NEOS, Hares & #artvartist

As I said in an earlier post I've signed up to do NEOS (North East Open Studios) in September and I'm already thinking why oh why did I let my OH talk me into this! OH is being very encouraging and supportive and has started to prepare the garden where we are going to build a summerhouse/cabin that will be my studio for the event. He has made a start on thinning the trees a little and removing all the pampas grass (which I hate) from the garden at the front of the croft. We have decided to put it in this part of the garden because we will be able to see the beautiful view of the hills and the Loch. We've also made a start on making a few changes to the garden and we will be getting some plants and shrubs. I'm getting quite excited about the garden makeover as we never really use this garden, but hopefully once the summerhouse/cabin is built we will use the garden more when we have time to relax, we might even manage a few BBQ's on summer evenings.

 

As I've been busy with the garden and the house  not much creativity has been happening. I have found time however to paint a few dreamcatchers this week and have been experimenting with a few digital ideas. Hoping to get more creative work done this week and have some new prints in my shop in time for CRAFTfest on 10th-12th June.

I have always loved hares and have admired Carole Ann Halls paintings for a while now and at last got around to buying one. My colourful Fighting Hares is now framed and hung near my computer desk so I can see it while I work. You can find Carole on Facebook at Carol Loves Art and she also has a shop on Etsy Carole Loves Art

My Fighting Hares are hung underneath another hare painting which my OH bought a few years ago. This is a totally different style of painting but I've always loved this one too. This one was painted by Elinor Grieve, whose wildlife paintings are quite amazing. You can find Elinor on Facebook at Elis Art and she also has a website  Art by Elinor. Both artists Facebook pages/Etsy shop/website are well worth a visit.

 

Over on Instagram there was this thing going on called #artvartist so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon :) I discovered some amazing art and design creations and I'm now following a few more artists and designer. It was also great to receive lots of  'Likes' on my work and have some more new followers. 

Did you post a pic for #artvartist?

Mum's Garden, Dreamcatcher & Anti-Fracking

I've had a week off as my mum came to stay for a few days and then I drove her home and stayed with her so I could catch up with my kids and grandkids. My mum chose the best week to come for a visit as we had blue skies and beautiful sunshine and we even managed to have 2 BBQ's. I enjoyed relaxing for a few days as I am always busy doing one thing or another. I also loved catching up with my kids and grandkids and we had lots of laughs and hugs. My mums garden is looking good so I got my camera out and took a few photos.

 The old oak tree in my mums garden is starting to open its leaves. I used to love climbing this tree when I was a kid, but don't think I could manage now.

I love the rough texture of the bark on the oak tree and I think I will be using this texture somewhere in one of my digital designs.

It was my daughters birthday last month and she had asked me to paint her a Dreamcatcher as a present. She told me colours that she would like and that she wanted it to be subtle, light and faded, definitely not bright colours. So I got to work and then I framed her painting and gave it to her while I was down visiting. She loved it and was surprised at how big it was, but it still fits in the spot where she is going to hang it. It is A3 but by the time it is mounted and framed it is bigger.

Those that know me know I am dead against Fracking. Since having to do research for a college project on Anti-Fracking a few years ago the more I found out the more I knew that Fracking is not a good idea. So many disasters, pollution, health risks to humans and animals, far too many chemicals used and left in the ground, so much fresh water mixed with chemicals and sand in the process of fracking that then has to be stored and transported to "safe places" to be cleaned, but they can't remove everything! mans greed is destroying our planet!
OK RANT OVER :)
This morning I went back to one of my concept ideas for my project, which wasn't used and developed it more. Here is my final poster design. If any Anti-Fracking Groups would like to use this poster, they are more than welcome to, just contact me and I will send you a hi res jpeg file. I will even change the hashtag at the bottom of the poster or add your website or Facebook page URL for you Free of Charge :)

That's all for now folks!