Blog

Simply..tick, tick....

16/10/2021

list of titles, sizes amd prices to gallery - tick
wall text and cv to gallery - tiick
photgraph 15 paintings - tick
final check each painting - tick
invitations - tick
arrange transport (two vehicles) - tick
wrap ready to transport - tick
confirm arrangements private view - tick

Getting there!

This is And On The Ships At Sea

Simply..not panicking....

14/10/2021

Definitely not. Though the pressure is on. The exhibition opens next week.

I have been without phone and camera for 8 days. We are so used to next day delivery here in uk that I couod not believe how long it took to get sorted. What timing!

I have still to photograph all the paintings...

This is Yellow Gate In The Snow 11. I plan to post them all on my studio page, but if you are near enough I hope you will come to the exhibition!

Simply..sign of the times....

14/10/2021

In a florist's window -

FLOWER SHORTAGE!

PANIC BUY HERE.

Simply..strength returns...

4/10/2021

..with every kind word. Thank you so much for your recent comments.

i am getting better, but my phone has died! And as I need it to write here, there will be short delay....

Apologies x

Simply..baby steps ....

2/10/2021

back to health and back to basics. First cuppa, with a tiny homemade biscuit. I've not been eating much.

I was careful not to switch on to the outrage/scandal/hysteria and other media madness, but opened the bedroom window, listened to the wind and the birds and slowly sipped the tea and nibbled gently on the biscuit, savouring every crumb. So lovely! Some lightly cooked chicken and a little salad and lots of water. Some extreme self care is called for...

Any tips most welcome.

Simply..the small things....

1/10/2021

..the very very small things.

Like tiny seedlings of wnter saladseSomething I have not tried before, but feeling a bit down (still a bit unwell) it lifted my spirits to transplant some seedlings. We all need something to care for, whether it be people or pets or plants.

What lifts your spirits if you are low?

Simply..a rainbow kind of a day....

29/9/2021

Simply..crossing the city....

28/9/2021

..in all it's complexity - diversions, road works, scaffolding, high viz jackets and hard hats, road signs, sandbags, queues, petrol stations, ambulance and fire engine sirens, temporary barriers and pedestrian footpaths, new buildings going up so fast, old landmarks disappearing, it strikes me that it is a bit of a miracle that things function as well as they do!

A little bit of silly provides light relief...

Simply..Open Studios....

25/9/2021

It is Cowal Open Studios weekend and I visited Jackie Stevenson in her new studio in the village and bought some of her gorgeous cards.

There are five artists showing in my village alone, and 52 over Cowal - a lovely buzz from the many friendly talented people who are taking part. (I was a founder member but am not participating this year....maybe next year - it's a really nice thing to be part of.)

If you are near enough I urge you to make the trip, if not have a lovely online browse..

Simply..the surprising thing....

20/9/2021

..about being ill in bed for twelve days was that the sky didn't fall in and the world went on as usual without any input from me! Imagine!

Some mystery bug (not Covid) laid me low, strong painkillers and antibiotics are slowly working.

The weather has been dreary and still, with low cloud all day long.

Apart from brushing my teeth and doing some laundry (was sick on the duvet) I haave done nothing. For almost two weeks.

As I contemplate the beauty of this pear before I drizzle it with lemon oil and scatter it with crushed walnuts, I realise it is the first time I have been interested in food for a fortnight.

I should have looked inside that book Never Lose Your Sparkle instead of just photographing it's jaunty cover!

I do hope this finds you all well and thriving.

Simply.. a little blog break....

12/9/2021

Meanwhile..

Simply..visiting old friends....

9/9/2021

A walk through the Botanic Gardens, a meal sitting outside on a warm evening in Byer's Road, a visit to Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery to view some of my favourite paintings, breakfast in their cafe which had just opened again that morning, and the purchase of a pair of cosy gloves from the museum shop.

It was only 24 hours but it felt like a long weekend and I enjoyed every minute!

Almost 'normal'.

Simply..a gentle day....

8/9/2021

Overstimulated by a trip to the city, I was grateful for a gentle start to today.

The mist was slow to rise and the morning air cool and moist. It's turning inot a beautiful sunny day, and I will be taking it easy. A little painting, a little housework and a little planning...No news today. I am looking after my mental health.

What are your plans for today?

Simply..embracing change....

6/9/2021

What else can we do after all? As MaryB said it's too soon to hunker down, but I love her idea of stocking up om preserves and harvesting. I helped a friend lift potatoes yesterday - very satisfying. And the path to the shore is thick with brambles. A few apple and bramble puddings in the freezer would be very satisfying too. Any other ideas for keeping melancholy at bay would be most welcome...

Simply..a tinge of melancholy....

4/9/2021

..always comes over me when I have to acknowledge that summer is over..

Simply..in the words of Mole....

3/9/2021

....
If at first you don't succeed...have some cake.

It's often worked in the past, but oddly , I seem to have gone off cake! Which could in fact be useful as I am still trying to lose those pandemic pounds....

Charlie Mackesey's description of mole stuffing himself with cake in The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse always makes me laugh out loud.

Simply..the woebegones....

2/9/2021

MaryB mentioned that she was feeling haunted by the images of 'woebegone' children in Joan Eardley's work, and I thought you would like to know that many of the children she drew went on to thrive. Thanks to post war Britain's welfare state - free education for all, free healthcare for all (the eye sqint was successfully operated on for example), free school meals, cod liver oil and orange juice, and slum clearance, the abject poverty of many families, including the Sampson family of 12 children, was alleviated. Not to mention effective contraception.

Two of the Sampson girls, Pat and Ann, now work with charities in Glasgow which help the (thankfully smaller) homeless population.

Both heartbreaking and heartening, and all within living memory.

More honest and moving images here.

Simply..sad flowers?

31/8/2021

I have just learned that one of the common names of astrantia is Melancholy Gentlemen!

This lovely one is called Hadspen's Blood. I told this to a visitor on an open day (we used to open the garden in the yellow book scheme). She exclaimed Husband's Blood! That's a strange name for a plant!

Hadspen was a wonderful garden in Somerset, sadly no longer in existence.

Simply..happy flowers....

30/8/2021

My neighbour's sunflowers bring a big smile to the faces of passers-by...

Simply..it took....

27/8/2021

It took five buses, one train and two ferries to get to Edinburgh and back yesterday on an impulse trip to catch the Joan Eardley exhibition on its penultiimate day.

It was wonderful to be in Edinburgh again, and in an art gallery again! And so worth it to see this exhibition. 42 works of breathtaking honesty, compassion and sheer bravery. It takes courage to do your own thing and put it out in the world to be judged.

Reproductions are of course pretty amazing, but nothing is so moving as standing in ftont of the real thing! How I have missed it. Have you?

My favourite little cafe/delicatessen G&T a few doors up from The Scottish Gallery has changed hands after many decades, but they do a nice cappuccino.

Life is looking up.

Simply..hot!

26/8/2021

After a visit to the gallery yesterday to try to assess if I have enough paintings for my forthcoming exhibition -I have! - I allowed myself half an hour in the hammock. Lovely.

I hope you are getting some sunshine too. It's good for the soul.

Simply..sad....

25/8/2021

..to hear this morning of the death of artist Elizabeth Balckadder. Prolific, popular and yet remained an artists' artist, and was hugely influential. Sophisticated and completely without pretension. She freed botanical painting from it's straightjacket. Life in every brushstroke, she will live on through her wonderful work.

You are sure to recognize some of the images here.

Simply..live lighter....

24/8/2021

Feeling lighter now that I have 14 paintings completed! What could make you live ligher?

More from the white area of Jennie's garden..

Simply..a sweet message....

23/8/2021

A lovely detail from Jennie's garden which goes from light in one corner, through all the colours, to dark in the opposite corner. Gorgeous.

Simply..blizzard in the sunshine....

22/8/2021