I could see the article was near enough what I was expecting. I just wasn’t sure which photos would accompany it, but one in particular interested me.

Because not only was it my copyright photograph, it was also my artwork!

I knew the article was due in the magazine around now and rang Stuart Haywood to congratulate him. We discussed it and I smiled about how a simple thing had escalated into something like this.

But I presumed it would stop there. But it hasn’t.

Stuart rang me this morning to tell me that ITV had been in touch with him and want him to go on one of their shows to discuss it…..

Oh really, I smiled. Which one?

Jeremy Kyle! He replied.

Bloody hell, really! Was my reaction. I wasn’t expecting that..!

Er, and will you do it? I tentatively asked…

He said he might, that the people doing the show would send a car, and take him and his wife up to Manchester and put them up in a hotel overnight and bring them back the next day.

And will you have to be naked? I asked.

I doubt it, he replied. Its just explaining about naturism to the people on the show…….

Okay….

I am still amazed how this has snowballed through the media.

All Stuart wanted to do was enjoy his naturism that he’s embraced since I first did the nude drawings of him. From that, he has had naked holidays. And from that he has decided to re-new his wedding vows in the nude. And from that the Press Association have picked it up. And from that CHAT magazine have picked it up. And from that Jeremy Kyle has picked it up…..! Wow!

That meant starting the painting with lots of bright colours for the underpainting on the 31 x 24 inch block canvas, knowing that the subsequent layers wouldn’t fully cover them, leaving lovely hints of contrasting vibrant colours showing through.

I wanted the focal point to be the bright area where the sun bleached out the distant trees, leading the eye over towards that area, with a hint of deep yellow as the start of the pathway leading in that direction. Pinks and oranges, purples and reds adding interest to the woodland ground, and flecks of pinks and oranges and rich blues in the trees to add more pops of colour as extra vibrancy and life.

Its only a simple picture in a way, but there’s a lot of work in this painting, to celebrate the colours of the woods and the overhead canopy of leaves and light.

I adore the colours and the textures in the acrylic paint, and won’t tire of looking at this painting because of them. I used a palette knife for virtually all of it, giving me freedom to add the textures and smear on the paint. It was a perfect way of painting this particular subject!

The title came to me quite easily and is “The way through the woods”, as it can be viewed as a simple landscape or as a spiritual painting depicting the light at the end of struggle and challenges….

I went to bed early last night to finish the last 100 pages. I knew that I would want to read it all in one go and not have to read it in dribs and drabs and not pick up the nuances of those last page turning parts of the enthralling story.

But what I wasn’t expecting was the twist that came at the end, that made me gasp, and smile, all at the same time. It put a whole new slant on the story, and as I read the last page and smiled, and turned my light off to sleep, my mind was full of the characters and how different the story would be if I read it again, knowing the twist in the tale.

When I woke up this morning, I knew what I was going to do.

Something I have never done before with a book, no matter that its made me cry, or happy, or thrilled or entertained me totally.

I have never started to read it again, immediately after I have just finished it.

But I will with this one…… Its in the knowing….

I know that a few people can do the drawing in paint straight onto a canvas and sometimes I have done just that. But knew in this case teaching a novice that she wouldn’t be able to do it.

I measured the photo which was almost 12 x 10 inches and the canvas exactly 20 x 16 inches. So not an exact to scale transfer of image. And again, I had to think of the novice and the best way of transferring the image for her. Mmm… how would I do it if it was my painting? And will it be easy to teach it to her….

I quickly went though all the options in my head….

Drawing it out free hand……………. (she’s going to get that wrong I know before we start) griding up the photo and the canvas and drawing out the image that way(she can do that but it will take a while to do it) ………… using a pantograph (she’d never heard of one when I mentioned it) …. using a pantograph onto tracing paper (ditto the pantograph technique if she’s never used one) ….. using a pantograph drawing it onto sketching paper and transferring it over by laying the paper directly over the canvas then using the flicking the paper quickly technique that keeps your eye in place of where the pencil mark should be, and marking it below on the canvas. Its quite an easy technique I think, and probably the best option to use in this case. It will be the quickest and easiest option. Yep! We’ll go with that.

I’ve shown my pupil how to do the grid technique before for other pictures so this will be a new technique to learn for her. All of it useful. And as I explain to her often, there is always more than one way to paint or draw something. Nothing is cheating, its all down to technique and getting the image down.

She looked at me in slight concern when she saw the pantograph and I smiled and said I’d do the image for her using it, and she could do the harder job of transferring it over to the canvas. I hate to take over a pupils work, its their job to learn by doing it themselves, but this wasn’t doing the painting, it was just doing the working drawing to be transferred to the canvas she was painting on. And also it meant that watching me do it, she could learn as I knew it wouldn’t take me more than a couple of minutes.

With a scrap of paper I worked out the best permutation to get the image on the working paper, and decided it would be  x 1.5 which meant the 12 x 10 image would be 18 x 15 leaving a bit of lee way on the length by two inches and the width by one. Ok, the image of a young woman sitting on a vanity unit looking down, with her reflection in a mirror on the wall by her would fit nicely on the canvas.

I did the quick sketch drawing using the pantograph and as I expected it took me a couple of minutes.

I put the working drawing over the canvas and moved it around slightly so that fitted the canvas below it and made a nice image. Then I cut the paper to size so we knew that the working drawing was exactly in place, and taped it briefly down one side with three small strips of masking tape. Ok, job done, now it was the pupils turn.

She asked me to show her how to start, so I stood and leant over it as it lay flat on my work bench so that I could see the image and quickly started flicking the paper back and forth as I did quick dotted lines on the canvas following the image on the paper. And smiled as I handed it over to her to carry on……Simple!

And so it should have been…. although not as simple as I thought she would find it. Even though I explained that you have to flick it quickly, and have to be directly over the top of it, she struggled a bit. When she had laboriously done a few lines and I had sat watching her for ages, she hadn’t got them right, some were out by half an inch or so, or she had “guessed” where a line was going, instead of following the line she should have been, making it a straight line instead of a nicely curved one. I explained that she didn’t need to know what the image WAS, just follow what the line below WAS.

After an hour of this, with her making the comment that it must be boring for me watching it, she still hadn’t drawn out half of the image. And there was only half an hour left of the class. I could see that we would be doing this for some time to come, and wanted her to get to the painting stage. I gently and brightly suggested that whatever she hadn’t done by the end of the half hour I would finish off, not to take over the painting, since she had learnt the technique, but to speed up the creative process. She agreed with a quiet smile….

I sat back, and let her get on with it, although in that time, she ended up rubbing out more than a third of what she had drawn as the lines were “out” from the sketch.

At the end of the half hour, there was still more than a third of the drawing to finish off. I picked up my pencil, stood over the drawing and started quickly flicking the paper over the canvas, checking the drawing underneath to make sure it was correct, and correcting it where it wasn’t quite. Then I did the rest of the drawing, the last third. All of that took me about seven minutes. If I had done the whole lot, I’d have done it easily in fifteen minutes. It took the novice more than one and a half hours to do what would have taken me ten minutes.

But what was surprising for me is I can’t remember when I last used that technique. Its been  decades and decades since I did that. And yet it was in me to do it. When you learn it as an artist, its there in you. Until its needed… !

Since then, as he writes regularly for the Burton Mail and Derby Telegraph papers about his extensive knowledge of local history, they have picked up the story (understandably!) and sent along a journalist to interview him.

Since that quirky article was in print the Press Association picked up the story and sent along a journalist to interview him.

I know all about this, as Stuart has kindly kept me informed as things have progressed.

But although this is Stuarts story, it does actually affect me. I am not mentioned particularly in the article, other than a vague reference to a local artist. That’s fine, like I say, its Stuart’s story.

But how it affects me is that I am caught up in it as some of the photos they have used online with the Press Association are my copyright photos.

I know that artists receive a reproduction fee for having their copyright photos used online. So, a month ago I rang the Press Association and spoke to the helpful and friendly woman who had interviewed Stuart about the possibility of whether I was due a fee for my photos being used. She explained beautifully that I was not, as I would be paid by publicity (artists are used to this, and know sometimes publicity is very useful to promote their career) BUT if it was picked up by other publications, then I would be.

Ok, watch this space then, and see what happens………

The Daily Mail online picked it up.

The Sun online picked it up.

The Mirror online picked it up.

The Sun used one of my photos, the Mirror used one of my photos, and the Mail used four of my photos! Yay!

But where did I stand? After speaking to Stuart, who wasn’t sure, and who said that he had been told in the past by a newspaper person that they only pay out for using photos if someone asks for the fee, I decided the best thing was to ring each paper and find out.

So yesterday morning, I started with the Mirror… who when I spoke to a helpful woman in their Pictures department about my connection to Stuart, and whether I was due a fee, asked me to email her with the link to the article, and after she had ascertained that it was my copyright photo she said she would sort the payment out for me. Yay. One done.

Next, I rang the Sun, and spoke to a very helpful young man who told me he would get the Pictures Editor to ring me back within ten minutes, after I explained about the article they had used, and my copyright fee due on the photo. The Pictures Editor did indeed ring me back within the ten minutes, and had obviously checked the article in that time as he said that since they had got it from the Press Association, I should speak to them about it and gave me a contact number.

Okay…. that was where it all started from. But the number I had been given was a different number from the original one I had used for the Press Association as it was their Photos Department. I duly rang the number, a woman answered, I started explaining my problem, and she surreally said “Hello Jackie, its me!” and I realised it was the original woman journalist who I’d spoken to a month ago….!

And again, after I had said she had explained it fully beforehand, but since I was caught up on Stuarts coat-tails regarding his article, about him, but using my photos, I wasn’t sure if it had affected me now… since it had now been picked up by other papers.  Things had changed regarding it.

But …….it seemed they hadn’t! As she helpfully explained that since this was done through them online, it didn’t matter how many other papers picked it up online, that arrangement meant that………………………………. I was not due a fee.

No point in ringing the Daily Mail then!

And later on that afternoon the helpful woman at the Mirror emailed me to say that it had been done via the Press Association, so I should contact them instead and asked for me to keep her informed…. already done it, I replied, and no, I’m not due a fee…!

Its been an interesting exercise. I started off with nothing, expected nothing, and got nothing!  

But this weekend it was finally all arranged that we could meet up in a time and place that suited us both around busy schedules and the holiday season.

Finally the clients, and I, were both in the same place at the same time. And happily the sun shone on us too, which it certainly didn’t the last time I saw them.

The drawings were done in June from photos, and although are simple to look at, are quite subtle in their depiction. I know from doing these sort of white conte pencil on black card drawings many times in the past that they pick up the subtle nuances of light and dark, shadow and light, and hint softly at the interaction of people within them and what they are doing. I love doing them, and know how popular they are with other people too.

These two drawings are entitled “Caress” and “Cuddle” for obvious reasons, and show the love and affection between a couple who knew exactly what they wanted in the poses, and I could see how beautifully the poses would work for the drawings, creating interesting shapes and lines. They are erotic, loving, sensual, and sexy and the drawings are gorgeous either singly or together!

And what a lovely catch-up it was to see the couple again, two lovely people very at ease with each other, and me.

So I’m happy. The clients are happy. And now the drawings have gone off to their rightful place to hang on the wall where they belong!

During the week I have been answering emails as and when they come in as usual.

Last nights email was a typical one for me, that tends to occur about every six weeks or so.

A request from a guy I don’t know and have never heard of who is interested in erotic art and wanted to offer his services to me as a model. The email is always very similar, although the guys are different every time (well I presume its not the same guy!) .

My reply tends to be something along the line of I would love to paint or draw them, but the only way its going to happen is by a commission, where they pay me to do the artwork, rather than me paying them for their modelling service (which is what the majority presume is going to happen!).

Then I sit back and wait for the response.

Usually its some reason as to why they don’t want to pay me to do the drawing.

But occasionally I get a positive response back, that they would love to commission me.

Yay, two people in artistic harmony!

As it was with the latest guy from last night. Yes, indeed he was happy to pay me to draw him, and we agreed a price, and the hours, and the likelihood of the pose, depending on what he looks like when I see him although he was very helpful in describing his age, physical shape and height. So I have an idea of what his body shape is and know that there won’t be any difficulty in whatever pose he wants doing.

When I asked how he’d heard of me, I got the generic reply of “on the internet” wondering exactly what that meant, or how, or through what means my name came up…

However, I declined his suggestion of me finding a female model to pose with him. For quite a few reasons. Firstly, I don’t know of any in real life who live close enough to me who would be able to do the pose he might want doing. Also, I don’t know who he is, and make presumptions that he’s a nice enough looking guy with the hygienic cleanliness that you would expect in most people. I wouldn’t suggest to any female model that they should pose with any guy I hadn’t met before. Plus, I wouldn’t ask any female model without knowing her first too. So, all in all, it was a no.

He seemed happy to accept that. Well at least he didn’t argue with me when I declined.

And then came his next suggestion.

That there might be a small audience, to watch. A female audience.

Okay, nice try, but that’s not going to be happening either!

Really?

How many women would really want to be sitting watching him being drawn?

Be honest, how many of you would?

Of course they did. Why would I think otherwise?

I picked up seven new (to me) books, five of them by authors I didn’t know. And came home about 2pm, had a very quick lunch and was ready to start on the painting.

And then realised that there was a small job that needed doing in the house. Only a small job, but it involved needing PVA glue to stick it, and was right in the main thoroughfare of the house on the floor in a doorway and not that it gets a load of traffic over it, it needed doing, and I knew that if I didn’t do it, it would get worse. As these jobs tend to do. And also it would get kicked by accident if I didn’t do it. Of course then, since it was glue, and the parts that needed sticking together weren’t lying flat together, it needed pressure to get it to stick properly. As I knelt over it, holding it down, I wracked my brains thinking of what was heavy enough to hold the parts together…….. nothing to start with……….. so the obvious thing was…………… me! After about twenty minutes of this, it was beginning to hold in most of the places but the ends, which is why it currently has two large and heavy bottles of cider sitting on it… as a reminder of not kicking it, and also to make sure the weight of them will make the pieces stick flat together. By then it was well after 4pm….

And I was ready to start painting.

But then I knew that I would have to stop within a couple of hours due to my man coming in around then.

You know what. Leave it. I told myself.

Leave it until you can do it properly tomorrow. Because when I can do it all in one go, with the right music playing for me, I can get into the flow of it. Lose myself in the whole painting, without any interruptions. And it will be far better for it. Because the painting takes over, the picture will look far better for it. I know that so well from past experiences.

So, tomorrow is now painting day.

And today? I am going to sit in the garden, in the late afternoon sunshine and read my book….. a new one purchased today…

Just my sort of book. By Bernard Knight … a medieval murder mystery!

So I’ll show you some photos I took of Exeter Cathedral six years ago, since the book is set in this very place.

To start I thought a lot about the composition, and did a few thumbnail sketches to see if the tree would be better off to one side or slightly off the centre, but it made the picture more unbalanced than I wanted it to look, so I decided on the tree to be placed right in the middle of the  23.5  x 12 inch block canvas (painting down the sides as well) with the grass slightly raised in the middle, giving more of an impression of a hill and giving the tree even more importance. Even though the composition was simple, it had to create the right message.

So the composition decided, it was time to apply colour with my palette knife, thickly on the canvas, working fast to get the depth of paint on. And when that was done, it was a matter of building up colour again over it, as I didn’t want flat colour, I wanted depths of colour over colour and merging into other colours.

When the sky was done, and I was happy with it,  it was time to do the cherry blossom, and I purposely merged the beautiful pinks of the sky into it. The two as one in their shared pinkness.

I did consider painting the blossom falling to the ground as it tends to do the minute it is formed.

But then I decided to create the tree in the bare moment that it is at full perfection. Before the blossom falls.

The painting is called “Morning glory” and depicts the pure moment when the tree is at its full beauty, when it is ethereal and so pale in its gorgeous perfection. The bright colours of the sky just exaggerate its delicacy.

And just to make me doubly happy this week, I had a mention on the radio….. .

Stuart Haywood mentioned my name on Radio Derby when he was interviewed by them this week about his decision to be nude when he re-newed his marriage vows with his wife this summer.              This desire to be nude in public was started by the nude drawings I did of him!

So, somewhat bemused, I looked at the options available to me and at ringing them at 8pence a minute, decided the easiest option to was to get in the car and drive to my local branch four miles away. And yes, I know, that using petrol is far more expensive than using the phone, but it seemed the best option to find out what this mystery was about. So, on a whim, at 4pm, I drove to the bank. And amazingly was able to park outside …. that must be a first.

The bank had three women tellers on the counter, but only one who seemed to be working with the actual customers. The other two were busy doing non-making-eye-contact stuff…

I went over to the attractive blonde woman, who I hadn’t seen before in that branch, and explained about the letter and handed it over for her to read. She read it, and went into the bank computer to look at my details to ascertain what the letter might be about. Since someone tried to scam me a year ago I wondered if it was another one those again. No, she said when I mentioned it, it wasn’t that, it just seemed to be they wanted my contact details, and when she quoted the ones she had on record for me, I could see why. An old email address I’ve not used for 14 years or so, and my old landline number from five years ago, no mobile number, so I was more than happy to get them updated, and relieved that it wasn’t anything more than that.

As she looked at the computer, I looked at her, and noticed that she hadn’t got a name badge on, like the other staff normally do. As I was waiting, I looked at her, and wondered what her name was……………………… and all of a sudden said:

“Is your name Julie?”

She looked at me, and nodded… no doubt wondering how I would know that….

Then I said “Did you go to John Port ?” and she smiled and nodded yes as she tried to place me. And when I told her my maiden name, she knew me straight away!  Of course, I am always ‘Jacqueline’ on forms, but everyone knows me as Jackie. And she smiled delightedly as she recognised me as Jackie and told me she still lives in the same village as the school we attended. She was astounded that I knew her as she never usually works in that branch and certainly wasn’t expecting to see anyone she knew that far from home.  She asked if I went to any of the school reunions? “No, there’s no point, if I want to stay in touch with people from school, I don’t need to go to a reunion!” and she nodded in agreement and mentioned a couple of names from school that she is still in touch with and asked if I remembered them and I laughed and said “No, you’re talking about 40 years ago!”. She then went on to say that she doesn’t like the village she lives in, but it suits her as her son is in the sixth form of John Port school.  But then she went on to say that she couldn’t wait to leave the area, she doesn’t like Derby as its a depressing city, and I nodded and said it always had been as far as I was concerned. I told her that at some point my man and I would move to a new area, somewhere that was “Ours” and she nodded in total understanding and said  urgently “Near the sea?” and I nodded at her with an understanding  smile, and said that that was the plan.

And that’s the thing about living where we do, its so inland that its far from the sea in any direction.

So, amazing to bump into someone from my past. Amazing as she doesn’t normally work in that branch, and I had only decided to go on a spur of the moment thing five minutes beforehand. And all the more amazing that we seem to share the same desire at this point in our lives. To move closer to the sea….

This was a few weeks ago at Stuarts favourite venue in Lincolnshire.

I knew that since then he had written an article for the local paper, and that the paper had printed the article.

This week he rang me to tell me that the Press Association had picked up the story and wanted to write an article themselves regarding it, and had sent a journalist along to interview Stuart and his wife and had written the article accordingly. He asked me if I was ok being mentioned in the story and if it was ok to use a couple of photos that I had taken. Yes, I was fine with that I told him. The female journalist rang me within an hour of him telling me she would ring and I confirmed that I was fine with it.

But, it was later that day that I realised what it actually meant and rang her again the next day to check.

Because, whereas I am so used to copyright with my artwork, and so used to taking photos all the time regarding subjects I love, I hadn’t appreciated that any photos I take, also have my copyright attached to them. Because this has been done via Stuart, and not directly to me, I realised that it did actually affect me in a direct way and the question was:

Should I be entitled to a reproduction fee?

Her response was that whereas there was no fee for the article as it goes online, there may be other publications that might pick it up. It has, after all, got a lot of quirky value. As it stands I will get a credit for taking the photos, and it will be good publicity for me. I understand that, artists know that sometimes you don’t get paid in money always, but get some promotion instead which may or may not turn into future work. But if another publication want to use it, then that is a different matter, then that gives me the possibility of reproduction rights on my copyright.

So, I don’t know what will happen, but I shall be interested to see…………..

I’ve visited a lot of counties in this wonderful country, and they all have their own character – the rolling hills of Derbyshire, the rugged coastline of Cornwall, the endless skies of Lincolnshire… but Kent seems to have it all. The massive sense of history, the diverse coastlines, the fields of fruit trees and hops, more castles than anywhere else, and the achingly picturesque cottages. All of it inspiring, and fun to explore.

There was only one visit to the coast this time, being Herne Bay, whose main curiosity to me other than it was full of German students  and appeared to have forgotten it was supposed to be summer was the fact the pier had two ends and no middle! I wonder what storm, or fire, caused that to happen.

There might not have been much coast but there was a river trip, and although it wasn’t technically in Kent, unless they’ve moved London, but we did start the day and end it in Kent. A fascinating river trip along the Thames and a delicious three course lunch to accompany it was a delightful start to the visit and the usual touristy visits afterwards to Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Fortum and Masons, Piccadilly, Soho, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace meant that we felt we had seen the sights in all their glory. Although I was incredibly annoyed to find that someone in their wisdom has decreed that since I was last there two years ago,  all the public toilets in London now charge 50p a visit (what happened to spending a penny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and no-one had any change, so for someone who had a purse of only two pences and ten pound notes, it was not at all funny…

Anyway, moan over, and back to the theme, of the delights of Kent. Further afield we found two delightful and previously unknown (to us) villages of Chilham, and Chiddingstone, although the latter was called a village, I think they were being very optimistic for 6 houses, a church, a pub, and a shop! The pub did do excellent food though, and after a tasty lunch we wandered into the grounds of the castle next to it and spent a happy hour or so taking photos of the water lily covered lake and tree lined gardens.

Of course we also managed to get to our favourite town of Faversham, which always makes me feel happy as its so pretty with 500 listed buildings leaning colourfully and gorgeously in all directions. And also a trip to the pretty village of West Malling, with its wide main street and wide selection of shops made us linger longer and invest in the tourist favoured fish and chips after we’d only gone for an icecream.

We also happily visited the large sprawling shopping centre that is Blue Water, and told the woman in Café Rouge that we were there on holiday as we had been the year before, and she thought we actually meant at Blue Water! No, we’re not that sad that we take our holidays in shopping centres……..!

So, seeing good friends, drinking fine wine, and going out for delicious meals, walking new areas and visiting old familiar ones,  and having a relaxing time in that gorgeous county has totally refreshed me.

It required me to pick up a white Conte pencil to make a small mark on a piece of black paper.

It was easier to pick up the pencil and do it, than say out loud what was required.

The mark was effortless.

But lead to me quickly covering the paper with small marks, since it was easier still to illustrate the main points in the female figure that was being drawn.

Then it was the pupils turn.

And as I stood behind her, I could see how she was struggling, how the lines weren’t quite right. How they were straight where they should have been slightly curved, or wiggled a bit where they should have flowed, where they were too pronounced when they should have been subtle.

It is my job to teach her, to help, to advise, to explain.

But, for me, it was a good illustration of how I draw compared to a novice.

It isn’t just using a pencil in the way you write with a pen.

The pencil becomes part of me.

Its how I hold my hand, how tight I hold my pencil, the angle I hold it, whether the marks are soft or hard, and the pencil isn’t held rigid in my hand, its held firmly but can arc in all directions because I am not drawing with my fingers, but with my fingers, and wrist, and elbow, and shoulder, and back, and whole body. That’s how an artist draws.

Intuitively.

And at the moment I have a hankering, to do some of the white on black drawings I love so much, of trees………………………….

The only day this week we were both free was today, so he came over as arranged late morning, and I welcomed him in and offered a coffee. We chatted about loads of things before getting around to the actual reason for him being here….. the artwork. I was happy to explain and discuss it but really it didn’t need it, he was happy, I was happy, and he took it with him when he left ten minutes later.

But that artwork was the sum of many hours of hard work for me. I had to spend time learning about the subject, and then finding the right images for the composition, then doing the working pencil drawings, then the ink ones, which was what he wanted. Then when the first one was done, he wanted another one shaded in with more detail. Two very simple drawings, but an awful lot of concerted effort to get to that point.

So, I now know an awful lot more about Lancaster Bombers than I did before he asked me to do this job for him!

Most of the supportive and  helpful comments I had was to start another one, and leave the other.

But, I knew that if I did it would annoy me. Because when I start with a job I like to complete it. It’s just in this instance, that the painting in question had been put to one side as I had, nicely, three commissions to complete. And commissions always take priority.  But now they are done, I can go back to the seascape. Except I had lost the momentum for it, the motivation, the oomph, the creative juices, the inspiration, the crux. Whatever you want to call it, it wasn’t there.

But I knew how to get it back.

I don’t really know how this works, but it does. Well, it works for me, every time. Guaranteed!

I just put the right music on, and I have a good selection of what I consider the right music. Some of it is rock, some of it soft rock, some of it dance music, ranging from my favourite Paul Rogers (Alright now, Honey child) to Jackson Browne (Barricades of heaven, Shape of a heart) to AC/DC (Let their be rock, Whole lotta Rosie), Bon Jovi (Bed of roses, Its my life, One wild night) Shania Twain (Man I feel like a woman, Forever and for always), T.Rex (Thunderwing, Rapids, Baby Boomerang), Black box (Ride on time), Elton John (Chapel of love), Queen (Tie your mother down), Gary Moore (Parisienne Walkways), Sweet (Wig wam bam, Little Willy), Jennifer Lopez (On the floor), Pitbull (I know you want me), Sak Noel (Loca People), Public Service Broadcasting (Go, Spitfire, Everest)……. the list goes on…………. but they all have a good beat to them….. one that gets my heart racing, the blood pumping….. and …

I stand infront of the picture, usually with a mug of tea in hand. And I look at the picture that I am struggling with. And I look, and listen to the music work its magic on me, and I stand concentrating on it….

until……

the ideas come…..

And when they come, I’ve got my inspiration back. I’ve got my creative juices flowing again. I am lost in the artistic flow. And I can start painting again. The music is still there, it is still loud, and rocking, and filling my head.

And it was that, yesterday, that finished this painting off.

I can say in all honesty, that without the music, it wouldn’t have ended up looking as good as this.

The painting, now that I can tell you about it, is a seascape done in thick acrylic paint on  a 20 x 16 inch canvas. But, just to add a bit more atmosphere to the painting, in the foreground I stuck on beach sand, using PVA glue, and also, because I really liked it… a tiny shell. A real shell, that once was alive in the ocean, but now is the a large part of my painting.

The first picture here, is how far I had got to, up until yesterday when I was stuck for inspiration. Some sky, some sea, a horizon line, beach, and a shell. Not very inspirational at all. Flat and lifeless.

But….. after putting on the music, this is what I have done with it. Its come alive.

The finished painting, still has some sky, some sea, a horizon line, beach and a shell. BUT, the sky is alive with sunlight spotlighting the sea, the sea is alive with waves, and speckles of sunlight, the waves are foaming up and crashing on the beach, the beach is wet, with foam, and the shell… well…. its still there, its just highlighted more, because of what else is in the picture.

I have thought of various titles, but the one that I find most important for this picture is… “Let me take one last look”.

So, completed!  I painted it with the aid of music, and what a massive effect it had on it!

As I’ve mentioned before, the minute I saw the happy couple under the white wrought iron gazebo with the cherry blossom above and around their feet I knew I wanted to paint this picture from my photo. And since I knew exactly what I wanted and how I wanted it done, I’ll show here the different stages showing how I created this watercolour painting….

As you can see from the working photo, I knew I hardly needed to change anything at all for the painting other than removing the table that was behind them in the gazebo, it didn’t add to the picture in any way.

Firstly I put the watercolour paper on my work board and stuck it down with gummed tape to keep it firmly in place and stop the paper from buckling with the watercolours. I did a simple line drawing so I knew all the important lines of the gazebo which has a lot of detail in it, making sure the vertical pillars were parallel but I didn’t want to draw every tiny curl and line within  the ironwork but rather hint at the shapes.

Then I applied the masking fluid with a small brush. Since this painting has a lot of white in it for the gazebo and the brides dress, and pale pink for the fallen cherry blossom I wanted to make sure I kept those delicate colours from the darker ones around them, and masking fluid meant that I was protecting those parts of the paper.

Now to start painting, and I made a delicate wash of pink for the cherry blossom, and very delicate palest blue for the sky behind it, and small amounts of green gold and browns for the main tree branches, and the dark greens of  conifer tree adding contrast. I let the paint flow down the paper behind the gazebo adding a pale harmonious look to the background. And purposely lost some of edges of the gazebo interior under the roof to soften the structure.

Next was the foreground, with the pale purple greys of the slabs, the roof of the gazebo and the warmer greens to the side of the gazebo. There was no need for much detail here, since they were all to add depth to the picture.

Now it was time to remove the masking fluid revealing the white paper below, and add palest  washes for the white gazebo, and cherry blossom.

Happy that the background was in, I could now concentrate on the bride and groom, and painted the first wash of colours to his suit, and her dress, letting the white of the paper be the colour of her gorgeous gown and only hinting at the subtle shadows of the fine fabric. I painted their wine glasses – a gorgeous contrast of her red wine against her white dress, and his white wine against his dark blue suit.

Then it was time to pull the whole thing together, adding fine details around them where necessary in the foliage to the side of them, and behind them in the gazebo, and of course the bride and grooms faces.

Finished, the whole thing looks so much better in a mount, completed. The title of it is “Cherry blossom gazebo kiss” – it says it all! Delicate but with good strong contrasts in small places to add depth to the gazebo ironwork, and the garden setting. I love it!

The email put a frown on my face and a sigh to my lips.

I looked again at the reason for the comment and to a miniscopic degree could see the reason for the comment but felt the point was being missed totally. But I have seen this comment happen before so will now explain how I view the world compared to how it seems a few other people do….

The subject in question in this instance is for two white on black drawings that I have been commissioned to do recently for a couple. I won’t show the drawings here, although they were done three weeks or so ago, as I haven’t yet asked for permission to put them on my blog or website. So, I will describe them and illustrate this without the particular illustrations! The drawings are done in conte pencil on black card in the style that I have done many times over the years. I am very used to drawing in this style and it is a particular style that I have adjusted to fit the conte pencil that differs from a graphite pencil in that it has a far softer point to it, although it can be sharpened with a craft knife to get a good point, but it isn’t as hard as a graphite pencil lead. But the reason I like it so much is because of the soft effect it makes. When I draw in this style, as its white on black, its obviously a tonal drawing, not one with colour to make the form of the bodies. And as it has strong light and shadows on it, there will be parts of the body that are in darkness (ie the black of the card) and some in light (ie the strongest tone of white of the pencil) and maybe two tones in-between using the pencil with a lighter pressure to the card. Even though there might be fine details within the composition I am drawing, the drawing itself won’t really show them as the pencil won’t allow it and as far as I am concerned I like the hint of details within the drawings.  Its not supposed to be a full representational drawing.

And here we come to my problem with todays email.

The clients, who it is my utmost intention to please, have asked for the woman’s nose in it to be adjusted as they say it doesn’t look like “her nose”. This is their second request for a change in this particular drawing regarding the woman’s face. When I looked at the drawing I had done  – to a microscopic degree – I could see the reason why they were thinking it, but I also knew the reason why they were saying it. It was because they were looking at the image on their computer screen, and although I don’t know the size of their monitor, I would imagine the pictures are quite large on the screen, and that they are viewing them in large definition. They are also probably sitting a few inches from the screen too so can see all the tiny details in the picture. Most drawings and paintings when they are framed and behind glass on someone’s wall are viewed from about six feet away. You don’t view them from 2 inches away. I do appreciate that their living space is limited but even so they will generally view these drawings from a few feet away. The whole point of these types of white on black conte pencil drawings is that they are not full detailed drawings done in graphite pencil, they are supposed to be an artists rendition of the models, not a total photographic copy. As an artist I put my artistic interpretation of the models which picks up the essence of the models and in these drawings I have made slight adjustments to improve on the photos I worked from. In this instance the couple are standing up in full body pose, and the womans head is slightly thrown back so that it meant I was looking up her nose and under her chin for the drawing. If I had put them in exactly as the photo then her chin would have looked enormous and her nostrils massive and it would have detracted from the point of the drawings which is of the couple cuddling each other in an erotic way with their hands and bodies interacting and the way the light and shadows make interesting patterns around them. I have slightly adjusted the drawing to make it more appealing from the photo.

And here we get to the whole crux of the point of this. The drawings are done on paper that is ONLY 8 x 6 inches. So the actual changes they are asking for are in bare millimetres (to totally mix my measurements from imperial to metric!).  I have taken a photo of a ruler and the pencil I am using with the finest point I can get on it, and the fine rubber I use for fine adjustments and they look large compared to the size of the tiny adjustments they are asking me to make.

I  really hope they understand the point (excuse the pun!) I am making. I really can’t do anything more with it. I’m trying to get them to realise they have to look at the big picture and not the miniscule details.

Because I am really into pink at the moment.

And for as long as I can remember I have loved cherry blossom. I remember it in the garden when I was a child and the last house I lived in had two different cherry trees – one pale pink, the other a deeper cerise. Having visited Japan during cherry blossom time I fully comprehend their love of the cherry trees blossoming after the bleakness of winter, when the people sit under and walk though the avenues of cherry trees as the delicate blossoms fall from the trees carpeting the ground below in the ethereal beauty. Yep, I love cherry blossom.

And the picture the happy couple want painting is the one I took on their wedding day and loved the best of all. It was when they did their speeches to the wedding guests in the delightful setting of the garden of the old pub that they had their wedding reception in. The pub itself was quaint and pretty and the Kentish village it was in was incredibly picturesque. They stood under the very pretty white wrought iron gazebo, and the late afternoon sunshine shone through the trees behind, one of which was a pink cherry blossom, and I thought it the prettiest setting for them to have their photos taken in, and like a lot of other people that day, took a few good photos.

And that is what they want painting, that picture.

I’m a happy bunny. I haven’t asked them if they want the painting in watercolours or acrylics or any other medium. There is only one choice for cherry blossom as far as I am concerned….. it will be in watercolours!

So this week when I went for a walk with my friends I knew that it would be full of green, that all the greens would be a similar colour, not the later summer greens that are more olive and sage greens, no this green would be bright sap green. But, I’d find something to photograph and armed with camera, and knowing exactly where we were headed since I chose the walk this time, we hiked off to the green stuff.

Having the artist’s eye, I knew that I would find little gems of details amongst it somewhere, searching for the contrasts of shape or other colours. And as these photos show, the strongest colour in each image is green but with a bit of thought towards composition and the shapes of the tracks, the white of the cow parsley, or line of trees, or how the light is creating shapes within the shadows, the pictures are interesting to look at. I love each of these for different reasons and know that each of them would make a good painting as the eye is lead into each image – although I would probably incorporate a little more colour into each one just to make it more appealing to the eye.

But then a painting shouldn’t be a direct copy of a photograph, it should have artistic licence. Even when you’re going green!

Over the weekend I was minding my own business sitting in the sunshine when a man and woman I know well enough to say hi to, but not much more than that, plonked themselves down on either side of me, grinning. Helloooo ……. I wondered what this was about. A couple of comments, and then it came to light when he said that she had pointed out my website to him and they had seen the white on black drawings I do, and they wanted one doing of them as soon as they have found a place to rent together (I gathered it was imminent rather than long term). I said with a smile I’d be delighted to do that for them! She kept joking “For a fiver!” and I laughed and said she could have it done for a fiver if she meant it, but it would only be ONE minute of my time! I knew she was joking as she said it, but she’s a lively character and the sort to joke. Later on, when they had gone off to sit back in their places, within earshot of me, they kept making friendly comments and after a while she called over “I love you Jackie” and I replied with a grin “I love you too!” to which her response was “I love you more!” I really felt I had my fan club around me that day, even if it was only two of them! Surreal and nice, all at the same time!

And today’s news? Well I received an email from the guy I did the oil painting of with him sitting on the red leather sofa wearing a red venetian feathered mask since he had shown the photographer the painting, which was done from photos that she had taken. I don’t think she knew of the painting being done and he said her reaction was

“The photographer was surprised – but she loved it. The move onto the sofa was so good I had to point out that she hadn’t taken me on the sofa in that pose. She was very impressed”

I told him in reply that I was delighted to hear that reaction from her, and the fact she hadn’t realised that I had moved him to the sofa was even better, since she like me will be used to looking at the details of light and shadow happening around the subject. I try to make it look as natural as possible and if it fooled even her, I’m delighted, and thanked him for letting me know. Happy day!!

from chatting with them over a few glasses of cider and finding out more about them because

I’d taken photos of them in the nude because

They had decided on the poses they wanted from

Chatting with each other because

I suggested that they practice the poses they want in a mirror as

He knew in his head what he wanted the poses to be but she wasn’t so sure as

They had waited years to find an erotic artist and had discussed it on many occasions but

Until I showed them some of my other drawings and set ideas off in their heads they

Hadn’t had the chance to do anything about it until

He invited me to come over and meet his wife for a chat as

He overheard me laughingly say to someone that I am an erotic artist as he stood beside me as I was served a cup of tea

Just an offhand comment… and look where it lead!

We headed over there, both of us armed with cameras and she took me down to the river – yay, the Dove as promised, and little suspension bridge there, aw, that was an unexpected surprise, and even better that the sun was shining through the clouds even if there was a cold nip in the air. We were five minutes there, if that, cos there wasn’t much else to look at after the bridge, and walked back up the lane towards the church. I like old churches, for the sense of history more than the actual religious side of it, and took a few photos of the gateway with the dappled sunlight on the old stone steps. And then, walked on, and stopped dead in my tracks.

Wow!

She hadn’t warned me about this.

Wow! I’ve never seen anything like it.

Why hadn’t she said anything about this!!!!? I wondered as I grinned from ear to ear, in wonder.

It was old, that was obvious, but when we read the sign by it I hadn’t realised HOW old. Old and very infirm, this gentle magnificent creature. It had been there an awfully long time. And it needed gentle support to aid it. Otherwise it would have torn itself to pieces. I felt an awe there in its shadows and wanted to touch, I so wanted to touch it, and laid my hand gently on it feeling its life within.

And then my friend said the magical words… “You can go inside”. “Can we?” I asked in surprise, and she smiled as she walked me around, to the other side, the open side, the side that revealed all the innermost secrets and I looked in wide eyed wonder again at what had opened up infront of me and looked up and said “I thought you were joking” and she smiled as I took a step further and went in, looking all around me, and up, at the sky above. I was inside. Inside a living tree.

The churchyard yew according to the sign, was thought to be more than four hundred years old, wow,  yep, by a thousand years!

And also according to the sign Robin Hood had married under it. Ok, well, maybe he did who am I to argue that point.

But what fascinated me, on this sunny day that picked up the shadows, and light, and tones of colours, and hinted at heads of serpents, skulls, elephant heads, and wraithful faces, and many writhing bodies  was that this was the most beautiful sculpture I had ever seen. Far better than anything carved my man. Nature had made this fabulous work of art, and I was inside it. I think it was the unexpectedness of it that also struck me. I had had no prior warning at all of its existence. From the road outside it was a yew tree like many old churchyards have, but it was the feeling of being enveloped by it as you walked under its many heavy branches, and the way it had toppled over some of the gravestones under it, and the immensity of it, that I found incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a tree like it anywhere.

I love wood, I love things made of wood, I love to see wood, and feel it, but I have never ever seen wood formed in such a way, by itself.

I decided I’d re-do it, since its a simple picture and do it on a block canvas in acrylics and accentuate the light that I love so much between the trees.

And had the original painting infront of me as I drew it out and started work on it, building up the colours and shapes and texture in the paint. Of course it was going to be different, although I could have done it exactly the same as the pastel, it is easy enough to copy it, but I thought I’d paint the colours as true pigments rather than mixing them with white to mute them, to make the chalky effect that pastel depicts.

The new painting was more about something else, as I added the sunlight angled through the trees rather than the flatter light of the pastel which is called “Woodland rest”. The acrylic painting had to have a new name (rather than being the lazy option of falling back on “Woodland rest 2”!) so this one is called “Refreshing the spirit” since that is what it does for me. Trees and water and sunlight always refresh my spirit and make me feel good and alive! This new painting has a fresher feel to it, the colours are sharper with deeper darks of rich purple for the trees and dark parts of the water so the contrast is stronger.

But I want to know what you think.

Which do you prefer… and why?

Weighing all the options up.

And decided that because I had done it a year ago, and enjoyed it, I would do it again. After all, its for the good of the community.

There is no payment. But a feeling of helping out for the greater good of others.

So, I put everything that I was currently doing, to one side, to do this.

The fact that it was freezing cold, and there was no heating, I didn’t question.

The fact that I had to keep my padded coat on, ontop of my thick sweater, ontop of a couple of long sleeved tee shirts, because it was so cold, I accepted.

Because, its for the good of the community.

The fact that it took seventeen hours to do, for no income, no hourly rate paid, no financial recompense or any sort, I accepted.

The fact that I earnt nothing that week, because of this, I accepted.

After all, it was for the greater good of the community.

Last week, when in Ashby de la Zouch, knowing that the artboards were up for the festival, I couldn’t see mine.

I know that there are hidden parts of Ashby and sometimes things are not obvious.

So I sent an email to the organiser to give me a clue as to where my artboard was.

The reply was “On South Street, facing the Bath Grounds”

Okay…………………… so off I went yesterday to find it now that I knew it wasn’t on the main street.

Ashby has three streets running parallel to each other, through the town.

The main street is “Market Street” which has two way traffic, has most of the shops, and is the main busy thoroughfare that everyone uses.

North Street is part two way traffic, but half is one way traffic, but lots of people use it as the school is on it, as is the library, and the sports centre.

South Street (the one that is suddenly important to this tale) is part two way traffic but the last two thirds of it is one way traffic which few people use as there is nothing but a few houses down there, little business, and no reason for people to walk it. The last part of it, is a T junction, and has double yellow lines along it and no one looks left or right at the end at the walls, because there is nothing to look at, except the traffic at the junction.

This is where my art board is hanging. Along with someone elses.

I cannot imagine anyone looking at it, since it isn’t “any where”. No where that anyone looks, or walks, or stops, or notices.

This is what Seventeen hours of freezing solid in an unheated warehouse “for the greater good of the community” is for.

If they had told me before I started working on it, where it was going to hang, I wouldn’t have bothered.

Ask me if I’m likely to be doing it again next year.

I think you already know my answer to that. And I’m being very polite…… all the swear words are in my head………..

Of course it interested me to see it, since its a beautiful part of the rolling hills of East Staffordshire, and seemed to be filled with lots of fields, and trees and hedges with the odd village here and there and some stunning houses dotted around. My grandparents used to live in that area which is why I am familiar with it and more than happy to explore it again.

My friend was an excellent guide and we had a perfect day for it, walking amongst bluebell woods and along quiet country lanes. After dinner she and I went for another walk, which was supposed to be a short one but ended up being a few miles longer than I expected which meant that it was getting dark before we returned. Not that that bothered either of us, we are both country people and used to being out in twilight which is my favourite time of day. Particularly on a clear night, as this one, when the air is clear and you can see the trees silhouetted against the deepening blue sky and the odd star appearing overhead. I always take my camera on days like this, and had taken lots of photos earlier of the sunlight through the trees, creating dappled sunlight and back-lighting the spring leaves. And took some more as the twilight fell about us.

When I down loaded my photos a couple of days later there was one in particular that I liked and knew that it would make an excellent painting, infact the idea for the title came to me whilst I looked at it, always a good sign!!!

Last week I started work on it, and can now show you the photo I worked from, and the finished painting which is done in acrylics on a 16 x 12 inch block canvas with some texture within the paint.

The tree silhouetted against the sky was what appealed to me, with the pale pinks and blues of the sky behind. But I also liked the light of the house beyond it, it looked so welcoming. So it was that that gave me the idea of the title of the painting, but the house had to be moved with a bit of artistic licence over to the other side of the lane! It balanced the painting better. Other than that the painting is the same as the photo except I have really zipped up the colours making them more vibrant! Black is black, but colours can be enhanced! The main colour was in the sky, and I only had to hint at colour within the purple grey of the lane, and the late yellowing light on the grass of the verge and hedge.  I wanted the house to have all the lights on, as if the viewer is returning home after walking the dog, or driving home after a long day. Either way, you know that the house is full of laughter and family, and love, and the minute you walk through the door there will be welcome greetings and a fire lit, and you can relax with your  happy family around you. The title that inspired all of this? … why its…. “Home is where the heart is”. Of course.

I may not have got the chance to take photos at the weekend but I certainly got the chance yesterday when some good friends came over as arranged late afternoon for a visit and a hopeful walk in the woods (well……knowing the way the year was going……weather permitting we’d cautiously agreed). It was permitting though, astonishingly,  being the first day for what seemed like many long days when we could actually take more photos. Fortified with tea and scones we set off, and I knew exactly where I wanted to go to! It didn’t let me down when we got there via a meandering trek, and not only was the light good and clear, the sun was at the right height, and the scent absolutely overpowering. It was a joyous sensory overload – a carpet of blue bells in dappled sunlight, and the heady  perfume from them filled our nostrils as we took loads of photos and walked on along the bridle paths.

I know lots of artists do paintings of bluebell woods and I can totally understand why. I suppose we judge the seasons of the year via the different wild flowers as they appear – Snowdrops in January, Daffodils in March, Bluebells in May, Elderflowers in July, Rose hips in October. Each bringing their bright colour to the season, and adding to our enjoyment of the countryside.

And today when I look at the photos I took I can see I am inspired again to want to paint them and capture what I saw in them.

But also today I am happily working on a painting I took on the walk I did a couple of weeks ago, one that was taken at the end of the walk, when the dusk was falling and the sky was a hint of pink in the blueness of twilight. It was one that I enhanced at the weekend, and love the arty effect of it, the colours are vivid and I want to take a couple of things out of the photo but add something else. It will make the picture far more appealing, and I already have a title for it…. and if I complete it this week like I’m hoping to, then I’ll show it to you in the next blog post…..

The client contacted me a few weeks ago wanting a painting done, he wasn’t fully sure what medium though, or whether he should be wearing a red Venetian feathered mask, or bare faced. He did know that he wanted to be seated on a red leather settee, and he did know which of the photos he sent me that he wanted as the basis of the painting. He had a good selection of photos to show me which helped me to create the picture he wanted although in his favourite photo he wasn’t seated on the settee, so I had to place him there which meant only one viewpoint would work in the pose he wanted.

Usually when I am asked to give advice to a client regarding which medium to create a painting in, one more than another will be obvious, but in this case I knew it would work beautifully in all of them whether it was watercolours, acrylics, or oils. What was important was getting that striking red as the backdrop and focus point in the picture. I knew it didn’t need anything else cluttering up the rest of the picture.

So to help the client decide, I did two half sized watercolour sketches to scale, one with the mask and one without. I knew which one I preferred and was delighted that the client chose it… the one with the mask of course! The mask instantly changes the picture from “life pose of naked man on a red leather settee” to “sexy erotic man of mystery in a dramatic Venetian mask showing his masculinity and possibly waiting for his lover whilst hiding his face, and maybe his playful side, behind the mask”. (Oooh, you can see which one appeals most to me! ).

The client decided that he wanted the painting in oils on canvas (good decision!) and when the canvas duly arrived from the art materials supplier I started work on it. I drew it out and block painted the canvas in acrylics to get the strength of background colour down. That of course dried quickly, and was quickly applied.

Just to get the first layer of oils on, I replicated the same colours in a thin layer of oils over it. It dried within a day or so, although as always with oils, some colours dry quicker than others, and I’m never sure why when they are all painted on the same day. It must be a chemical thing, but the reds remained wet for a long time after the other colours had dried.

Then it was time, that glorious time, when the painting is created, the different areas built up, and the joy of the way I like to paint, in that there are subtle changes of colour within each part, the walls behind the man have little nuances of colour, as does the settee, the floor. They are not flat colours, they are live colours even though they are not the important part. They are the support for the focal point, of the man. When I was happy that I had them in, I could start painting the skin of the man. Skin is always wonderful to paint, because the more you look at flesh, the more subtle shades you can see in it, hints of blues, pinks, purples, browns, reds, yellows, peaches and creams, and almost black in the deep shadows. I spent a whole day just painting the body, and wanted to do it in one sitting to pick up the same shades within the body to keep it harmonious, when one particular tone is made up of reds, blues, yellows, burnt sienna, raw sienna and white, its incredibly difficult to find that happy mix again. The daylight was starting to go as I finished the last part of the leg in the foreground, but I had got the important parts together.

The next day when I was able to paint, and this is the slightly annoying, if that’s the word, part, with oils, that you have to wait for bits to dry before you can get to the next stage, even when you’re full of momentum, and excitement for it, you have to wait. And I made myself wait for the best bit, the bit that I was aching to paint…… the mask!

The mask had to be painted last of all, as it was on the mans face, over his shoulders, and infront of the wall. The wall and skin had to be reasonably dry before I could start the mask. The client wasn’t wearing the mask in the photo he sent me, but he did send me a photo of a beautiful Venetian mask to show me what he wanted, it had fine gold and red details on the mask, and scarlet and maroon feathers which were gorgeous and rich and solid colour but soft feathers too. I didn’t want to draw each individual feather but hint at their softness and featheriness. I put dabs of green in the feathers as a nice contrast to the red, and adding interest within them.

Then, happy with that, it was just a case of pulling the whole lot together, the shadows under the bum, legs and hands, the high lights on the settee where the light catches it. Those tiny details can take a few hours of looking, and adjusting, and making sure it all flows together within the picture.

I love this painting, I love the eroticism of it. I love the air of erotic mystery it evokes. I have called it “Man of mystery”. You have no idea who he is behind the mask. He could be someone famous, someone you know, your boss, your neighbour. Tomorrow when you are on the tube, at the theatre, watching a film, in Tescos, you will be wondering, mmm…. is ….. that him…..

So, my question now is, would you pose – whether you are man or woman – in this pose, naked, if you were wearing a mask like this, that hides your face totally…?

Lots of red in the painting, and very dramatic! I love it.

And the painting was completed yesterday.

And the client is very happy with the image I have sent him of it…….

So, two happy bunnies this week!

To celebrate the start of spring, and the beginnings of warmth in the air, I have spent this week updating my website and am now ready to unveil it.

A few things have changed, some new paintings added to the galleries, and some of the old ones taken off. And I’ve had a good re-vamp of the paintings and drawings for sale in my Shop!

So, go and take a look, and see if there is anything there that you like.

And bear in mind, that for the next week ONLY, until 30th April, I am offering a massive 50% discount for ANY painting, or drawing in my Shop. That’s a massive saving, and a wonderful chance to get some really quality, great artwork at an amazing saving! HALF PRICE, 50% off. Does it get any better than that!!!!!!!!!

There’s something for all tastes, from sexy black and white erotic drawings, female nudes in oils, tigers in watercolours, mermaids, landscapes, seascapes, and vibrant Fantasy Fannies!

Half price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I accept Paypal, cash, cheque, or bank transfer…….

But, I have been caught up in a domestic problem that has interfered with my best laid plans!

On Sunday evening, after getting back from a lovely long weekend away with my fella seeing good friends, I felt there was a bit of a chill in the house but put it down to the time of the year when it can be sunny but cold as well overnight and adjusted the thermostat accordingly for the central heating and we went to bed thinking nothing more about it. But on Monday morning realised that there was something more involved that was at fault. No central heating, and no hot water. The boiler was working, so I presumed it was the thermostat and rang my usual friendly plumber. No answer from him, so I rang his business partner, also a plumber, who told me my usual guy was away, but he himself could come later on that day since he was passing my door. He duly arrived a few hours later, peered at the boiler, and peered in the airing cupboard and announced that it was the little silver box that was the problem. Ok, whatever it is, can you fix it? I asked. “No, its an electricians job”. Now, I know that the minute there is a problem in a house, and I have a workman who has turned up when asked, and looked at it, that a sense of desperation takes over…. you don’t want the said man to go, without doing the job. This one was refusing to even start on it, since it was an electrician’s job, not a plumbers. The fact that the water wasn’t heating up and coming out of the taps in a hot, scalding sort of way, or the radiators weren’t  reassuringly warm, seemed to me a plumbing concern, not an electrical one. It seems I was wrong, and he was right though, and I wrote down the name of the thing I needed (which I have never heard of before) and rang the usual electrician I have used in the last twenty years or so for all my household work. He greeted me cheerfully when I rang him, and listened as I explained the problem, and said that the earliest he could get to me was in two and a half weeks! Er, no, that’s no good, I need it doing NOW. I am cold, the house is cold, the water is cold, and it needs sorting out.

Ok, another electrician then. And that’s another problem finding one of those!

Eventually, one was found, but of course I had no idea if he was any good since I found him via an advert and not a recommendation which is the best way to get a workman I know. This one was helpful, and came the following day to look at the faulty silver box (“Its buggered” was his considered opinion) and he showed me how to get the immersion to heat the water (which was more than the plumber had pointed out) so at least I could have a hot shower again (cold showers are very under-rated in this house). And he went off to speak to a few plumber mates to see if he could get me a good trade price on the silver box rather than paying too much buying it at the extortionate domestic DIY store prices. He rang me back within the hour to tell me that I would be better getting it myself online, since it was HALF  the price than the DIY stores. I liked him for that, since he could have ordered it himself and added on a good percentage for himself and I would have been none the wiser. Part ordered via ebay, coming from Kent, and within 24 hours I was told, as indeed it did. Wow, amazing service! It is now sitting, waiting, to be fitted when the electrician can get here to do it. The house is still cold, I am still cold, hot water bottles heat me up when I am asleep in bed, I am wrapped up in a blanket watching telly at night, and thank goodness the days have so far been warm and sunny which heats the house up during the day.

But, none of this is good for oil paintings drying. I have done the first layer in acrylics to get the depth of colour on the canvas. And I have done one thin coat of oils over it, to start the painting. But I need to get the next coat on, and until the first part has dried, it’s holding me up a bit. Oils don’t like cold weather any more than I do! I know its April, but it doesn’t feel like it, it feels like the depths of winter!

But this week I was reminded, in a very good way, about one in particular. It was done about fourteen years ago, and was the very first drawing I did that was purely erotic, rather than just a life drawing pose. Although at the time, the drawing should have been a life drawing pose, the way I drew it, made it something else. I knew instantly at the time, as did the model in question, she loved it, and loved what I could see of her in it. It is one of those pictures that currently hangs on my wall, since I don’t want to sell it, along with another few choice favourites. I entitled it “Meditation” since that is what it looked like to me, the model in deep thought with her head down slightly, concentrating hard and show it here so you can see the simplicity of it, the hidden aspects that make the picture interesting for what you can’t see, but fill in, within your own head.

Its one that has been on my website for a few years to showcase my work. And this week, it spoke to someone else. Someone I haven’t seen for a long time. Someone who matters.

The first one is called “Lets fly away together” and is set in the beautiful gardens of Hever Castle in Kent. I took the working photo there last summer on a gloriously hot sunny day and as soon as I took the photo I knew I wanted to paint a picture of it. This is that painting, and I love the butterflies in the foreground  symbolising love, happiness, the future, and the passing of time and beautiful things. There is a lot of texture in this painting, as most of it was painted with a palette knife other than the details of the couple and the butterflies themselves. I love the dappled sunlight through the leaves and on the path, I love the line of high-lights beyond the tree, I love the steps, and the rocky bank, infact there isn’t anything that I don’t love in this painting!

The second painting is called “On the wings of love” and is set in the Lake District, on Lake Windermere if I remember correctly, and is from a photo I took a few years ago again in July, and again, the minute I saw the photo I knew I wanted to paint the picture of that little rocky outcrop with the trees growing on it and the sunlit water lapping around it. The happy couple contemplate the hills and water as the pair of butterflies fly above them, symbolising love and their future happiness. Again, there isn’t anything I don’t love in this painting, either, from the changes in colouring of the water to the sunlight through the trees, the pink and purple shadows in the foreground and the butterflies above.

I adore both these paintings for their similar happy message and their typical English countryside settings. I love the sunlight on them, and the vivid colours in the texture, and most of all I love the butterflies! Two happy paintings, that make me smile everytime I see them……

I knew when I did my first preliminary sketch on a piece of A4 paper that I wanted the two knights jousting with lances, on horseback. With Ivanhoe facing the viewer and the other knight less important within the picture.  Since I knew the boards are 4 feet by 8,  and I was doing my picture as a horizontal image I had an idea in my head how it would look. And I also wanted the viewer to be behind the shoulder of one of the knights as it made the picture more dramatic than if they were facing each other from each end of the board. With the lances crossing and painting directly at each opponent. Since I love pennants and the movement of the wind, it made sense for me to add one to the picture, flowing across the scene and pulling the colours of the knights together to add harmony to the picture. Although it was painted as blocks of colours, since the picture has to be viewed from across roads and high up on buildings, it meant that every mark had to count. And every colour too, so after I had done a line drawing I was happy with as my basic image, I then numbered all the areas a number from 1 – 5, with 1 being the lightest colour, and 5 being the darkest. Then I looked at the paints I had and judged which were best as colours 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Obviously 1 would be white and cream, and 5 would be black. The dark tail of the horse on the left would be 4 and 5, the sky would be 2, etc etc. I also made sure that the colours I used were a good contrast to the colours by them. So, although the white shield was next to yellow and they are both pale colours, the fact the cross was red on it, and the sky and distant trees were darker, meant that it would still stand out.

Even though I knew exactly what I was doing, it still took ages to draw the image out on the board, and the easiest way to do that was by gridding off the board and I mirrored that grid on my drawing on the A4 sheet of paper. Then double checked it looked right by standing back from my image and adjusting the drawing on the board. That took three hours! But, I knew that if the drawing was correct, the paint would be. If the drawing was wrong, it would have looked awful!

At least it was just a case of blocking in colours after that using the little match pots from DIY stores since its the cheapest and quickest method of getting paint that doesn’t need to be mixed and will stay wet in its pot until you use it. I did actually mix a paint for the knights chainmail armour and helmets, since I didn’t want black, or grey or dull blue as they would have looked too much like new steel. So the colour I mixed was a browny-fawny-greyey-creamy- colour. Why don’t Wickes do a colour called that? Instead of “Willow blossom” or “Old pine” or whatever they call them!!

So, bearing in mind, that it was freezing, and there was no heating at all in the warehouse that I was working in, and the bare concrete floor was hard, I am pleased with how well I got on. I might have had cold fingers, and bruised knees, and a dripping nose, but I got on well with the painting, and seventeen hours of my time finished it! From first drawing, to varnishing the finished board, seventeen hours. And I loved it!

I’ll show you when it goes up in the town but at the moment it’s in storage with the others until its needed. These things might not be used until the month of May, but the planning and creative execution of them is done months beforehand.

So, my painting of “Ivanhoe jousting”, finished and ready to go up for the Arts Festival in Ashby de la Zouch.

Yes, its that time of year again when the art boards for Ashby Arts Festival need to be painted ready for the middle of May. The reason they need to be done now, rather than early April, is because the warehouse is soon to be demolished, and we are able to use it as a wonderful (yes, really!) place to paint the boards in. Each plywood board is 8 feet by 4 feet, and there are over 30 of them, so of course the space is difficult to find for the painting of them, somewhere easy to get to, and with enough room for half a dozen artists to work together if need be. So, it may be cold, it may be draughty, it may be a hard concrete floor, but as far as I am concerned, its ideal! I really love the room, and wish it was my studio, although with a closed door, better lighting, cleaner,  and some heating!

Last year the theme was “Myths and Legends” so I did this painting of a dragon flying over a fairytale castle by the light of the moon. The theme this year is “Ashby de la Zouch, past and present” as its the tenth anniversary of the art boards being displayed around the town. As soon as I heard the theme I knew what I wanted to do. There was a lot I could have done, from the ancient pubs in the town, to the soap factory that has now gone, to KP foods who dominate one end of the town, the ribbon making that used to be done there, and a hundred other ideas that would have worked as well. But, Ashby de la Zouch as another connection, one that everyone who is connected with the town knows of, since half the places or businesses seem to have the name somehow within them. And that is the name “Ivanhoe” from Sir Walter Scotts novel of knights. So, as far as I am concerned, since I love all things Medieval, that Ivanhoe jousting was my theme. I found some suitable photos to start ideas from, and added a lot more of my own, and very quickly had a drawing that depicted what I wanted. Two knights on horseback jousting, as if you were looking over the shoulder of one of them. Lots of action and drama, just how I like it! And the thing that is important for these boards, since they have to be viewed from across roads and below buildings, is getting the tones worked out clearly, and the colours bright blocks of colour almost like a poster. Its therapeutic painting them, since its just a block of colour using emulsion match pots since that is the cheapest type of paint. You need an awful lot of paint to cover 8 feet by 4 feet! Of course finer details can be added but there’s no point in being very specific, since they won’t be seen. I really enjoyed my painting days, and love the painting I have almost completed.

I’ll show it to you when I’ve completed it. Almost there!

Being a Leo I am ruled by the sun and love being in it, and looking at it, and feeling it on my skin. As an artist, I love painting it, and its motivational affect on its surroundings. Dappled sunshine through trees, sparkling brightly on  rivers, oceans, streams and pools of water, reflecting off windows and shiny surfaces, highlighting a landscape, and backlighting leaves and hair.

I love it!  And this painting of mine called “Azure shimmer” celebrates that love, beautifully I think.

The first painting, which I am showing here, I was amused to call “Nightmares” was of three white horses, and had gold paint poured into the watercolours giving a lovely glint and shine to the movement within it. The moon was the only light that the horses raced by, the background  mostly cold colours of deep blues, lilacs, and greens.

The new painting, which is a large 36 x 24 inches on canvas is painted in acrylics as I wanted brighter colours, with the second horse being the one that is obviously going to win the race, since there is more power and dedication within his movements, and the gold emanating from within him. I wanted the horses manes to be flowing back into the sky behind them, and there to be very little landscape other than sky and a feeling of ground beneath them and dust being kicked up by their hooves. The place is not important, the race, and power, and winning, is. Its still three white horses leaping and racing, and there is still movement in the picture but its far tighter in style. I wanted the sky to be a multi-coloured profusion of colour and tone in strong  pinks, blues, and golds since that would be a better backdrop to the finer details of the pale manes flowing. The painting is entitled “Going for gold” and although the horses are white, they have their own colours showing through, mimicking the pinks, blues and golds of the sky behind. The subtle white paint was applied over the darker tones beneath, giving more of a hint of muscle and skin to the horses themselves.

The ground beneath them had to be detailed to show that it was there, and so that it could be a good contrast to the dust above it.  The hints of red, and gold, and deep purples and white add interest to it, without taking away from the main (or should it be mane!) importance in the horses.

The golden horse is breathing, and feeling his golden strength.

A simple picture but with a powerful message within.

Yesterday I had lunch with my good friend Stuart Haywood and his lovely wife. I’ve not seen them for a while and it was good to catch up and hear what they’ve been up to. I’ve done a lot of artwork for Stuart in the few years that I’ve known him, and I know how much of a positive change I’ve made to his life.  As we talked about their forthcoming holiday, gardening, people in our lives and the usual subjects over a leisurely lunch, I mentioned briefly my annoyance in myself for having put a lot of expectation into ONE thing happening and found out this week that it hadn’t. And realised as I said it that it sounded ridiculous. You can’t get caught up in the negativity of one thing, just because one thing didn’t go the way you wanted it to. We all get knockbacks. Its part of life.

Creativity and art should be fun. Art for art’s sake. Infact, its not the art that’s been the problem at all, it’s the place to sell it that I’ve been stuck on. Gallery, or online?  Or both? Or neither? And I’ve let myself become introverted over it, instead of flying high I’ve felt my wings have been clipped. Another persons water has momentarily extinguished my flame. But I shall nurture it, and let it burn bright again, fed by the air of success, creativity, talent, and a desire to communicate. Back in the flow that feeds my soul…….

And I’ve been focusing on the wrong thing entirely.

Just because one person, in one place, who probably wasn’t looking for the thing being offered, said that they didn’t want it, I have let it be a negative in my life this week.

What I have forgotten, in this intense focus, is that it is one person.

One person who rarely says yes anyway.

What I need to remember, is that there have been hundreds before who said yes.

And need to remember that there will be hundreds more who will also say yes.

Maybe thousands even.

As an artist and creative I need to remember that timing is everything.

And just because one thing is offered, at one time, in only one small direction, doesn’t mean that it won’t be wanted elsewhere in many directions.

When someone else says how wonderful it must be to be an artist, I agree. It is.

Because there are so many fabulous directions to go in.

And doors open in unexpected places all the time.

Which shall I knock on next?!

But… now we are in March, and the sun is shining, and the temperature a little warmer with the first hints of greenery forming.

The things that have been on my mind, are the things that I know I need to mull over. The answers won’t spring up though right infront of me. It never happens like that.

But I am also aware that good and bad happens in batches. That sometimes you just have to ride the bad stuff for a while because the good WILL happen. Although it seems it won’t. And sometimes, its the small stuff that is the turning point. I had one of those yesterday. And today, something in the post that came with a promise of good.

So maybe its on the turn.

And I need to do the tried and tested things that help for me to put the good back in my life. Dwelling on the bad only makes me feel worse. I need to get back to thinking of the good. And there has been so much good that it far out weighs the bad.

So, today I mowed the lawn for the first time this year. It doesn’t sound a lot, does it? But, mowing the grass makes me feel good. I love the uniformity of the blades of grass, I love the smell, I love the sight afterwards of a neat lawn. I love the fact that mowing grass makes me think of spring and summer. And new life is blossoming in the garden.

And next week I have a plan to put into action. Its something that I have been mulling over for the last week or so in idle moments. Helped by a phone conversation today, when the person who knows me very well said in one short sentence the answer I had been looking for. Seven words.

Over the weekend I was introduced to a couple I hadn’t met before, by a couple who knew them, and knew me. I was introduced as “This is Jackie, she’s an artist, an erotic artist!” which is usually a good opener of conversations. I smiled and said a couple of lines, but was more interested in the way the guy had been introduced to me since the second sentence, after his name, was the fact that he’d broken his back recently and had steel pins down the length of his spine. His wife got out her phone to show me the photos of the incredible surgery work he’d had done on it, and he lifted the back of his tee shirt to show me the scars. It looked horrific, but then its going to, if you fall vertically off a high ladder and fall flat on your feet, he was lucky his feet and legs didn’t break as well.

After we talked at length about his operation, we got on to the subject of me being an artist and what sort of artwork I do. I started telling them, and could see they were interested so that encouraged me to talk more about it, it always helps doesn’t it, when you get on well with people and they WANT to know about you, as I wanted to know about his back operation. He and she both asked the odd question, so I told them, about the most difficult picture I’ve ever done (Contemplating the shadows – a watercolour landscape depicting one mans relationship with the three most important women in his life), and the international Fantasy Fanny paintings being the ultimate vibrant feminine portrait, the complex erotic landscapes, the Gothic wedding painting for Peter and Miranda celebrating their love of history, the white conte pencil on black background erotic drawings, the pretty living flame portraits,  the pet portraits when the client has cried at seeing it, the joyfully surreal oil painting in a limited colour scheme of the Royal Crescent at Bath done for a gay couple with all their family and pets depicted with them and the wind painted in silver as an entity all on its own colour coordinated to match the wallpaper of their Grade 1 listed house in Bath, the seven Goddesses I painted in oils for a male white witch, the old cottage with the faces of the past inhabitants hidden in the garden surrounding it, the picture of Stuart at 75 depicting all the important aspects of his life up to that age, the dancers, the tigers, all of it. I talked, and described, and explained, and told the background stories, the clients and their requests, and their reactions to the artwork I had done for them, the people I have sold my work to, and the special paintings that are hanging on many walls that make other peoples lives happier for having them. And realised that we’d been talking for an hour or more, and added in every so often the oft used phrase from me “I just love painting pictures for people, it’s what I do”. And at the end of it, after I’d shown them some of my paintings on the I-pad,  they eagerly said that they wanted to go and look at my website and he said, with great feeling,  that he had never heard anyone talk with such PASSION about anything!  I stopped and looked at him, and knew I had talked with lots of passion, as I do on this subject. My subject, my art, my clever paintings. And was so gratified that he understood it, and could hear it in me, and knew how much it came from the heart. And hope that its inspired him to want something painted with my passion for his passion…. which might just be a special vintage red sports car…..

The question was whether I could draw a Lancaster Bomber. Not thinking for one minute that the reply to that wouldn’t be for anything other than a large World War II plane and not some lunatic with a penchant for bombing our fair city of Lancaster, I answered that of course I could.  And found that the request related to some artwork required in the form of line drawings needed for a business requiring letterheads and a logo. Ok, yes, no problem. Except that the subject was specifically the Lancaster Dambuster bomber and not any old Lancaster. Ok, now this is going to make it a bit more difficult, since I can draw, no problem, but its finding the subject matter that’s going to be the problem since I don’t know much about planes. Well, I know what Concorde looks like, but not the finer details between a Tiger Moth, Cessna, Spitfire, let alone what makes a Dambuster Lancaster any different to a non-Dambuster one. Fortunately, the client was most helpful in that department explaining the difference in it being based on a 617 Squadron Dambuster Lancaster modified by not having the upper gun turret and the bomb could be seen underneath. And letting me loose on the internet to find out more. Oh, and he wanted a bomb including in the logo. Ok, so what does that look like I wondered? and found it looks mostly like a large tin can with strange rivets and raised rims on the ends (that’s my interpretation of it, I’m sure the more technical among you will tell me what they are really called!).

So now I know a lot more about the Dambuster planes. Well….. I don’t know how many rivets are in the tail fins, and I don’t know how the bombs were attached in the planes, and I don’t know the type of engine used in them (actually, I think it was a Merlin… Oh, no, I’ve turned into an anorak!)  but I DO know what it should look like. And I do know how they worked, and I do know where they practiced using them, as do most people who have lived in Derbyshire since the planes practiced dropping the bombs at the Ladybower reservoirs. And I also found out today, something that I didn’t know, that my sister has actually stood on the actual reservoir they bombed in Germany. (No, not at the same time, it was many years afterwards when it was full of water again.). I didn’t know that she had been, but then it was half a life time ago, involved the RAF (don’t ask!)  and it didn’t mean so much then. But now it does.

At the moment I am just putting working drawings together before doing the proper drawings in full detail. Because the Dambuster plane has to be instantly recognisable, as well as more of an action shot than just a plane flying. And I may not know much of planes but I do know what a picture needs to make it look interesting and how the negative shapes around it make a positive shape more powerful. I know how to do that. Its called artistic licence.

The photo was taken, as you will have already noticed, on bin day. Which of course I didn’t know until I got there! Which is why I had to take a number of photos so that I knew what was behind those horrible eye-sores for any artist, mostly gates and steps, I realised.  I was also requested to “remove the Ford Focus’s” for this commission and certainly agreed that the picture was better without them. And also it was better without the street light, television aerials, telegraph pole and wires, For Sale sign, and since the picture wasn’t specifically for Christmas, the large Christmas tree outside the Bulls Head pub as well as the Christmas wreaths on the doors. Oh, and most definitely the yellow lines of course!

So this is the particular photo I used for my source photo, and you can see what I’ve taken out, and why!  This is what I saw, and this is how I made it look! Far better for the artistic licence. And although its a modern day photo, the drawing makes it look a bit more old fashioned, focusing not the the Ford Focus’s but on the important stuff, the lovely Victorian architecture of the pretty brick cottages and the really important focus of the village, the pub!

A beautiful springlike day with warm sunshine, and the hint of first early buds forming as I drove to my destination. It was somewhere I had been before but not for some years. I wanted to arrive early to make sure I was on time and didn’t have to rush to find a parking space. As it was others unconnected with me had arrived before and parking was awkward but I found a space eventually and went to the room where I was to wait. I was the first. And pleased that I was. The others arrived shortly after me, some people I knew, some I didn’t . Those I did hugged and kissed me as we greeted each other. Then the person we were waiting for arrived and we followed him in to a darker room, thin windows letting in some low light on the stone floor. There were only 27 of us, its not a lot of people but we were all there for the one man. And as his son-in-law stood and talked about his life, his long life of 92 years, and the important people in his life, there were smiles, and tears, nods, and quiet reflection for this man and the way he had affected us all. And why we all it was important to be there that day for him, and for ourselves. I always say there is more love at a funeral than at a wedding and it was shown that day. After the funeral we all moved on to another room, this one with a view over a pretty garden, and small sandwiches to hand, and there was more chatting, catching up conversations and hearing how his last few weeks of life had taken their toll.  His youngest daughter came to sit with me just before I left and said with a smile that her father had always had a soft spot for me, and I smiled at her words, since I have been very fond of him for the thirty years I’ve known him. And then she smiled and said to me “I’ve still got your picture” and I smiled back, delighted that she had although it was many years ago I did it for her. And realised then that there might only be 27 people there, but four couples in that room had paintings of mine on their walls. That’s a goodly amount isn’t it! I like to spread the love, in my art, and in my friendships.

I came home, feeling the love. And feeling full of love.

And two days after I was told of another death, this time on my side of the family.  My aunt, a happy jolly woman I haven’t seen for many years but someone I remember with fond affection from family parties many years ago.

Death, and love, interconnected and part of life.

Although it was *communications* that has taken up the majority of my work for the last few days, culminating in last night when I did my talk for the lovely WI ladies of Long Whatton in rural Leicestershire. They had booked me some months ago to talk about being an erotic artist, and I know that on the whole women tend to go quiet when I talk about it, and men tend to light up, so I wasn’t quite sure what the reaction would be. Having said that, they had booked me, wanted me to talk about my career as the erotic artist, and we had agreed my fee, so all in all, I presumed it would go ok!

The instructions were for me to talk for between one and one and a half hours. And that is actually a long time, to talk solidly about one thing, and make it interesting, and not to run out of steam half way through. But then, when I looked at the last talk I did for the WI, a few years ago, it made sense to use that one as my basis but just slot in the new stuff I’ve done since then. And then it became a whole lot easier. I decided to split it up in a logical manner, to have a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning to say who I was, and say that I’d been an artist all my life, had my first commission at 13, had exhibited all over the East Midlands, and in Hertfordshire and London, had sold my artwork to buyers in the UK, USA and Canada. And then to go on to what sort of mediums I paint in, and what subjects I paint. And at the end to sum up saying that I hope that I am an inspiration, that I love it when someone is brought to tears by a painting I’ve done of them, and that the thing I think is most important is communication, and depicting it in my art.

So, that was my beginning, and end. Now the bit in the middle….

Ok, what’s important….. oh yes…… how I interpret erotic art….how I got into doing erotic art….. how people get into modelling for artists…. what sort of pictures they want doing….. how colour makes a difference…. how people choose pictures at an exhibition…. what sort of people have commisioned pictures from me…. the important highlights of paintings I’ve done so far…. how really complicated some of my artwork is………….. the conversations I have with my friends about erotic art….. what people say when they hear I am an erotic artist….. the impact my website … and blog have had on people….. that I’ve had my artwork published in erotic books…… how unusual I am as a woman doing erotic art…. how I differ from a man doing erotic art….how erotic art differs from life drawing…. how painting goddesses has inspired me to paint all women in the same way…..how people view my job…. what difference music makes to me when I draw… how my job involves naked people… how I’ve changed some peoples lives for the better from the experience of being drawn by me…. how doing the Fantasy Fanny paintings has had a wonderfully therapeutic effect…. making posing for erotic art a positive experience….   how innocent eyes only seen innocence in my artwork… how erotic landscapes work as a concept and the variations in ways of doing them.. my favourite erotic picture that always gets a smile…. and oh yes… why someone once thought I was a neurotic artist….           

I practiced my talk at home, talking outloud to the kitchen clock, so that I could time how long it took and knew it was around an hour and ten minutes. I knew I wouldn’t remember all of it verbatum, but I printed out my “Mind map” notes so that I knew what was coming up next in the subject matter. And I knew which of my many pictures I was taking with me to illustrate the talk, and the order that they would appear. Ok. All sorted!

My friend Stuart Haywood who is well practiced in doing  lots of talks about many subjects told me last week that it doesn’t matter how many times you do a talk, the nerves and concerns don’t get any better. So I thought that the best possible thing I could do would be to plan it as much as I could, and then just see how it went on the night.

My man told me ten minutes before I left the house that the most important thing was……. “Remember to enjoy it!” and I went with that positive and most helpful thought in my head.

And arrived with it in my head too. I was greeted my the woman who had booked me, and set my stuff up as the other women arrived, and was able to observe them as they started the business aspect of their meeting, and then, it was over to me. I asked as I started what time they wanted me to finish and was told that 9.15 would be great, if I could. I noticed that it was 7.45 and started with a smile and a “Hello, I’m Jackie Adshead and I’ve been an artist all my life…” and just kept talking, and talking, and it was about half an hour after that that I thought to myself “Er, what time am I supposed to stop talking?” but kept on, until I came to the natural ending of the talk, looked at the clock opposite me, and found to my amazement, that the time said “9.15”. Phew. Exactly on time. And I hadn’t planned it, I had just said all I wanted to say, in the order I wanted to, skipped over a few bits in one sentence instead of four, added in extra bits as and when they needed clarifying, and came to the end. And was delighted to hear a “That was interesting” comment from one of the women, and was gratified to note that I’d had nodding heads, interested faces looking at me, and they had kept quiet. You know its gone ok when an audience keeps quiet. Its when they start chatting you know that they’re not engaged, or worse, are bored!

Thankyou, yes, I will have a cup of tea. And two of the women wandered over to tell me their educational connections with art as arty types tend to do.

I left feeling that I’ve achieved all I wanted to, not feeling elated, or deflated. But certainly ready for a nice glass of chilled white wine when I got home!

And this morning, I had two phone calls in quick succession, one from Stuart, and one from my man, to see how I’ve got on. Awww.. how lovely of both of them, to ask and want to know. And I knew that in my voice I was happy at my achievement, and that it certainly seemed a good success

It is a reminder too for me of a painting that has taken longer than I wanted to but is finally finished.

I even have a title, which always helps.

It isn’t ready to be shown to the world yet though. It has to wait a while.

But all good things are worth waiting for, aren’t they?

But last night something woke me early from a deep sleep. It wasn’t heavy weather battering against the window or the wind in the eaves. Actually it wasn’t a sound at all.

It was a thought.

The thought of the painting that I started in November that I have finally, finally, been able to get back to this week. I knew when I restarted it, that I had lost some of the momentum of painting it and it always takes a day or so to get back into it after a long break. Thats why I try not to break the momentum when I’m in it, because it helps with the flow of the painting, the way it works well in the colours and contrasts and shows in the marks, in the way I think, in the overall aspect of the painting looking just *good*.

So when the thought woke me at just after 7am this morning, I knew it was because the painting was in my head and my head wanted to consider the aspects of it, wanted to get going on it, wanted it to move on, to develop and paint.

I got up started the day, and got on well with the painting, even after the daylight had gone and I was working by artificial light I wanted to get on with the next stage so mixed a lovely deep purple with some lighter tones and started filling in part of the background, part that I have been looking at for weeks not sure exactly how it’s going to join the foreground below it, and the area immediately behind it. By this time I had started listening to Bob Dylan, which doesn’t mean much I know. But I can’t say I’m a massive fan of his, even though I’ve seen him perform live (and what a big disappointment that was!). But there are a couple of his songs I really like, Tombstone Blues, and Desolation Row in particular. And maybe it was because I had listened to Elton John earlier (and I’ve seen him live too, and he was rocking!) and maybe it was listening to Bad Company before that (always most excellent!) that got me into painting mode, the mode when my hand takes over the movement of paintbrush and paint, that a few flicks of the wrist, and no conscious thought, and I stood back and thought “Wow! That’s it! That’s what is needed there!” as I smiled to myself and knew the “flow” had taken over me. That part of the picture just painted itself. And I can thank Bob Dylan for that, because there was something in the song, in the words, in the music that I had lost myself in, that I wasn’t thinking hard about where to put the paint, just doing. Doing the painting. And boy am I happy with that bit.

But there are other bits I’m happy with too. Little bits that make the painting look good. Of course the painting isn’t finished yet, although its about three quarters done. So I am hoping for more flashes of brilliance too (I don’t mean that in a big headed way, it happens to my creativity when I am in tune with my painting or drawing, but its through thousands of hours of learning and experience to get that result).

And maybe I’ll listen to more Bob Dylan too…………..

Yesterday I finished writing my notes for the WI talk coming up soon. It makes sense, it flows as a subject and hopefully will be interesting and intriguing to those listening to it. It will be new to them, and whatever their interests in life, there will be something that should be something they want to hear. It’s not like the subject matter isn’t interesting just on its own! So now I have to learn it, not parrot fashion, just in a way that is easy to converse whilst telling the group.

I haven’t got on so well with the latest important painting this week due to various distractions of my time and energies, but the only visitor to the house today is fascinated in my latest picture and the way it is progressing. It intrigues her to see the way it evolves from a simple idea to something that has quite a fantasy slant to it. I love fantasy but whether others will so much too, is open to discussion. All art has something of fantasy about it, unless its a complete copy of a photograph, and there is no point in doing that, is there.

And yesterday I also agreed to do something I did last year, and really enjoyed doing.  It is time consuming, and there is no payment for it, but I loved the experience of doing it last year. Its a great community project and its good to do those every so often, if it helps others. And this year it will be easier as I know how to do it now. I know how to decide on a simple but effective design, work out the tones so that it has impact, and painting big is always a great experience. Although the subject matter isn’t quite so inspiring for me this year, doing the Ashby de la Zouch art board again for the towns Arts Festival is something I happily look forward to. And the theme this year? Is Ashby itself. Either past or present, with either buildings,  or people, or events as suggestions. There is one thought though that is something that I’d like to do more than any other, and usually gut reaction is the best one to go with for an idea! It relies on one subect that I absolutely love, both in a fiction and historical sense. Anyone knowing Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and me, will know exactly what that is……………!    Can you guess?