing so hard because of a funny (yet too hard to describe) moment which tied all five people together in mutual hysterics. I remember turning to Dave and telling him how I wanted to record this moment somehow (the Ipod was playing "My baby just cares for me" by Nina Simone) and think back on it if I was ever feeling down in order to remind me that life is actually OK. I'm rambling, and the only other people who may get what I am saying are the four others who were there, but I felt really alive in this moment, and had a feeling that life is just sweet!

So, thanks to Dave, Dave, Lor and Ant for making this a great weekend. May it be the first of many adventures this summer!

Guess what I got up to this weekend?

This........














Led to this.......




















Mind you, there was some of this involved......