Gillian Ayres

Click Here for the Wikipedia. I know I should say more, but they all start sounding the same. (I am really poor/lazy at reviews). *delete as appropriate.

Joseph Beuys

I don't really know a lot about Joseph Beuys, I found his name on a scrap of paper with a list of artists I should have a look at from when I was at University (10 years ago). SssHHH! I've only just looked up most of them. Beuys being one of them. And now I wish I had looked him up a long time ago, I used to believe that being a naive artist was a good thing, but thats more of an excuse as to how lazy I was.
Any way enjoy the Beuys. Click Here for Wikipedia.

Ed Paschke

Well...I tried my hardest to only pick four images for Ed Paschke, but I couldn't do it. I wanted to use all of them! They are all amazing! Love his use of colour and imagery, well everything. I recommend going and having a look at his official website or check his wikipedia. Paul Baines was quite hard to just choose 4 images for too so don't forget to check out his stuff here.

Gerhard Richter

Gerhard Richter...Hmmm what to say, his work is ecclectic to say the least and he has had a lot of praise for it, I can see why from both the abstract to the lifelike realism of the photographic paintings, (yep I know they're so well done) his use of colour is paramount thoughout.
Click Here for the Wikipedia. And enjoy...

Paul Baines

This is an upcoming and VERY good U.K. Artist. He's based in London and you really should try and grab a piece of his work while you still can!
Don't take my word for it though go read his blog, click here, take your time read all he has to say, not only is his work fantastic, his words are deep and meaningful too.
And don't forget to read the post Close Ups that won't Flatter, and you will see all the fine detail that goes into his work. And for just a little loose change over $10 its well worth the investment! And they're all Limited Edition!
So all that needs to be said is what are you still doing here?? Get over there, imerse yourself in the world of Paul Baines and raid that piggy bank and get something wonderful to grace your walls with!!

Henri Matisse

Oh I have loved Matisse's work for such a long time, the colours, the simplicity, the placement of the subjects. Well everything really. What more can I say, the images speak for themselves.
If you want to find out more about him click here for the wikipedia.

Happy Mother's Day

Today's been interesting, exhausting, fantastic. It started early 6am (usual time for the kids though, so no worries when they reach school age), hubby gave our daughter the cards and book to give to me, she wanted to keep the cards. Bless her. We made a deal and she got the envelopes to draw on. I got Keri Arthurs " Dangerous Games" which is the only one of the Riley Jenson series I am missing until the new one gets released, so once I've read this one, I have to go through boxes of books to find the Dean Koontz - Odd Thomas series as I have the 4th one to read and then I will read the Keri Arthur ones in order, and then the third Dean Koontz Frankenstein will arrive in April so I will re read the first 2 of those and then the third then I will be about ready for some new books for my birthday in August. Anyway to go back to what I was saying, I made pancakes for breakfast for us all and they were fantastic, they were flat and cooked right and everything, not the usual mush I end up with! Kids were getting a bit crazy and whiny on and off all day so we went in the garden for a bit, then had a walk to the shops ( I desperately needed some sugar so I could get my coffee fix). Then I thought I'd make some bread, well we had ran out and I forgot to buy some at the shops and we had the ingredients. Hubby enjoyed it so much he thinks I should make it everyday. So that was really nice. And then I got an email from the lady at the local brownies/guides branch as I'd requested some info on helping out. Looks really fun so I'm definitely going to go for it. Son's had some rosy cheeks all day and was really grumpy at bedtime so he might be finally getting a tooth soon, boy at playgroups 2 months younger with 2 teeth already, but when they come they come, I'm not that eager to rush the long tearfilled nights and drool that come with teething.

Nurofen is Great

Headache is almost gone now!
THANK YOU NUROFEN!!
It was almost an early night for me, but then if I had gone to lie down you know the kids would have decided to throw a very noisy party!
Daughter went out with Granddad and his wife today and had a great time, and they even brought me a Mother's Day card from her that she made at the park. Which was really nice because as always when they come to visit I always seem left out of the gifts, not that I mind although a 15p fudge bar would be fine by me...Hehe
Son got another jacket/jumper, daughter got a cute little lilac dress with a little purse on it, and 2 pairs of tights, and hubby got a jacket.
Although the jacket had been worn by Granddad a couple of times so I guess his gift doesn't count so much on the scale.
I'm waiting for the big Easter Egg score to come my way in a couple of weeks, (but they were a bit vague as to whether we are getting eggs or something more useful).
Don't get me wrong I'm all for useful gifts (I've sent my mum a list of stuff, space saving vacuum bags, a jigroll- so I can do those jigsaws and put them somewhere while we eat, clothing vouchers- I did make a new request that my clothing vouchers are for Asda instead of Evans in future though, love the clothes just don't like the price.)And I can get 10 pairs of sweats instead of a pair of trousers and a top with the same amount of money.
But where was I...
Oh yeah, so hubby took son out to buy mother's day cards and I got back into the loft thinking theres only a few things left to take out before starting to put all the sorted suff back in....WRONG!!
But to be fair a couple of the big bags of soft toys are to be washed and donated so needed them out.
Did find a Star Wars monopoly game and a Spiderman modelling kit which are very exciting.
And also found a few gluebooks I had started, mainly to just store potential images that I may or may not be interested in painting in the future so finishing them will be fun, and saves me a lot of paper falling out all over the place.
But still not any closer to actually sleeping in the bed as yet.
Wondering how tomorrow will unfold...

Potty Training

It's been going well daughter went 7 times yesterday on her potty and she's loving her Upsy Daisy doll.
Now we've upped the stakes a little and she's working towards some garden toys, so that gives hubby and me an incentive to get that garden finished too!
It's either going to be a sand pit, a water table or a wendy house for the next milestone, (probably all three eventually), so with the 7 yesterday and another 3 today she's well on the way to her next treat.
Although she still won't poop on the potty and I don't know if that's why we had a constipation issue today but ooh it was awful because she wanted to go but kept crying because it hurt her, I don't like to see her cry.
But she gets tomorrow off for her day out with granddad and the wife and then we'll be back on it on Sunday.

Piet Mondrian

This is a sneaky post really to plug my etsy shop because I have just made an ACEO (2.5" x 3.5") in the style of Mondrian. And even the simplicity of his images is very hard to do, getting straight edges for starters, drives me crazy. But the effects are amazing. When I saw the image of the Mondrian Building above I thought it was a museum of Mondrian's work but I'm not sure I think it may just be someone's house. I wonder if hubby would let us do it to ours? I doubt it.
And considering Mondrian died it 1944 its great how his paintings are fresh and exciting even today.
If you want to know more about Mondrian click here for the Wikipedia.
If you haven't guessed already the bottom image is the one available in my etsy shop. Just click the image to view the listing.

Hello and Welcome

O.k so I've set up this account so I thought I better start making good use out of it!
I thought it was about time that I improved my Art knowledge, I know Yawn-o-rama, but don't worry it will be worded like my other blog My Art, My Way, so have a mosey on over and take a peek.
Here I will be reviewing artists old and new, so keep popping by...
And if you want to make any suggestions send me a comment and I'll take a look
Or if you can't wait that long for an update you can always follow me on twitter

ACEO's in Etsy

So if you haven't already had a look in the etsy store lately then this is a heads up!!
ACEO's are now available and I'm loving them all, its so much fun to do! So enjoy the ACEO goodness!

The Health Visitor Comes

Its been an interesting day.
We ran out of kitchen roll, toilet paper and baby wipes this morning so me and the kids made a mad dash to the shops. Didn't want to tempt fate with the two little poop machines in tow.
Daughter was a bit of a terror again to and from the shops, think it was excitement over the health visitor coming to do sons 6month + review.
And daughter likes her coming, but then she thinks any guests mean she's going to get presents...
Well a few hours later and a time out or daughter and health visitor came, weighed son, a whopping 9kg (19.15lbs) at just 34 weeks.
Well he's only just above the average line so its not that big. Tested his grip on some bricks and a rattle. He's progressing nicely.
She was also impressed with our daughters speech and said she was very advanced for her age which was great.
Now just to get the potty training sorted and then we can focus on her reading and writing skills. Not that we're trying to push her or anything.
Back to the potty training, we finally made it to 19 today so daddy will be buying the toy tomorrow whilst me and the kids are at playgroup, so it'll be at home for when we get back.
I've also noticed she seems to follow a pattern, manages to make the first 2 attempts on the potty and then forgets what she was doing and everything else goes all over the floor.
So from now on she gets the magic star for completing a day without accidents on the floor (obviously days wearing nappies don't count). Think she wants the Little Einstein toys or Fifi and the Flowertots Doll.
Either way its a more complex task for her and we're not buying toys every five minutes. hehe.

Almost...

Oh what I found today was great, an old sketchbook from college with my final brief all mapped out which I will upload later, not tonight though so you can all enjoy.
An old uni sketchbook with some interesting stuff in it too, which is also on the scanner backlog.
But the best bit was some sculpture I made from mainly wire, photographed them with the digital camera, and I can't seem to get it to upload the images to my pc. poop.
I also found a little notebook I was drawing, writing and sticking things in for my sisters birthday a few years ago.
And never finished. Oh dear.
I think the word unfinished is going to be written on my tombstone...

Crazy Day...

Phew what a day, I am TIRED !! And I have more to do tomorrow.
The plan was if the weather's nice we will go do some gardening (it will be nice for this summer, we've only been here almost 3 years).
But it was awful and cold and windy, not rainy though, so I opened my big mouth and said
"Hey, why don't we sort out the loft",
So up the ladders I went, thought I was going to get stuck with my big booty but should have been more worried about my head getting wedged trying to get boxes down.
The plan was to get everything down, organise and throw stuff away, and then put the rest back up tidily so we can get to the water tank if the need arises. You know for stashing the millions etc. I wish.
Hubby was helping retrieve the boxes then had to feed our son for his nap and entertain our daughter so her constant questions didn't put me off and I fall off those ladders. (Yep she's at the stage when she has to question everything).
You'd think I'd be used to it by now as my sister would constantly ask questions while watching tv, especially films, so if there was anything on you wanted to watch don't do it with her in the room. (She did it until she was about 15 too which was a nightmare).
Anyway back to our eventful day, now where was I... Oh yes, well we didn't get everything down because there wasn't enough room in our bedroom and even as I type this there's stuff all over the bathroom floor. But I'm having a rest.
So started going through the boxes, found some really amazing things like a few sketchbooks I'd mislaid and a lot of tat.
And a lot of stuff that I really don't have the space for but can't quite bring myself to throw out or donate them just yet, like my micro machines death star, and my WWE bash at the beach wrestling ring.
But I am donating all the old kids clothes to charity and I've wrapped up my pottery pig collection too, so that will be gracing a charity shop window in the near future.
I know I could use an auction site, I could use a swap shop, but those take time and they're still in the house, and then there's the taking them to the post office with the 2 teeny weenies in tow. I know I can't be bothered either, so to a worthier cause they go.
We braked for lunch and no sooner were we downstairs daughter whipped her togs off and used the potty, she almost got a standing ovation for that one. her second attempt also hit the mark, so she was on a roll and only needed 4 more attempts until the cuddly toy was in her little mitts but to no avail.
If she had managed to get on the potty and not pee all over the floor this afternoon she would have only needed one until she achieved her goal. Never mind.
Didn't get much done this afternoon because daughter was following in my wake just in case I found something toy related that she could snatch from my grasp, so I gave up in the end.
I did find some temporary tattoo paints (oil based not henna) and we had fun with those once son was in his cot, daughter now has a pig and a dragon on each arm, a flower, a chair?, a bat, spider, person and a yellow blob on her legs.
Why a yellow blob, she wanted a "poorly" on her knee to go with the one she has on her other leg hehe.
I might give up now and just relax for the rest of the evening because even if I get it all done I'll still have to change the bedding and have a bath.
So a camp out on the sofa/kids floor is how I'm ending this evening.

Communications Breakdown

So Nanna's been wondering if our daughter likes her because she says
"What's That!" at everyone and everything, but then nanna only comes once a fortnight or even less so how would she know.
(she'll be here this weekend)
And Saturday saw granddad and his wife come to take daughter out for the day. We've had problems with communication with them in the past and it seems its still going on.
Daughter told them she wanted to go see the animals in the park, which they did but they took her to the playcentre first and I would have thought that they would have taken her to the park first, but I guess that's neither here nor there really in the whole scheme of things.
What I did find interesting was that on Sunday I took the kids to the shops and daughter started getting nasty about me holding her reins (there's no way she's walking by herself as she would run into the road), and it got me thinking, it always seems to happen after they've been.
Fair enough she won't need them going from their car to the playcentre, but what are they doing in the park...
So I asked our daughter and apparently they don't use the reins but a wrist strap that the wife bought and I adamantly refused to let her use it on our child.. (see wrist strap post)
Now I know kids get confused and she might have got it all wrong and misunderstood what I was asking her, but I'm not totally sure on that because the wife was really put out by my not wanting her to use them.
But if it turns out they have been then maybe they will have to spend the day at our house in future.
And hubby and I will have to take her to these places on weekdays instead.

Potty Training Update

Well were getting there, slowly but surely.
She's 7 goes away from winning the cuddly toy!
Although I have added the incentive of extra bonus points for a poop she still prefers not to even try.
And she's even been in the toilet once. And we haven't had any accidents for a few days which is great because I've ran out of floor cleaner so hopefully she won't pee on the floor until I remember to buy it.

How do they do it??

How does everyone manage to get so much done while I'm left floundering about and scratching my head (better time management you say....Yeah your probably right)
But what I mean is if I try to drop the requisite numbers on entrecard, I don't get anything else done. If I actually get some art work done nothing gets done on the pc.
Although with my new found information on ACEO's I have managed to do some work on those whilst putting the kids to bed but its only the initial Biro or pencil sketch that needs painting afterwards, but that's a definite saving of some time once they're asleep. But it can be a struggle if our daughter is feeling a little bit naughty and decides that I'm not really using the pencils etc. and she wants them.
And I need to buy a marker or a stupidly small paintbrush for the more fiddly pictures, because the ones I've got just don't cut it. And it doesn't matter if I've just bought them or how pricey they are the bristles ALWAYS start to deviate from the initial shape and blob paint all over where I really don't want it to go.
So how do you manage it all, the work and all the social networking/ promotions stuff and painting so little and finely because I want to know!