Festival Preparations

I've spent most of the day mounting & cello wrapping some postcard size paintings, just little abstract pieces done from memory, of a lanscape, an area glimpsed from the car window or a mountain range.  I'm really pleased with how they look and they are now ready to take over to Draycott Arts & Gardens Festival on Sunday.  The festival opens on Sunday at noon and runs through til 5pm Monday.  I'll be showing my paintings this year.  I feel that I am finally finding my way of expressing myself creatively, by using paint.  I have tried sewing, sculpture, textiles, mosaic but keep coming back to painting, so for now, that's what I'm sticking with.

Revived and Rested

I'm feeling very revived and rested after this xmas break.  I even managed to finish a painting and start a new one.

View of the Mountains from Beaumaris

I was fairly exhausted in the run up to this xmas and very relieved that I now feel recovered.  I also feel very hopeful for the New Year.  I have a instinctual feeling that something good is going to happen and lately I have been trying to practise trusting my instinct.  If my gut feeling says its wrong, then I'm going with it.
Learning to recognise the feeling of instinct or nervousness is tricky though and I have got these muddled in the past.
So I decided to put myself outside of my comfort zone and start applying for competitions. The first one I've applied for is Channel 4's, Show Me the Monet.  They attraction of having my work critiqued and a possible selling show in London was strong so I followed my instinct, ignored the horrible nervous feeling of 'What if I actually get somewhere with this and end up on telly!' and pressed the submit button.
I have also got a list of other competitions to enter and a feeling of great positivity.  I plan on making the Law of Attraction work for me this year!

Mountain View

View from Beaumaris to the Mainland.

My latest painting, again, not sure whether I like it. But I have learnt to do hide it away for a couple of months before I look at it again.  I used my new paints for this, which are very vibrant and colourful, exactly the sort I love to work with.

I've struggled with this painting, at one point, I whited it out and had to return some of the vibrancy.

I also used a board and not paper, which is out of my comfort zone, I feel very precious about using boards to paint on and it was a challenge to let go of having to produce a perfect piece of work.  When working on paper I am happy to make a mess and remain playful, to make mistakes and not feel that I have ruined whatever I am working on.  I'm still trying to find this freedom when working on a different background.

My two wooden frames have been returned to me today, so the challenge will be to cover them in canvas and make two large paintings in the new year.