Starting Over......

Quite a few weeks ago, before the various pieces of commissioned work, I was in the middle of painting this using my lovely set of Derwent Inktense pencils and colour blocks.  It all seems a very long time ago and I feel that I have forgotten the method of working I was using as well as losing all momentum and enthusiasm.  Recently, several people have asked me if I have more than one painting on the go at the same time - the answer is 'no' and this is the reason why.  I find it very hard to go back to a picture once the initial excitement has died down.  While I am 'in the moment' there is a certain rhythm to the work - I get to know exactly which colours and brushes I need and how to obtain the effect I am after.  After a protracted break, especially one during which other paintings using other mediums have been completed, it's hard to get back into the mindset of the abandoned work.  I will give this one a go, if only for the fact I put an awful lot of effort into getting it this far, but my heart's really not in it.

My yarn stash has remained fairly static for a long time, new yarns being bought strictly for commissioned projects rather than just because they look pretty.  However, this week I have cracked and bought some scrummy raspberry pink Louisa Harding yarn from Stash Fine Yarns sale with a view to knitting myself a lacy shawl/scarf.  The tiger striped sock yarn was for a possible commission which fell through, but I couldn't resist it's rich oranges and have a germ of an idea for a new knitted creature.  For the time being however, I have a couple more things to knit for other people, after which I can hopefully get back to knitting for my own pleasure for a while!

Shiny, Shiny.......

After a couple of weeks of not having enough time to paint, which was almost physically painful for me, I have now got back into the routine of working at the day job in the mornings and creating enough time in the afternoons to paint.  On the drawing board at the moment is a fairly ambitious project of a peacock - it was going to be a flamingo which would have been far less labour-intensive, but hey, this took my fancy instead. I am using the Derwent set of Inktense pencils and colour blocks - still not tired of them!  This promises to take quite a while if I am to achieve the detail I want - in the meantime, some actual paid work is on the horizon so I may have to shelve the peacock for a while.

Tallking of paid work, we are now nearly into October and Christmas is becoming visible on the horizon.  If you've been thinking that you'd like to commission something from me as a Christmas present, now is the time to get in touch before it's too late.  As much as I'd like to spend all my time painting and knitting, there are only 24 hours in the day and the month before Christmas gets pretty hectic, so to guarantee you get what you want in time, grab me now!

Still working on the knitted aquarium - the cabinet stand is complete and I am now knitting the base and back and still pondering how to attach it all without it collapsing - bearing in mind there will be wires strung across the top to suspend the fish from.  Here are the fish - one new bright orange one and all now with tiny sequin scales.  All three are roughly an inch and a half long.