..... and particularly in the online world. This post has been prompted by Blogger - apparently due to the lack of posts and updates my blog will soon be relegated as belonging to the dark ages! Either keep up or let go - so for me, an enforced return to blogging is probably a good thing, rather than allow it to disappear due to inactivity. Apparently according to the tech geeks there are some old issues which can be resolved by newer posts and flushing out gremlins.
One particular problem showing up now is if you have composed any blog posts on a Word document and then copied them into your blog. If you are a fellow blogger having similar issues it's good to know or it can cause big problems down the track.
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| Play time ... quick paintings |
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| One of my 'Paint Anything' days ... |
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| Sketching and design work filling the book |
I have been working in solitude for a long time so I am looking forward to sharing and engaging with art and creative design enthusiasts - if you're still out there??
I still read all the beautiful blogs which I have in my Feedly reader now, blogging is a great way to have your own tailored reading library with your favourite subjects, writers and artists. There are so many great botanical art blogs now - when I started mine back in 2011 there were only a couple, now we are really fortunate to be able to view beautiful botanical paintings and great advice from many outstanding artists. This blog is a personal visual art diary which I initially started to explain my passion and change in direction at a later age towards the world of botanical art. My family and friends like to see what I'm up to but over time I've met so many like minded creative types from around the world who love to interact via the blogosphere.
Quite a lot has changed over the last year or so - I have a chronic spinal condition which makes sitting for long periods very difficult and painful ... I have now moved into a small studio and have a standing architect's desk with lovely big plan drawers for my watercolour papers. The tall drafting chair is there for a brief rest when needed but I am now enjoying always standing to paint and wish I had done it a long time ago. It's a great move forward and allows me to paint and draw for much longer periods of time, so I am better able to continue with my art, given the change of working conditions. Worth checking out if you have neck and back issues, which so many artists have.
Since our wonderful exhibition I have been very fortunate to have interest in my art progress to further work. I completed a couple of small commissions for clients and more recently was lucky enough to be invited to complete a series of paintings for a national entity. They are purchasing the paintings and will own copyright to the artworks so I am not able to share the progress of the works or the subject matter ... in time perhaps, but I felt honoured to be invited and while it has been a huge amount of work it has taught me a great deal. It's not easy to work within confined parameters and I am really looking forward to returning to painting subjects of choice and having some fun with them in a more relaxed timeline.
In the meantime I will just share some older pics to bring some colour to this overdue post and then try and get my act together with some updates. Personally I think blogging is a great way to bring order into your creative world, it is a wonderful visual diary and a nice legacy to leave documenting the creative itinerary over the years. At the end of the day it doesn't matter if one person or one hundred like the words and pictures - it's just a way of saying "I'm still here".
