16 years ago today.....

our daughter was born.

I can't succinctly put into words how parents lives are measured by the growth of their children. However, the panicked feeling of time flying by, is easily offset by the warm glow of pride in one's offspring and their bright, fresh, shiny lives.

Another milestone in her life, and ours. The passing years proving to us all, that nothing stays the same.
That fact alone is worthy of celebration, all the more so when blessed with a beautiful, funny, intelligent young woman for a daughter.

16,177

..........is the number of you who have popped in since the 21st of March 2007.

Who'd have thought so many people would be interested in two years worth of my waffle ?

Thank you one and all.

windy Sunday

There's a brisk northerlyish wind blowing across the beach today. We had friends up for a couple of days, so the canine companion has been thoroughly walked. I didn't notice any reticence on the face of the dog, but all the humans looked a bit sheepish when we got to the top of the cliff. It was a bit parky, to say the least.
On the subject of the beach, lately I have been collecting bits of sea battered debris to make sculpture with. Suddenly there is very little rubbish along the tide line, I think the easterly wind we had all last week has dragged anything interesting back out to sea. Maybe this week will yield more treasure.
Painting is going better, with a biggish piece better than half finished, I'll put it up on here when I have finished it.
I'm also getting into stencilling T-shirts with my good friend Tony. As he keeps saying; "We're in the rag trade".
So creatively, I have ideas coming out of my pores, all I need now is a succession of thirty hour days, with no need for sleep, and three or four models to sit naked in shifts !........I can be contacted in the usual way.........

early start

Getting organised to go and entertain teenagers is all very well, but it does mean getting the old carcass out from under the duvet at 6.00am.

There are side benefits to this enforced regime, such as eating breakfast, walking the dog and edifying code like grunt-ver-sation with my very own teenage offspring.

It's all about education folks.........

repetition

I have been mostly painting the same small area of a canvas today, over and over again.

I can't seem to get it right, so it's been a bit paint/scrape/ paint/ scrape ad nauseum.

It would be fair to say I have nearly disappeared up my own arse today, so on that note........here is a much nicer one from back when I could create nice work.
(That would be last week then).

dreamin......

Just been lurking about on ebay, watching auctions on a few impractical fantasy items. Sort of window shopping for the desk bound.
Great fun, but the temptation to put in a bid on a beautifully dilapidated 1968 Citroen DS was almost too much to resist.
Me and my beret would look fabulous in it.....cracked leather seats, funky one spoke space age steering wheel, hydro suspension, Serge Gainsboro on the stereo, Disc Bleu clamped in the side of the mouth, squinting enigmatically through the smoke......oh yes.

Up top is the last pose from this weeks Tuesday life class, very Galic in style, as it happens.

that'll be a new hard drive then......................

It just goes to show, threats of violence only work temporarily. The laptop really was poorly, very poorly.
Having now had the techno equivalent of a heart and lung transplant, the dear thing is on fire. Fast, steady, dare I say reliable !!! Outstanding.

In other news, I have been mostly teaching for the last couple of weeks. Covering for illness.......... a bit like fire fighting, you feel suitably heroic doing it, but you can get a bit smoke damaged.

Now we are out of February, things are speeding up alarmingly. Open Studios is looming in to view. I think I will have enough work done, but I would like to be embarrased by the amount, rather than trying to convince visitors that the use of white space in a gallery is essential to show the work at it's best !

The life drawing class is up and going well, the piece at the top is really a study of hips legs and feet, I was feeling a bit colour-radical, and I reckon I got away with it.........