15/52 + 26/40

Let’s just say that it has been a very intense week! And this late post clearly proves it.

Olivia: she keeps surprising me every single day! on Wednesday morning she told me that her dummy was broken and she was going to throw it away. I replied saying that we didn’t have a new one to replace it and that if she was going to get rid of it that would have been the end of it, no more dummy! she went ahead anyway and her dummy ended up straight into the bathroom’s bin. And that really was the end of it! she only asked for it a couple of times, and we simply reminded her what she has done and she was perfectly fine with our answer. I still am in disbelief, if I think about all the worries and attempts trying to get rid of the dummy. She thought me a very valuable lesson, that there is a time for things to happen naturally, without trauma and stress free. Children are ready when they are ready, I just need to trust my little girl a little bit more. On the other end, she’s outgrowing her afternoon nap, and we are truly exhausted!
Baby boy: there’s been a lot of movement with week, clearly visible from the outside, too! I’m just hoping it’s not just a taste of what is going to be like, otherwise we’ll be in trouble. This week this baby boy should be about 36cm long and weight about 750g…I guess all the weight I’m putting on it’s not just because I’m eating without control!

Why I love April

April is my favourite month of the year and I can give you 10 (maybe 9!) good reasons why it should be your favourite too.

  1. spring has officially started, whether the weather knows it or not
  2. end-of-winter blues are generally over
  3. the days are visibly longer
  4. the air smells good
  5. there is colour everywhere
  6. people have a positive attitude
  7. wool clothing is no longer around
  8. you can say hello to fresh food
  9. it is ok to have ice cream outside
  10. it is my birthday month J
And to celebrate the start of the month in style, we paid a visit to the RHS Gardens Wisley last Saturday. It was a bit windy, but nonetheless a beautiful day to be surrounded by nature and spend time with friends. The gardens were beautiful and in bloom; they truly are an English love affair! And while I was having a quick solitary stroll around my dream cottage (last picture below) and neatly laid flower beds, I reminded myself why I fell in love with botanical art so much since moving to England. The love and care for the plant world is visible at every corner, everything is perfect the way it is, and the peace that that brings to the soul is almost second to none; this is the same feeling I get when I work on a botanical painting. And I’m almost certain that the trip to the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew to celebrate my birthday in a few weeks’ time will be even better.
I’ll leave you with a few pics from last weekend.

Work in progress

A sneak peak at my sketchbook this month. Still very much a work in progress. I have been having fun using a new set of watersoluble pencils, thanks to Derwent Academy and their amazing monthly prizes (here if you want to play along). But also, a new subject for me to experiment with…butterflies!

ONE LITTLE WORD // March Reflections

March has gone by very quickly, hardly giving me time to pose for a minute and address what has been going on. I don’t feel like I’ve made huge steps forward, but surely things are evolving, and for the better. I have been feeling more and more tired in the evening, and when it happens, I feel very much overwhelmed and not ready to cope with any of the day-to-day things, let’s not mention dealing with my two-year-old who has also been dealing with her tantrums lately. 

My painting plans are going very well, although I seem to concentrate my efforts in just a few days rather than spreading it throughout the month. But this ok, too. I have been trying to change my relaxation time and slot in some time in the mornings, but that has not been happening as planned. 

Where I feel I have been making some progress is in reading and following my most favourite current book “Creating a life worth living”. I have been already talking about it last month (here), but the more I read it, the more I think is the book I needed at this time in my life. As per last month’s assignment, I didn’t do it as I should have. But I tried; I laid down some plans and took notes, but still wasn’t feeling ready. So, instead of giving up completely, I did it my way, I did what I felt was right; a mix of quotes, words, charts, definitions, all in my OLW book.

I found a lot of inspiration by just googling the word CREATIVE. While doing so, I stumbled across Alice’s website The Lost Girl and her work on creativity that really gave me some ideas and things to brainstorm on.

Already excited about April’s assignments! It will involve lots of pictures taking, but also working on something deeper and more meaningful. We are only four months in and this project is giving me more than I thought it could.
If you want to read any of the previous posts just click on the big banner on the right side of the page. 

Seasonal palette

Once in a while, more often than not, I get the so called creative block. I stare at a blank sheet of paper and just wonder.  I feel the urge to paint, don’t get me wrong, but the ideas just do not flow and my brain feels numb. Over the years I have learned to overcome this lack of inspiration in different ways, taking advice from fellow artists and discovering what really works for my brain to function again. 

One thing I like to do to get the creative flow back is to play with colours and create palettes. It is a nice and relaxing way to use paint; the urge to paint get satisfied and at the same time you are not committing to paint anything specific. Plus you can do this simple exercise while sitting on your couch (or at least this is what I did!). You can tackle this subject in several ways; making a chart of all your pans and tubes, mixing greens or browns, categorising all your paints by colour.
This time I went for a seasonal palette, trying to combine several colours to recreate the seasons and possibly use them in a landscape painting. I store all my palettes in one transparent sleeve, ready to be used when inspiration does strike!