Roll on 2014

The last time I was this excited about the year to come was back on New Year's Day, 2005, the day after I got engaged.

So, what has got me so excited?

Well, I have chosen a direction, an area, themes, which my paintings are going to explore in future. How long this future will last, who knows, but I suspect it may well be a lifetime.

At the moment I am working on the first few paintings after clarifying matters to myself so have nothing yet to show - and as I have decided to start slowly, not stray too far from my previous work while I gain experience and confidence, when they are done they may not seem like the beginning of something. But I have faith.

Which makes me sound terribly delusional. This is appropriate, as make-believe, the cross over between reality and fantasy, is the ground I wish to investigate. There are many threads to this, but one impetus was being in Rome. There are few really good paintings of women with character and often instead they are portrayed as the artist's fantasy (all those half naked Magdelenes clutching their hair to their bosums.) This got me thinking about how people (especially women) routinely role play and whether I could paint this.

Since then, I have been doing more delving and exploration (from reading old favourites like Alice In Wonderland, Sandman and Shakespeare and watching Disney movies, to infesting the University library and reading books with no pictures covering subjects including feminist theory, film history, comparative theology and the psychology of fashion.) There are more paths than I can follow but boy, the research is fun!

Ambitious, me? Well, what why not try something bigger? There are have been few times in my life I have been more certain something was a good idea (and yes, getting engaged was one of them) and, like marriage, at the moment I have no real idea how things are going to work out and realise there are likely to be bad bits.. But the plan is exciting and everyone I have got involved so far have been fascinated with plenty to contribute and basically it just feels right - there are so many artworks I love, things I own and people I adore that are related in one way or the other that it feels as if I am pulling all the different strands into one place.

So, this year the aim is to put together a body of work of which I am proud, dealing with how people present themselves.

At The Start Of 2013

Seemed appropriate to start the year with a painting of growth.

So, what are the plans? To get better, to learn, as always.

To meet new people and talk to old friends more.

To visit new places (like maybe Italy) and old places (Paris and up the west coast).

To enter more competitions - which means ones in London. This may well also mean more visits down there.

Paintings wise currently I am passionate about landscapes, both rural and urban, although I do plan on painting people again soon. Some of these will be tronies as previously, but some may will be more complex works. Flowers may also be working their way onto my paintings, since the Yellow Roses were such fun to paint.

This should be the year I move into a studio - which will mean some big changes in the way I work.

Last year opened up the possibilities so I expect this one will be full of development rather than exploring new avenues. But then, things happen, so who knows?

Happy new year to all of you, hope it is a good one, and would love to hear your plans - there does seem to be a special kind of magic in writing it all down for everyone to read!

The Year Ahead 2012

Even later with this, but anyway, here goes.

First up, more blogging - this month I'm taking part in the 28 drawings later project on Facebook again,and will be writing about it here. English was never my best subject at school (oddly enough, Maths probably was. Oh, and Art) so more blogging will be a challenge. As, of course, will be drawing every day. But it was such a blast last year, really made me experiment, and was very supportive. Also, I am hoping to write pretty much every day during the upcoming residency at The Art Student's League in May.

Which, of course, is the big upcoming art event for this year. What do I hope to gain? New friends, lots of sketches and paintings, more confidence as a painter and a better understanding of art history. It has given me a deadline to try and learn as much as I can on my own, so I'll be further along when I get there, so I can take advantage of the teaching better. That alone has been useful . . .

One of the things I'm concentrating on is composition, playing with foreground and background, as well as using the full figure rather than just the head. Another area is landscapes - a new venture since I started doing some landscape drawings last year during the challenge. It takes quite a lot of guts to sit in public and paint . . . drawing is hard enough!

It is hard to set goals, though - I never dreamt this time last year that I would be going to New York, or possibly taking part in my first Art Fair. So I guess the main thing is to keep painting and see where it leads me . . .

2011 in review

Well, it seems there are a lot of bloggers out there summarizing the year just gone, so I thought (belatedly!) I'd have a go, too.

In January I went to ATYN for the first time, and gradually started to go more often as I found the set up (especially the spot lights!) great - and the short poses fun. This lead to me meeting Donna , who encouraged me to join Etsy. I had been thinking about selling my artwork (especially drawings) more directly as I felt that the feedback would be really useful. The Etsy community have been lovely and I have had several watercolours wing their way over to America, which is rather cool.

This Blog also "went live" and has gained several followers - hello peeps! Reading other blogs has become a more regular habit, helping me learn all sorts of useful stuff - not least, about the Art Students League in New York. Where I am going for an arts residency in May.

Art Exposure Gallery has been showing my work regularly and I started showing at The Virginia Gallery after taking part in a show organised by Fiona Wilson

What else? A trip to Amsterdam gave me quite a boost, leading to one of my paintings being accepted by the RGI - and selling on the opening night.

So, a good year overall, with the main problems being my health - particularly the dratted shoulder and its operation in May. This has forced me to rethink my painting methods and work much smaller. It also limits what I can carry and my ability to get out and about - I swear the only nice weather we had was just after the op! Still, did manage one plein air painting trip and being focused must surely be a good thing . . .