Getting back in the swing

It all seems so sweetly natural...to have the internet back, to be able to blog again, to read and reply to emails. And yet I've waited almost two whole tedious months for this.

Its dragged, and yet, it's gone quickly too. As is the way with the passing of time.....

Only two months left of the year and its been such a massive year for me, the B I G G E S T and most challenging ever. Sorting out my life, saying goodbye to the past and moving on, to the future. A future that may be partly uncertain, but hopefully full of all sorts of interesting mentally and physically stimulating things, and fascinating people and new experiences, too.

It is a future with good friendships from the past, some old, some newer. There is a strength within those friendships that feeds various facets of my persona. Some vanilla, some less so. The Guild of Erotic Artists continues to be a good base for me, and I value the help and support I get from the members. It has been with deep regret that I have been unable to exhibit at Erotica at Olympia this year, partly through constraints of time, partly through my personal circumstances, partly because I need to fully concentrate on doing it and can't at the moment, and partly due to the large financial outlay it involves. But, as in all things, maybe when one door can't be opened, another opens in its place, and I am always happy to peek through other doorways to see where they might lead me.

Infact, I did just that, on Thursday.

It was a new doorway, a big one, one full of promises of exciting things to an Erotic Artist........

...and through that doorway I met someone...... a woman...... a beautiful dark haired woman.....who inspires me to want to paint again. She may even be my next muse. But we need to talk further about that subject, and I don't know if our paths will cross again, but it they do, I shall draw her, with the greatest of pleasure........

I'm Back!!!

I'm back on line, how good is that!!!!!

YAY!!!!

Autumn light and life in shadows

I went for a walk around my new village yesterday. I've done it a few times, but not with a camera, and thought that in the twenty minutes that the gentle walk normally takes, I'd find a few interesting things to capture.

But, I was well out with my assumptions.

It took two hours! Two wonderful hours of being enthralled with light. Crisp clear light, with the golden glow of Autumn. But, added to that, was the joy of shadows and light working together and creating their magic. That, gives the land a whole new look. It adds contours and interest to create new interest in the picture. I know that going out with a camera when the light is flat and grey, is really a waste of time, as the whole image will only be of mid tones - and how can you get excited with sullen greys and sage greens, sad yellows, and dismal browns. I certainly can't! But when the light is crisp and bright, the sun is shining, and the Autumn leaves are bright with shining gold, Indian yellows, burnt siennas, dramatic scarlets, rich purple shadows on cream paths, the shadows come alive and become a thing of beauty in themselves, the way they create patterns on the stone walls, the paths and the warm red brick walls of old cottages. Even the colour white takes on a new life of its own - and becomes a shimmering brightness, or descends to a rich cobalt blue in deep shadow.

The place I was most fascinated with, though, was the church. Its old, and very solid, but pretty, small but full of character. I don't know how old it is, but without searching hard I found a gravestone with the year 1728 on it, but there were far older gravestones, with faded lettering worn with weathering and mossy decay. The sunlight and shadows on the stonework of the church filled me with delight, and the vertical graves themselves added extra interest with the low sun on them, creating more shadows and sharp relief against the damp sap green grass.

I shall be pleased to get the internet back. I've not had it at the new house, and I've been there seven weeks. So, I can't show you the images, I can only describe them at the moment. But, they are so inspirational. I want to paint them. And I will. Soon. I want others to see what I saw, to accompany me on that wonderful walk full of bright wonder and stunning light.........