Too much, its doing my head in!

I was part of a local art exhibition at Ticknall Village Hall in South Derbyshire over the weekend. It was the usual concentrated job to get the artwork ready, set it up, sort out the admin for it all (title cards filled out, hanging fees paid) and then go and hang them all, and catch up with the chat of all the other artists there. We are a mix of amateur and professional artists from all walks of life who have a passion for art and are supportive and helpful to each other whilst trying to promote art in the area. Some of the artists teach, some paint just in their spare time. We all paint differently, of different subjects so its certainly a good selection of artwork for any of the general public to come along and view.

I was there on the Saturday afternoon doing my stewarding stint for three hours. There were a few people through the door, but the majority come along on the Sunday and Monday traditionally, so it was as busy as I had expected it to be. I was delighted to see Stuart Haywood there with his wife who had come to see my artwork in particular since they are such big fans. I've drawn Stuart six times now, and he is most proud of the pencil drawings I have done of him and proudly shows them to most people in his life. He's a great walking advert for me. He was most interested in a pencil drawing I had there of an old man's face, and stood studying it for a long time. I tried my best to sell it to him, but he wouldn't be drawn (ha ha, artist's joke!!!!). But there was another idea that I may have talked him into, when we got talking about old potting sheds, because that was something he was excited about since he is quite the horticulturist with his huge knowledge of roses. So, that looked far more favourable for me doing a commission for him in the near future.

I also had a most interesting conversation with a youngish woman there who only got in as we were about to shut. She had been last year and wanted to come again as she knows we have a high standard of artwork there. She paid for two on the door, although she was alone "Its just you and the invisible man then is it..?" I asked cheekily and she explained that her husband was on his way, and he did duly arrive a few moments later limping heavily and leaning on a ski stick. They looked at the art, and my art in particular and asked me if there were any pictures of naked men there, which amused me, as I do erotic art, although they wouldn't have been aware of that. I went over to chat to them, as they stood by my paintings on display and she and I had an in-depth conversation about art. She liked the pictures I'd taken, of a cat, cheetah, fairy, old man, castle, flowers, an abstract of sun on water, a fantasy woman with wings painted in watercolours, acrylics, pencil, pen and ink. And I made the comment that I say alot, that I do so many subjects in different styles, with different mediums that its easier for me to put the title "Erotic Artist" to myself because by the time I've explained things otherwise everyone has lost interest in listening! I also went on to explain that galleries don't like my work either for the same reason - its too diverse, I really need a gallery for the cats, one for the fantasy subjects, one for the landscapes, one for the erotic, etc etc. She nodded, and looked back at my work and said "It's giving me a headache!" and I asked why, since she seemed to be serious,"Because there's so much to look at, and all so different, look at this one, its great, but next to that one which is so different, its not standing out as much as it would being on its own". And I could see what she meant. I know I am diverse in my subject matter and mediums, and that shows how good I am, but it also confuses my audience. I can't win!!!!!

She left at the end with a big smile, and said she'd look at my website, in which case she'll fine more to confuse her. But maybe, she'll find something to excite her. And maybe she'll find something that might set a germ of an idea off for something important in her life that I can draw for her.........maybe.....

Business with Lucy in the very erotic style

My good friend Lucy Felthouse came around last night, and as always was a joy and delight to be with. I know it is technically a business meeting, and most of the night was actually discussing business, although anyone else listening to the subject matter would find an awful lot to be titillated over, for certain. But that is all very normal for us, in our line of work, since I am an Erotic Artist, and she is a Erotic Writer, although both of us are perfectly capable of doing non erotic subject matter within our scope of work, we both enjoy the erotic stuff, and it seems to be the way forward for both of us judging by the fan base of people who are interested in our work and are happy to part with their money to prove the point!

Part of the nights discussions was of us collaborating on an idea where we can work together on a project, since Lucy as asked me to design the front cover of her latest book, and I must admit she couldn't have asked me to do anything I'd like to do more, since she wanted one of my favourite subject matters painting. She had emailed me the first draft of  the story she wanted me to illustrate earlier in the afternoon, and I had read the short story and been intrigued with it, partly as she had written it from the man's perspective, and partly because I loved the idea within the tale. In my mind I had envisioned the scene, the surrounding area, and the action that had taken place within it. When Lucy came over later that evening we discussed it, and I described my thoughts regarding it, and to help me to understand it better she showed me photos she had taken of that specific area of water in Derbyshire that is featured in the story. But when I saw it, it took me aback, as the place was far bleaker than I had imagined, and had no trees there, not one, and yet in my version of it in my head, there were loads of trees, tall ones, a whole wood of em! So from that knowledge, and her knowledge, we sat down and talked it over, and I asked her her ideas of what she had thought about the picture, and I explained my ideas, and very quickly we were in agreement of the image that would work.  And its one that I find very exciting....

.....I'm not sure how much I can say about the book before it is published, but my part is the design for the front cover that is featured in the story Lucy showed me yesterday, a very sexy story about an inquisitive man and a mythical creature, an illusive creature, a mysterious creature of water, but not of the sea, although she is still a mermaid, and I find mermaids very sexy as a concept and absolutely love to paint them. But also the image has to bear in mind that it needs to be clear on a cover of a book, it needs strong contrasts, and sharp detail, and enough room within the image for the title and authors name to be printed on.  Plus, even though its got erotic content inside the covers can't be too naughty, so I'm going to have to tone that down a lot, unfortuantely, but it's not a huge problem to do. So, that's my next project, and I shall love doing it for her, and I'm all fired up over it and can't wait to get going on it!

But, the next couple of days I need to get ready for exhibiting at Ticknall, in South Derbyshire, as I am part of Ashby Guild of Artists exhibition at the village hall there over the bank holiday weekend. It's an annual exhibition and one that I am always happy to be part of, and see what other work my fellow artists have produced in the last few months. So, if you're able to come along, please do so, it would be good to see you there, and we are pleased to announce that the charity we are donating to this year is "Fishing for heroes". So, its for a good cause, and we'll also be serving some delicious cake and tea or coffee, which makes for a very pleasant trip out in lovely rural surroundings. So, mermaids will have to wait a day or too, but I'm sure they will be as fresh in my head then as they are now.... fresh, sexy, alluring, and very very sensual.....

Floral muddles

There is something I have in the past struggled to paint, a subject that should be easy, and is certainly one that a lot of people enjoy painting. It is a subject that is probably as far away from figure painting that you can get. Which is probably why I have struggled on some occasions with it! Because a lot of artists will do landscape paintings, but usually only a few will do figure paintings as well (I know of some artists who are more than happy to paint fields, trees, sky, buildings, water and far hills, but the minute you mention putting people in the picture they shudder at the thought!!!).  But this is a subject that is more specialised, and one that I am certainly not known for!

And the mystery subject is .............."Flowers!"

So when I knew I was going to the art workshop last Saturday I thought that this time I would get it right, I would get over my supposed flower phobia, and do something decent. I even did it all the proper way and picked some flowers from my garden - the previous owner, Anne, had informed me they were "Scabious" when I enquired what they were, as they weren't a flower I knew.  So, I turned up at the workshop with my freshly cut flowers, and sat near my friend Janet, who came over and said "Oh, what unusual Cornflowers!" which lead on to us having a bit of a horticultural  conversation as to whether they were Cornflowers or scabious, and I'm still not sure, as I haven't had a definitive response to my query as to what they indeed are.

I started by arranging my three flowers in the glass vase I had taken for that purpose, and finding the right balance of shape, form, contrasts, negative shapes, and focal point, and then when I was happy with all of that, I started to draw them on the watercolour paper that I had pre-stretched the night before. The tutor prefers Bockingford paper for the white-ness of the paper, which suits me fine, as I prefer it to any other paper that I use, by a long way. She showed us how she paints Wisteria in two different ways - by wet in wet, and by wet on dry paper, both showing different ways of tackling the same subject. And she was the perfect sort of tutor as far as I was concerned, as she didn't spend all day painting herself (well, not herself as such, but you know what I mean!), and let us have most of the day painting ourselves (well, not actually painting our bodies, but..... oh, you know!). So, I was able to take her guiding words to use for my flower painting of the "purpley flowers of no definitive name" and get a good lot of painting done in the day. But, not enough to finish it, but almost to do so.

 I brought the painting home triumphantly, as I knew that I had done a good job. I had cracked the flowers!!! YAY! I can paint flowers!!!!!! 

And last night continued working on it, to the point where I can happily say it is finished, and done in my style, with splatter and a loose wet way of painting part of it, to make it look more lively, and less of a static botanical painting.

I am very pleased with it, with the flower heads, full on, three quarter profile, and full profile, as well as the flower head just about to burst open. And the different leaves, denticulated in shape, with veins showing, and the stalks, with enough negative shapes to make the picture interesting. One of the women at the workshop said that her brain "couldn't do negative shapes" which surprised me, as I learnt to do it many years ago, and can do it easily now. Its just a matter of looking at the shapes in a different way and painting the shapes between shapes, instead of the shapes themselves.

So, here it is, my watercolour painting.

And its title? - well its called "Anne's Scabious, Janet's Cornflowers" and it'll stay with that name even when I find out which one of them is right!!!

So, flowers, done. I can tick that box now!!!!! LOL

Queynte 21

Here it is, painted in acrylics, on board 20 x 16 inches, the latest Queynte to join the illustrious group of very feminine portraits that I have painted -otherwise known as the "Fantasy Fannies" . Its the twenty first one I've done, so it's called "Queynte 21" quite naturally. I love the mixture of strong colours against the strong shapes of this one. And as always find the more I look at it, the more I fall in love with it, which I know is often the case for the women who have had their queynte painted from the very positive feedback they've given me over the last few years since I started doing them. I know that most women find the process of having the painting done a deeply therapeutic experience, and that they feel empowered by them, and that it showcases the woman that they are, the private woman within, but here for the whole world to see. I love the fact that they are a celebration of womanhood, and are bright and vibrant and beautiful. And although they are an abstract the shapes are true to the feminine form, its just the colours that are more striking than the original colours. And like all the others it has the image of a woman within the picture as a reminder of what the image is about, and what it is there for.

 I don't need to say the name of the woman who has participated in having her portrait painted, or say where she lives or even what her nationality is. That is for her to say, if she so wishes. I will keep her anonymity otherwise.

I love doing these paintings, as a woman artist painting them for other women around the world. The majority of the women who have participated I haven't met face to face, I wouldn't know them if they turned up on my doorstep tomorrow, but I feel that we are part of a sisterhood, of women who want to be depicted in strong vibrant colours, and want this spiritual experience to mark that empowerment. So, who will be next I wonder.......

Alcohol is the answer, now what's the question?

Sometimes you wonder if its all worthwhile. All the false starts, perplexing information, opposing information from two unconnected sides, and me stuck in the middle. All I'm trying to do is knit two sides together, with two simple actions, that should be the easiest thing in the world to do. And I wouldn't mind, but I did it all four years ago anyway! There's these two huge organisations, and little me stuck between them, trying to get things working happily between them. And none of it is anyones fault, and no one is to blame,  which probably adds to my perplexed state! Let me explain.....

It all started about four weeks ago when I tried to take a small amount of money out of my own personal bank and pay it into Paypals account to pay for something I'd ordered online. I like Paypal and find it a very useful way of paying people, and receiving money.  A simple matter you would think, except it seemed to cause them some problems and they said they'd paid it but then said I'd have to reconnect my bank account to them. Which I did. But although they said they'd done their side of the bargain by depositing two small amounts into my bank, the bank said they hadn't received it. So, I did it again, and again Paypal said that they'd paid two small amounts into my bank, and again the bank said they hadn't received it. And, even a third time, and still it didn't work.  And we were three weeks down the line. HHmmmm.... Why isn't this working? So, it seemed the best option was to use another bank account and try again. Which I did, last week, and eventually all seemed right in the world of commerce and the two small amounts duly arrived in my account as promised. Great, a result! It seemed a small thing then to inform Paypal and they were happy and immediately told me that all was right between them, me and the bank. Yay! Lets all dance the happy dance. So, just because I like to be sure that all is as it is said to be, I double checked it by transferring a small amount out of the Paypal account into the new account. And it said it had done it, Yay, even more happiness abounds! I carried on doing the things that made up the day, and lo and behold within half an hour had an email from Paypal saying that they had closed the link to the bank as its not valid................ Whattthef...?   and more to the point, where's my money gone?  A long phone call to the bank (four miles away) and Paypal in Luxembourg (a little further away) and it seems that the bank don't know anything about it, and are as perplexed as I am, and all is fine as far as they are concerned. Ok, then, what seems to be the problem with Paypal? They also seemed to be perplexed too, and said that the bank details aren't valid. But, logic tells me that it must be, because how else could they pay the two small amounts into my account...mmm........? And then we had the simple little question that I didn't fully understand at first, since it didn't have any relevance in my life - and that was whether it was a "savings account" or a "current account"? I don't know, they're both bank accounts, what difference does it make, they both take money, are both with the same bank, and both seem to look the same, other than the account numbers, what does it matter? But, it does seem to matter, and does appear to be the answer to the mystery of the knitting! I came away a little more enlightened, and rang the bank again to ask them if that was indeed the case, and it seems it might be, although they seem to think it shouldn't be! So, then, what's to be done to solve the mystery, and get these two organisations talking to each other....... and it seems to be to me to create a new current account, one that everyone is happy fits the criteria to cause happiness and harmony in the land of commerce. So that's what I've done. And if it doesn't work this time, heaven knows what the answer is. Ask people to pay me in buttons maybe, or
goats....

You wouldn't think buying a simple little wine rack online would cause so much trouble, would you! 

Pick a price and pick my brain

In the last two days I've had two similar conversations each with a man I don't know, and they in turn don't know me, particularly. They don't know my name. They don't know what I do. They don't know that I am an artist.  And whilst I was having these two conversations, 26 hours, and four miles apart, they both used the same phrase to me. They didn't know that, since they don't know each other, and can't possibly be related. It was a phrase that they used that they were used to using, and was the natural thing to say to me, once they had asked me what I do, and I reply, simply " I am an artist." And their reply? In unison, was "My uncle is an artist, he sells his paintings for a lot of money". "Really?" I ask, semi interested in their version of "Lot of money" and wonder what they actually mean by it, and casually ask how much of the first guy.  And the reply, was a good one "Fifty" and just as I double check that he doesn't actually mean fifty, he confirms and says those lovely words ".....thousand" and I nod in understanding. And then,  the other guy tells me his uncle is a famous artist, and the conversation returns to the same one again when they mention the famous artists name. And I've NEVER heard of them. I don't know their work, style, subject matter or anything about them. And then they both said, in this parallel conversation "He's good!" and I said "So am I!" with a grin, and they are taken aback by the quickness and directness of my response, and say "I'm sure you are" and I nod, and add, "Its just that I don't charge those sort of figures......... y .e. t...... " and they grin back. Same conversation, same message, just different days and the illustration of the way an artists life progresses, in small steps to get to the big picture.

My friend K dropped into see me yesterday afternoon, he's someone I have drawn every so often and someone whose company I like very much. He had called for a cup of tea, as he had a personal problem he wanted to discuss alone with me. He arrived full of good cheer as he always does, and we talked about various things like we always do, he admired the Royal Crescent at Bath painting, and the latest fanny painting that's half done, and then we sat down over mugs of hot sweet tea, and shortbread fingers, to discuss his dilemma. It was something he had been mulling over for some time, something he had shut away for way too long,  as he found it a huge problem. He showed it to me, revealing bits at a time, explaining as we went along what was what, and where he wanted to put it. He showed it to me at various angles, and I peered closer for a better look, intrigued with it. I could see exactly what he wanted, and I could see how he could get it. And I so wanted to get my teeth into it. But, it's not for me to do. It's for him to do. But I can lend a hand, but it's his design. And it will work as a great idea. He knows how to do half of it, what to put where, and how, its just that he needs my help for the other half, the bits that join it all together to make it complete. I know how I would do it, and I know its very do- able. I would love to do it. But in this instance, it's not for me to paint, its for him to paint, with me as artistic advisor. And I'm all fired up with it already, and I know he is too. So I really hope he can soon get it started and I shall be intrigued to see how it develops. I can see it finished in my head already and he hasn't started the first line of pencil on paper yet. The birth of an idea.......... I look forward to seeing it come to fruition, and helping to play midwife to the concept so that it sees the light of day.

Circus skills

I'm doing a lot of pedaling at the moment, and have a lot of balls of different shapes sizes and colours in the air, so much so that I feel like a circus performer (and you can never find one of those when you want one! ha ha). 

I'm in the process of updating my website, and the pre-questions always seem to take longer than the actual doing of it. Where do you want the webhosting, what do you want to pay for it, how much space will it give you, what language do you want it in, do you want the blog to be part of it, do you want it all singing and dancing, and do you want it with lots of shiny bells on it so you make loads of money from it (YEP!).

And I've just updated my SAA page - as a Gold member I get lots of benefits of being with this art society and have always found them to be helpful and supportive to me. They've recently updated their website which has meant extra work for me to do to update my details.

As well as that I'm trying to learn how to sell things on eBay, which is an interesting learning curve, and eventually I want to sell more of my original art and prints that way. I had a look at the erotic art for sale on eBay over the weekend and thought a lot of it was dire. So, I hope to rectify that soon and get some of my art out there which will raise my profile as well.

I also put my hand (and head!) to teaching art over the weekend and had a willing pupil to practice on as a first time lesson. During the session I found out how much knowledge I have (lots!) and how much knowledge he had (none!) and realised how much information I had to impart to get a reasonable result for him. The painting isn't finished yet, and I hope we can persevere with it as that will show me that if I can teach him, then I can teach anyone. That wasn't supposed to sound patronising, as although he would like to paint, he has never done so, so we were really starting from the very basics. Normally people who want to paint have had some basic lessons or ability.

And as well as all of this, I have put some advertising notices around my village promoting my art in the hope that I will get some work from it, not helped by the fact that five days after I did it, one of my adverts had been covered up by someone elses advert looking for a domestic cleaner for their house. Cheeky sod, find your own place on the board that doesn't cover up someone elses advert!!!!

And as well as all of this, I have been looking at possible venues for me to find for exhibiting. the right sort of venues, for my art. And that might sound simple, but believe me, its not......

So, its been a busy last few days.

Now, where did I put that unicyle.....

Another fanny on the horizon

I had a really long chat with my good American friend from across the seas last night. Well, nowhere near the sea as far as he is concerned, and nor me either come to think of it! And although there were many miles between us (and a lot of ocean!) he could have just been in the next room to hear his voice.  We talked of various things, and people in our lives, and have many similarities and similar interests in common, which is probably one of the reasons we get on so well. But, the first thing he wanted to mention, with some intenseness of urgency, was the last painting I did, of the Royal Crescent at Bath and the various people depicted within the oil painting. He reads my blog, and follows my art with avid interest, and was aware of the latest painting I was working on, but until I showed it here, he hadn't got a clue as to what it was reeeally going to look like (any more than anyone else had, other than my description of it here, which didn't fully describe it other than the bare bones of it). So, when he saw it for the first time here, he was taken aback by the colours, the feel of it, and the detail, and the work that had gone into the painting. I think I sometimes forget that because I'm working on it, and describing it in words to people, that really they don't fully comprehend what it will look like, until they actually view it. I know when I have a painting to do, whether it's for a commission, or for an exhibition, I have a definite and intense thought of how to start, how I want to lay out the composition, what colours I shall use, the tones, and siting of the lights and darks, and where the focal point will be, but after that I work on it as I go along. MMm..... no, that's not exactly right, as that sounds like I haven't got a clue as to what I'm doing or how. And I have.

Let me explain it a little better......

I spend a lot of time thinking about my artwork, nine tenths of painting it is the thinking aspect of it, no matter how many actual hours I put into painting it, it has far more thinking put into it. And that thinking will start with the practical ways to start it, but I don't have a finished picture in my head (unless its exactly a copy of a photograph depicting a place, or person in which case it will look like the image I'm working from!). But after that, once I' ve started, I will be thinking whilst I'm painting, I will be thinking when I have a tea break, when I'm having my lunch, or a walk, when I am watching TV at night later on, even if I'm out with friends in the quiet moments between conversations, when I am in bed falling asleep, and when I wake the next day, and so on, and so on, until the painting is finished. In in all that thinking, I will be assimilating ideas, working on colours, on the design, on the textures, and thinking of previous paintings I've done, and the experience of all of those, and using all that artistic talent and my huge experience to paint this painting, and add the artistic bits that make the picture more interesting and dramatic. So, its no wonder people don't have a clue as to what my painting will look like, since its all in my head, until it gets transferred from there, down on paper or canvas.

Towards the end of our conversation, he asked me what my next painting would be. And I smiled, and said that I wasn't fully sure. But, that wasn't actually true, because I know what I shall paint next, it's the one after that I'm not fully sure of!

Because, the one that is next, is one that I have been wanting to do for some months. One that I have been waiting impatiently to do. One that I shall LOOOVVVVVE to do. As its one of my favourite subjects.

And the subject matter?

Oh, I think you can guess......

It's another Queynte.        
To add to the collection of  "Fantasy Fannies". And I think you might have  clue as to what that will look like! But not the colours I shall use. Not the shapes within it. Not the end result....

Not at all Jaded - the opposite infact!

I've just been featured in the May edition of Jade magazine! YAY!

It's regarding the talk I did at Burton Library in March, and they've printed all that I wrote and featured here the other week, so I don't need to print it all out again since the link is here.

But, its good to see my name in print, and to be featured in a magazine again. And it's always interesting for me to re-read an article that I wrote and to see that it's getting all the points over that I intended.

And I'll put it on the publicity page of my website soon, so you can read it there too!
 
:)

Mothers, brothers, and tears

I had visitors over the weekend.

Well, technically, they weren't really coming to see me as such, as in a social visit to see how I was. They were actually coming to see themselves.

In paint.

David and Martyn came all the way from Bath to view the painting I'd done of them. They had made arrangements to stay in this area and brought along Martyn's parents who are also depicted in the painting.

They arrived full of good cheer, and it was a delight to see them all and welcome them in to my new house. They admired the paintings hanging on the walls of my hallway, which I count as my mini gallery, and then looked askance at me. Where was it?

 I smiled, and led the way to my studio, opened the door and was hit by an overpowering smell of oil, turps, and paint. And said that I was pleased that the painting had now been hung and was residing upright on the wall rather than horizontal on my workdesk. And nodded towards it, although I didn't really need to do that, since it was quite obvious where it was. "Oooh it's big, bigger than I thought!" was the first comment, and they stood looking at it in silence. Then the comments started as they took it in turns to stand away from it, to view it better. They asked for the piece of wallpaper they'd sent me to view the painting against it, and could see that it would be fine against the heavy patterning. They were surprised at how deep the canvas was at 3 inches which is a bit deeper than usual, but it added to the dramatic aspect of it, and their room was easily big enough to take it,  and it added to the viewing experience in that where ever you stood or sat within the room the painting would be in 3D because of the deep edges.

I showed them the working drawings, and the preliminary sketches I'd done. And described the painting process of the acrylic underpainting, the thicker coats of acrylic to give the oils depth, and then the oils themselves, the the silver paint of the jagged wind applied with palette knife. As were the thicker parts of the paint to give it more texture.

They loved it. All of them.

But, the best bit, for me, was the fact it caused tears and upset. Instant tears on the first viewing. The tears of a mother as she sees her first born depicted in paint, her first born who although a man died too young, way too young. That's something that no mother should have to experience and is tragic for any woman to have to contend with, and will probably never fully recover from. So, when she burst into tears at the first sight of it that was the best reaction there could have been for me. Because it meant I'd got it right, it meant I'd got the right feeling in the picture, it meant it was the right face, the right expression, the right depiction, and the tears were the best affirmation for me, to prove that. A mothers tears for her first born. And I'm sorry that it made her cry but pleased as well. Really pleased!

After that, the positive comments, the hugs of thanks, the smiles of wonder, the silence as they stared at it, and the words they spoke afterwards, added to the whole wonder of me making a painting for someone. A special painting, that means so very much to them, and always will because they designed it, picked the subject matter, colours, setting, that it would be in oils on a large block canvas, that it would have various family members in it, that it would be a happy painting celebrating their past, but looking towards the future too. They will spend many hours staring at the painting when it goes to hang on their wall, and will love it.

And I stood there, quietly pleased with myself that I'd done it for them, and that they had asked me to do it. But then, the mother said she knew I'd do a good job, and named the other paintings I'd done for the family in the past. Paintings that they still have on their walls, treasured paintings, bringing love and happy memories... I'd forgotten about some of them, since it was so long ago that I did some of them, but remembered them instantly when she named them of course, they are my creations, and well loved by me as much as them.

We had tea and biscuits after that, and sat chatting about many things, life, love, friendship, fun. And all of it was done with laughter, and an ease of jovial conversation when you know that everyone is on the same wavelength, and of a job well done. And they are convinced I will get more commissions through it, as various friends of theirs are intrigued to see it, and have heard so much about it. I hope so, that's always my desire.

They didn't take the painting with them, it stays with me a while longer whilst its still drying. So, I have the pleasure of it, before it goes to Bath to live. 

And maybe it'll be the spark of a new idea, a new painting, not yet painted, but just a thought, in someones head....