It’s been a while! I thought it was about time to catch you up on the last few months and let you know what I’ve been up to.
Summer arrived and is now on the verge of saying goodbye once more. As the flowers start to fade and the leaves begin to drop from the trees, it has made me think more about my writing.
I’ve been super busy painting all sorts of wonderful [and some, erm, not so wonderful] creations. I think the sunshine brought about an urgency to capture that warm feeling that makes us smile, and to daub it onto canvas. Finding my voice in art has been incredible, I’ve made messes, been covered in paint and glue and ruined more t-shirts than I care to remember.
I am a messy painter it seems, I can almost hear my old art tutor saying, ‘I told you so’.
I’ve played with colours that I wouldn’t normally go near….the pinks, yellows and the dreaded browns. For some reason they have never been my favourites but I’m finding that they have a place in my work.
The school holidays presented every parent with the schedule of keeping them all amused, no mean feat when you have different ages to cater for. Finding something that keeps teens and younger children happy at the same time is a balancing act that makes you feel like a knackered juggler given both hard boiled and fresh eggs – throw them up and see which one cracks first… parents usually!
I’ve been trying to find a way to combine both sides of my creative output, the writing and the art. I’m not simply a writer and I’m not just a painter either, so how could I make sense of the two elements and combine them? I didn’t want to have to keep putting one aside whilst I concentrated on the other. I’d be halfway through a painting, and words would come flooding into my mind, and likewise, I’d be writing and had images flying around that I wanted to capture.
In combining the two sides, I created the ‘Little Worlds’ series. These little paintings are slightly smaller than a credit card, on the back of them are a few words that made me smile. Simple things that sometimes we all need to hear, like ‘You are loved’. Important words indeed.
After a bit of an internet hunt, I found some little easels that display them perfectly and I love these. They’re ideal little gifts to let someone know that you’re thinking of them, no matter where in this world you wander, you’re still thinking of them.
As we’ve had such a warm summer, the summerhouse felt like a sauna and, to put it mildly, I’m a melter. I couldn’t cope in there, even the fan didn’t do anything other than design my humidity affected hair into some kind of 80’s backcombed frizz-bomb [think Monica in Friends] So, I ended up taking over the dining table again.
In-between days out, I encouraged the kids to get involved in the creative [and ignored the protests of ‘do we have to’] We had fun with air drying clay. My daughter took a shine to it and made some incredible things – including a beautiful little paint brush holder. The frog was created by the youngest of the brood!
Like most teens, her enthusiasm eventually waned, and I now have about 8kg of leftover clay to trip up on.
We’ve had birthdays and BBQ’s, and it was at a birthday party that one of the ‘A Dog Called Bear’ fans asked me when there would be a new book. I realised that I have been a bit wrapped up in painting and have neglected the story telling. Bear has many tales to be told, and I am working on a new story for the little readers!
I was also asked by a parent if I did an art club for kids, that got my mind in a spin. Can you imagine? Giving more kids the opportunity to write, create and use their amazing imaginations, yes please! I would absolutely love to set something up 😊
The website is slowly being shifted around and sorted out, there are so many things that I want to add to it but being an absolute techno-numpty, I’ve had to draw on the kindness of those in the know. So please, be patient with me on that! The intention is that I will have a whole new section for the artwork too. Afterall, I’m an arty author, so will be adding artwork to the website 😊
In one of my scout-outs for art supplies the other day, I walked into a shop that was already putting out it’s Christmas displays [shudder of horror] which got me to thinking about how quickly time goes by. That circle of seasons and expectations seems to be increasing in speed – or maybe that’s just because I’m always busy [or getting older]. It feels like the journey on the bus, your mind wanders off and before you know it, you’ve missed your stop!
I’d recorded the audiobook version of ‘Out of Date’ last year but frustratingly, my microphone seems to have picked up the dogs’ snoring and other weird sounds [including my hungry tummy] that even the whizz of all things sound recording couldn’t remove. So, we’ve decided it’s got to be redone. If anyone has ever recorded their book, you’ll know that it isn’t just a case of turning pages and reading, and you get very sick of the sound of your own voice – a bit like constantly saying ‘No’ to the snack requests from the kids.
Another thing to add to the ‘To Do’ list. It’s ever growing isn’t it, that ‘To Do’ list?!
