Nude Model

A few weeks ago I did a painting of an old street with some children playing, If only had it on  the website for a short time & it has already been a best seller. So I wanted to do more olden day themes, when I first started painting plates as a teenager I loved finding old black & white Victorian photos & painting them in colour so I guess I have come full circle.

I never expected to be painting naked pictures of myself but I guess you never know what can happen when you're self employed. I remembered an old black & white picture of me as a child in a bath with my nephew I had to add all of the background & after a lot of hard work I finally have a finished painting. On the original photo we had an 1970's council house tiled fireplace so the think the children in my painting with a Range fireplace are quite a bit posher than we ever were.

 

Smelly Cat

Another day another new product. Well actually it's an old product we
used to make from clay. We are now printing these onto a creamy glossy Fiberglass. We can print the small hanging heart with a personal message but I also like useful things as well as gifts that just look pretty so we can still make the little hanging heart from clay so that a few drops of scented oil can soak in & make it into a Smelly Cat!

Janurary one of my favorite months

Most people don't like January but to me it is one of my favorite months. It is the month I get to do all those little jobs around the house that I have to put off the rest of the year as I have no time. It is the month I have the tidiest house & the most nights off. It is also the month I get time to think about & try out new ideas.
We have changed a lot over the last few years & we are now adding more items to our printed range including these new Heart Brooches which I love, I have just got them today so it is exciting to see them finished & ready to go.

We have also just got our new Stars which I have been looking forward to for months. I painted this Red Squirrel looking up at the stars in anticipation of putting it on this hanging star.

We also have some other new items waiting for paintings but I think these are enough for one day.

Refelctions 2013

It has been a long while since I have wrote my blog, I always have  ideas for blogs but don't seem to get round to it. But as it is nearly the end of the year it would be nice to reflect on 2013.
It has been a tough year the craft fairs have not been as good as they used to be & every trader I speak too is finding it hard going. We have changed alot over 2013 we how print more than we handpaint but as long as I can hand paint the original artwork I'm happy. I guess every business has to evolve to survive & we have changed more in the last year than since I started in 1996.
We have  added lots of new products to our range including children's gifts like this Money Box.

I have really enjoyed painting for the Children's range of gifts my latest design is one of my favourite's "Moon Rabbits". A customer requested a design to go with the wording "I love you to the Moon & Back" so at first I thought of painting Owls sitting in a tree with the moon light but they ended up as Rabbits.
I guess things don't always work out as you first think but sometimes it is for the better, a bit like 2013. We had some bad shows where we thought we would never sell again only to come home & find loads of orders for printed items waiting for us. We were lucky to get orders from most of the Tourist Information's in Northumberland. So I spent the summer painting Alnwick, Berwick & Puffins.  We also added Friends of Durham Cathedral shop to our customers, they had a really busy summer with the Lindesfarne Gospels so we were constantly getting orders for Durham Mugs, Magnets & Bookmarks.
But the seasons change & the orders for the Tourists die back like the summer flowers to be replaced with Holly, Robins & Snow.  I was asked if I would like to place an advert in the December Prima & Vogue magazines but I needed a new mug design for the winter. I only had a few days to the deadline so one September weekend I did a painting of a Winter Footpath, printed the mug on the Monday morning & sent it off to the Magazines on the same day. I think I work better under pressure. The mug has been selling really well & makes me wonder if that is the way to go in 2014 more magazine adverts as they are a similar price to alot of craft shows but there is a much wider audience. So now I am trying to get my mind on Daffodils & all things spring for House Beautiful March issue but that is not easy when you spend every other day painting snowmen & Robins.

Freedom - Feb 2013

I am really enjoying painting on paper for the first time for about fifteen years. One of the reasons I started painting on plates was that I felt there were so many good artists about I could not do any better & a blank plate is not as scary as a blank piece of paper at least not to me. But as we have started printing onto mugs I needed some paintings to fit them so I started painting on paper over the Christmas Holidays. It was a bit strange at first but I am still piping the design onto the paper using a cake decorating bag as I do with the ceramics so it is not too different. The main thing I have to watch is that I do not get my piping bags mixed up as the kiln would burn all traces of the non ceramic piping paste away.

I love being able to put more detail into the paintings & be able to do all the paintings I have been planing in my head for the last 10 years but have never had time to do. I normally have to stop myself from painting too much detail on the ceramics so it is lovely to have the freedom to paint as much as I like for a change & maybe I might even get a little more freedom from working 24/7.

  

Original photo & Painting                                                    Finished Mug

Right Third Time - Nov 2012

Seems like forever since I have had a moment to write a blog, with such a large amount of orders from Country Living magazine we thought we would never get through them, but I think we are coming out the other side now & straight into the Christmas rush. Sometimes I get so stressed I cannot sleep at night so I start working which often makes things worst but now & again I get my best ideas at night.
We have just been getting a new kitten as I convinced my Husband she would pay for her keep by being a model for me. So far she has had her paws in the paint, chewed my paint brushes & everyday nearly knocks over our pots.  So one night when I could not sleep I put her to work as a model for a Christmas Plate. I tend to find that most designs are never right first time, they often take a bit of working out. As I don't have time to mess about with a pencil & paper I have to do my try outs straight on to the ceramics with a pack of baby wipes by my side just in case it all goes wrong. It seems to be third time lucky. By the third try I usually feel that I am happy with the design & I have got it out of my system & I am ready to look for something esle to inspire me.

   

However sometimes I am left unsure which design I like best?

I love Birds July 2012

I love these cute bird hearts.

I know a lot of customers in the north-east do not like anything with a bird on in their homes. I think it might be something to do with the Miners & the birds they used to keep down the mine to warn them of gas. However I cannot resist doing these designs so it is a good job that we are going to be travelling all over the country in the next few weeks because if they do not sell I will be really disappointed.

Busy doing nothing June 2012

We are attending the Arley Garden festival this weekend, well my other half is. I am a fair weather craft seller I just could not face the rain & the mud & the three hour drive with the kids, sometimes it is just nice to be at home doing nothing. We have alot of shows coming up so I am really enjoying a lazy weekend.

I have just made a new heart design especially for the Lakeland Rose Show in a few weeks time, loads of dog lover's attend to see the dog agility show so I hope this will be a good seller, but often what happens is I will not sell any, then at the next show they will sell out.
You never can tell from one show to the next.

Hold your breath & cross your fingers - March 2012

 I have noticed that I hold my breath alot when slip-trailing out customer details so it is a relief when the design is done & there is only the painting to finish.  I also do alot of crossing fingers when the kiln is being opened, especially when there is a personalised item inside. I was very lucky with this plate, it did turn out okay unlike an anniversary plate I did a few days later where the glaze was too thick. I am lucky there was only 5 grand kids to fit on, if I made one for my mum I would need a 50 inch plate!

Beautiful Escomb -May 2012

Escomb is not the nicest village to look at, it does have a famous Saxon Church but I often wish I lived in a "pretty" tourist part of Britian. Most of the villages in County Durham are old pit villages, we do not tend to have village duck ponds & hanging baskets but rows of terraced houses. The main thing I love is the river valley I constantly find inspiration when out walking the dog.  Just yards from my house I saw this scene last summer & what luck, I had my camera on me. I have only just got round to painting it in the cold winter months. I always remembered how the wild blossom seemed to frame the picture of the horses & hopefully it will become a popular card (when I get round to getting it printed).

The next one in my mind is a swan I saw last summer on Escomb Lake with all the wild flowers on the lake bank in front of it, if only I could find the photos I took that day!

Mothers Day

    

Mother's day is fast approaching, so with that in mind I have made some gift tags.

I know every ones Mum is special but my Mum is more special than most. She has had a really bad year with her health & has recently had to stay in a Nursing home, but while there she is trying to teach the other residents to paint, she has inspired the Home to have an art exhibition & they have created an art room for the residents. It is a great achievement considering she has only been in the Home for just over a month. It also reminds me how important art is, it is a companion, a friend & a reason to get up in the morning.

Santa Paws

 
I was commissioned to paint some gift tags for a Bernese Dog lover. I found it a real struggle as I have a King Charles which is very similar to the Bernese when you are trying to paint them. I ended up with a different dog on every tag as with each one I was still trying to get the hang of capturing the look of the Bernese. They ended up like miniture portraits, I was never very good at quick cartoons.

Santas Super

I do like to keep my customers happy but I am not sure if they get a little too much enjoyment from pointing out my spelling mistakes.  I get so engrossed in my designs I forget about the spelling & it is not exactly my strong point. Anyway we all know that Santa is "Super" & most really small children cannot spell "Supper" so what's the problem?

Years ago when I worked on designs for Umbro I did get told off more than once for doing designs with "Umbro Sprot" instead of "Umbro Sport" but I cannot be good at everything & I never did like sport.
We are attending Brockbushes at the moment & it is going well despite all the gloom & doom on the news. As usual we are running low on "Granddaughter" items & we never make enough Christmas plates & gift tags. We will be in a mad rush to get ready for Blenhiem next week so I had better keep the spell checker handy!

Hearts filled with joy & sadness

I never know what I am going to be asked for next. A customer from Ireland ordered over 20 hearts to give to members of her family to help celebrate her wedding anniversary, with a big surprise party for everyone. I hope they all enjoyed themselves.
A while ago I painted some hearts for a customer who's brother had sadly died. I had to paint his favorite can of beer on the heart. I forgot all about it until  I got a call from a lady who had met my customer in a graveyard & had been been given my number. She had seen the painted heart by the graveside & enquired where it was from. She wanted a little something special for her children to put on their Grandad's grave. The children were quite young & it reminded me that my children lost their grandad when they were 2 & 4 which is very young to have any memories. I am glad that I could help out in a small way because as they grow up you realise how precious childhood is & how much they & their grandad have lost in time that could have been spent together.

I should be working

I have not got much work done this week as I have been too busy re-doing all of my website. The old one had a lot of problems with speed & links not working, so I have changed to this site. Hopefully there will be less problems & it will be easier to choose the designs required.
Christmas is coming & I am not working enough, it is hard to get into the right mood when the weather is so nice for October.Once I get on the computer time seems to fly, even more than when I am painting. I keep having to remind myself that within a month I will be attending Christmas craft shows. so I will have to restrict my computer time before my husband chucks the laptop in the bin. He do'es not consider sorting out the website as work. He thinks that unless I have a piping bag or paint brush in hand I am not working. He forgets about all the other jobs that need doing when you run a business. Sometimes I feel like doing anything but painting! I enjoy all the other jobs that need doing, like applying for shows, replying to customers emails, looking for supplies & even accounts. I swear that one day he will tie me to my desk with a paint brush in my hand & a coffee drip in my arm. Although on second thoughts, if we are ever going to have enough stock ready for the christmas shows  I think I had better go & find some rope now!

Take the dog for a walk

I don't take the dog for a walk as often as I should as I am always working, but one sunny evening it was her lucky night & we set off down the river. For once I did remember to take my camera & I ended up down the river for hours taking photos of flowers & creeping up on Butterflys & Bees, which is not easy when you have a dog running around like a mad thing. I managed to capture a photo of this butterfly which I had never seen before. On returning home I discovered it was a Ringlet Butterfly which is more common in southern England so it was my lucky night too. Especially as it inspired me to do this new design which I really love.

Missed it

I am somewhat of a slow burner, I think it is because I try to do so much I end up running around like a headless chicken. For years I have said to myself I should try & get into magazines but I never quite got round to it. I would put it of till I had more time in January (& because I don't like rejection) & every year the month would come & go without me doing all the little jobs I had stored in my head.
But this year I actually got round to it. I send off emails & pictures to about five different home magazines & to my surprise I actually got a reply from Period Homes & Interiors. They said they would put me in the May or June issue. So I got on with life, then in May I went to the newsagent to see if we were in, & we were not. So I waited till June & made the trip to the shop all excited thinking it is going to be in this time, but it was not! I ended up ringing the magazine to see what had happened, their reply was that I had appeared in the May issue, which of course had come out in April so I had missed it! Typical I missed out on telling all the mums at the school gate & hovering about in the newsagents so I could exclaim loudly to everyone who would listen that I had some of my work in a magazine. Oh well there is always the doctors or dentists surgery, it is bound to turn up in some of the old magazines piles somewhere. So next time you have an appointment keep an eye out!

Shabby Chic

I had never heard of Shabby Chic until a couple of years ago when I spent that long on Ebay I came across it. Now I am a big fan, I love the rustic, old look I just never had a name for it. So I am so glad I can now join in with it all. We are now doing ceramic tiles in shabby chic frames & I love them. I did start off puting my tiles onto Canvas but they never quite worked but now at last I think I've got there, it always takes me a while.
The only problem with the framed tiles is they cost me a fortune in spray paint (for the background to mount the tile on). I think I've got spray paint all over the attic floor & almost passed out when I forgot to open a window before I started spraying but it is worth it, well it will be if they sell well!

Fairy

A change is as good as a rest, I tend to over work so when I cannot face painting another flower I need a new challenge. So I set about painting some Fairies. My mam is very ill in hospital & she always loved fairies so they always remind me of her. She wrote many fairy stories when I was young which she did eventually get made into a small booklet especially for all her many grandchildren. My favourite fairy charactor was "Fairy Wobble" she got knocked out of a flower by a bad tempered boy when she was a baby fairy so she walked with a wobble. She spent her life getting her own back on the little boy by pulling his hair & pinching him & of course he did not know what was happening. When I was little my Mam told me that story over & over again & I still love it.

I now have two daughters of my own but I am afraid I do not have my mam's story telling skills, so I guess I will have to stick to painting them instead.

I got my daughters to pose for me I have taken lots of photos so I can turn them into fairy's the next time I need a challenge which knowing me won't be long.

Coronation Street

I recently sent a email about my ceramics off to a few different magazines. A few days later I got a phone call from someone who wanted me to do a special order for the Ideal Home Exhibition. So I just assumed it was the magazine who had called me, so of course I'd agree to anything. In actual fact it was nothing to do with any magazine it was a product buyer who wanted a copy of a spoon & fork from a Coronation Street set from years ago. She had been looking all over & had come across my website. I agreed to make the ceramics for her, we already have a spoon rest we could use so we had to make a spoon then cut it up to look like a fork. Because it was such a rush we had the fork & spoon drying by the fire last weekend. I finally got to paint them which I was dreading as I had to copy the original designs which are nothing like my work, but I managed it & got them sent of on time. So if you are going to the Ideal Home Exhibiton this March see if you can spy my Spoon & Fork on the Coronation Street set

I need a new wardrobe!

Over the years we have had a number of different stalls, none of them were ever prefect & they never quite had the right look. But this time we had a professional in, our next door neighbour Mel. He's a builder & odd job man & likes nothing better than a challenge to get his teeth into. So we asked him to make us a new stall which looks like a dresser but folds down to carry about & he's just about managed it. I've seen half of the stall today & I'm really pleased with it. I can't wait to get it painted & full of pots for Harrogate Flower Show. We did have to make a small sacrifice however, our wardrobe. The doors were perfect or the sides of the dressers & the drawers have been used at the bottom of the shelves & they pull out to use in the display. So I guess I will have to get on Ebay & start looking for a new wardrobe!