Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen

I still love this & always will. 

Sharing my favourite Indie finds fwith Piccadilly Lane

Hello all, I'm  delighted to say that I've been featured on the Piccadilly Lane blog today sharing my favourite Indie finds! Do take a look :)

http://www.piccadillylane.com/blog/indie-picks-the-little-brown-rabbit/

Artist Interview with Georgina Vinsun

Today I am very excited to be able to post my second artist interview of 2015.

I first saw this artist's work on Not On The High Street & I've been captivated ever since. I find her paintings mesmerising, there is so much movement in them- I see waves of water, gentle explosions & shooting stars in night skies. There's something tremendously soothing about her paintings, I just find them utterly delightful.

This lady is also a mama, so it was great to get another conversation going on life as an artist & mother & all the juggling that entails! I want to inspire all mothers out there to keep going for your dreams- it can be done!

So do grab yourself a cuppa, sit in your comfiest chair & enjoy my next interview with the very talented abstract painter Georgina Vinsun.

P.S She is an AMAZING knitter too!!

Hi Georgie, can you tell us a bit about yourself & how long you've been painting professionally for?

Hello! I’m a graduate of Loughborough University (2005 – Fine Art), an avid knitter, a mum of two small boys and a real homebody. I’ve been painting professionally for a few years now, although it took a while to get to a point where I could support myself so I had a full-time job alongside my practice for a number of years. I always worked on my paintings in the evenings, a method of working I still use today due to the children!

When starting a new piece of work, staring at a blank canvas can be daunting. What is your go-to/favourite method you use to create your backgrounds or start your paintings?

I like coverage, so I prefer to work with loose sloppy mixtures of paint to start with and to completely cover the canvas. I feel more comfortable with a covered canvas & work up the entire piece in layers.

What are your favourite art supplies currently?

I like a change from time to time but I always go back to Sennelier’s dry pigments which I mix up myself grotbag-style in old plastic pots. I’m a very ‘whatever’ worker so I use all sorts of scraps to mix & store my paints in/on, I also never really use a proper palette, I just use whatever comes to hand at the time, my table, the supports for my current canvas, scraps of wood...

Like myself you are a mother and someone who is self-employed. We have to wear many hats & take on many roles! It's a juggling act & most of the time I struggle to fit anything creative into my day! Can you give us any tips on how you organise your days to ensure you have time to create & what percentage of your time is 'creative time' during the week versus everything else?

I don’t really do much in the way of painting during the day, occasionally I’ll touch up some edges while the baby takes a nap and I’ll do small snippets of admin during nap time too. My eldest started nursery in September, so I get a couple of hours to myself every afternoon depending on the baby’s nap schedule. I use that time for myself and for wrapping paintings ready to post.

I have a number of little rules because I like/need a tidy house (it calms me!) so I rarely go up or downstairs empty-handed, I do housework in quick bursts all day, often I’ll cook or prep our tea in the afternoon so it’s ready and I don’t have to rush about in the late afternoon. I think organisation helps (and I’m not naturally organised, I have to work at it).

I paint in the evenings, the same way I used to when I was working full time. Luckily for me I work well in short bursts so this set-up suits me although I do look forward to the future a little bit, just to a time when I can paint in the daytime and structure my days a bit more and I can do more knitting/reading/gardening... I’m reluctant to wish my boys’ childhood away however, so I make sure I’m content with NOW.

Are there any words of encouragement you would like to give to creative Mummies out there who are feeling run down & frustrated creatively. In other words when you are tired and don't have much time spare, how do you keep yourself ticking over creatively?

You have got to take a break and allow yourself to feel no guilt for taking a break. Breaks are incredibly important, even if you feel you’ve hardly done anything creative of late, or if you feel as though you’re treading water and everyone else in the world is making amazing things and you’re not doing anything.

I can’t work if I’m really tired from the boys/housework/admin, so I just shut the door on it and veg out in front of the TV or have a long hot bath with a book to read. It’s definitely a balancing act, so for myself personally, I find I need to make time for my other interests (knitting...) otherwise I can’t settle properly in the studio. Oh, and if you’re able to get a good night’s sleep then do it!

For anyone just starting out, what did you find was the best way to get your work out there & seen? e.g Art Agent, approaching galleries, entering art competitions, Instagram, Flickr, blog or online shop? Or a combination of all?

Good question! I started on one online gallery (back in 2005) and once I’d sorted out a place to live post-uni and all the other things (access to my other half’s laptop!) I started researching. Researching helped me no end in the beginning and I think those starting out now have even more to go at. I found artists whose work I felt a connection with and who were determined, hardworking individuals and I looked at how they’d got to where they were.

I entered so many art competitions when I started out, it was such a horrible waste of money! I’m not sure I’d advise art competitions to everyone, I think they suit certain artists and not others.

In terms of social media, I love Instagram, it’s great for visual artists but I find that actual buyers find me on selling sites rather than anywhere social-media-y! I tried Facebook but I hated it, it’s so grotty and old fashioned, I found Twitter useless too, and don’t get me started on LinkedIn! But that’s me and for you those platforms may work really well. I say, choose one or two and do them really well otherwise you risk spreading yourself too thin.

I find sites like Saatchi Art and Art Finder really useful & sell pieces through them and find additional buyers, people who wish to commission me and interest from other platforms (Not on the High Street found me on Saatchi Art). Often the selling sites don’t cost anything to try out and you can always delete the ones which don’t work, believe me I’ve tried a LOT of selling sites.

What other artists are inspiring you at the moment?

Oh, so many! I love Geoff Diego Litherland, Susie Hamilton and Clare Price. I like clever arty art and always used to wish to be a clever gallery-type artist with a degree from the RCA. I’ve got over that weird ambition (it doesn’t come naturally to me) and have settled down into who I really am as an artist over the last few years and feel much happier for it.

Thanks so, so much for taking part Georgie. Please tell us where we can connect with you.

website: GeorgiePaint
blog: georgievinsun
Instagram: georginavinsun

I'm The Birthday Girl

It's my Birthday today! So I'm going to fill it with lots of loveliness & try to spoil myself.

I am loving this quote today

And because I am feeling happy, here are some snippets of work that are making me smile today : -)

And can life get any better than seeing a bunny smiling in his sleep?

I don't think so!

Have a great day everyone

Love & Light

me

x

Happy Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone! I defy you not to smile if you watch this.

This inspired me today

Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they're deciding, make even more art.

Andy Warhol

I feel Christmassy!

It's December, which means I officially feel all Christmassy! :) And to kick off my Christmas festivities I'm having a special blog offer on this week. It's my way of saying a BIG thank you to you for all your support this year.

Buy any one of my prints and you can have (as a special gift to you) a print for free. Just type the code 'SNOWFLAKE' & the name of the free print you would like in the message to seller box at checkout. Offer ends Sunday 9th at midnight.

You can visit my Not On The Highstreet shop here & my Etsy shop here. I have different products in each shop so it's worth checking out both. I offer international shipping in both shops too.

Many thanks again & enjoy! :)

Virginia Wolf

I just had to share this beautiful book with you today.

Virginia Wolf

Written by Kyo Maclear

Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

"A story of two sis­ters, one blue, the other radi­ant, both brim­ming with imagination." 

The book is loosely based on the relationship between Virginia Woolf and her sister (the painter) Vanessa Bell. One day Virginia wakes up in a "wolfish" mood and her sister Vanessa does everything she can to make her sister happy again.

I have to say I let out a little squeal of delight when I opened up this book. The story is so touching & the illustrations are just beautiful. I will treasure this book.

Thank you to Emily for sharing such a wonderful find!

I Love My Daddy

I don't know why but I just adore this card! I think its the cuteness of their faces :)

Each card is personalised on the back with the name of your choice & then decorated with a touch of sparkle and (check me!) I hand emboss the milk bottles too to make the look and feel of the card extra special!

I think this would make a lovely Birthday or Father's Day card.

If you want to read and see more, it's now available in my shop.

Right off to wake the little one up!

Colour it in!

I originally designed this card for Evie to give to her Daddy. I wanted it to look like she had drawn it and then I got the pencils, pens and crayons out and let Evie colour it in, she loved every minute and it made the card so special :) My Hubby loved it so much that I decided to put it in the shop too.

Each card is individually handmade by myself, printed onto a beautiful, white, heavyweight (300gsm) board and then decorated with a touch of glitter. It's blank inside for your own special message and is available to buy as a Birthday card, Mother's Day card or Father's Day card.

Click here for more info. I can also ship internationally now :)

I love designing for friends and family because it allows total freedom to create whatever comes into my head- I don't need to worry about what people will think, I can just go for it! Then it got me thinking- shouldn't I be doing this all the time? It's amazing how much pressure we can put on ourselves to design/create in a certain way so we don't feel embarrassed to show the end result. But if we do this all the time won't we will lose the opportunity to create something new & fresh? Something that could be amazing? I was slightly scared to put this in the shop for the reasons above- it is VERY different from what I usually do but hey, I love it, it makes me smile- my husband loves it too and recently a friend bought a couple for his children, so you know what I'm going to go for it!

I spy with my little eye........

Bobble the little cat

Bobble is made from an old woolly hat. He always wants to help, but because he has cloth ears, sometimes he doesn't quite get it right!

Isn't he gorgeous! I'm thinking he should perhaps be mine after all & not Evie's! Bad Mummy!

Photo was taken using my Instagram App

No matter what kind of day your having........

.........trust me- this will make you laugh out loud!

http://www.dafina.net/gazette/video/bebe-qui-eclate-de-rire-en-dechirant-du-papier

Something to make you smile ;)

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.