Wednesday 14 January 2009

New Art class

Well, the new Art group at a Community school is a lot friendlier and livelier than the previous course I attended. The tutor is more 'hands on' too. All that said, my artwork during the evening class wasn't up to my personal expectations... I feel I could have done better. But then, the tutor did remark that my No 12 and 8 had lost their 'point'.

The finished picture will not be shown on my blog postings, instead, here's one I created earlier - (a practice in skies and distance). I've paid my course fees, so now I shall have to attend and just do my best. Meanwhile I shall try and create at least one a day in the hope that practice will make perfect, (as my piano teacher used to say).

Tomorrow, along with a friend, I am off to a Garden design course, taking a scale rule and a big pad of paper. I must resist the temptation to take along my watercolour paints too!

Update on the recent armed robbery at our secluded little post office... the gang have been caught; the leader having used his own car for the getaway, then crashed into another car before abandoning it. I just hope that the ladies subjected to the frightening ordeal will take advantage of the Victim Support Service they (hopefully) have been offered by the Police.

Tuesday 13 January 2009

Past times

I just love doing skies! I saw this one in my new Watercolour book and just had to have a go! I have seen skies like this many times and have just gazed and thought how great it would be to paint that sky!

I must dig out some of our old photos of sunsets taken in faraway places like Florida, Western California, North Cornwall and the Greek islands.

Tonight I joined, in haste, another Watercolour class in a different location... cheaper, friendlier and with a Tutor who actually demonstrates and explains techniques! Aren't I a lucky girl?

My lovely man and I used to go to Naples in West Florida and always we would go down to the beach to capture the marvellous and spectacular sunsets when dolphins would swim close to shore and the pier would be full of people watching for shark, tuna as well as the playful dolphins. Oh happy days. I never thought that those days would be so short lived.

So now I paint!

Sunday 11 January 2009

Blog Therapy

The Mail on Sunday today has an article on 'blogging' and the therapeutic rewards it can bring. Some regard blogging as either a pastime for 'saddos' or a vehicle for self proclamation and ego-boosting. I never considered why I started to blog eighteen months' ago, only that it gave me an outlet to my grief.

Living out in the wilds of Oxfordshire, with no immediate friends to talk to, while struggling to get over the loss of my lovely man; writing to an invisible listener was (and still is) for me, therapy of the best kind. It is exactly like keeping a diary of thoughts, but with the added benefits of having like-minded or very kind people comment with useful or just kind words. Those of an insensitive nature think it's a way of just saying exactly what you like and getting away with it. No, no, no... it is (for me) replacing a very expensive therapist, who after all, just listens.

I didn't expect anyone to respond to my ramblings, yet I have made a few friends in the process who seem to understand where I'm coming from, or at least, keep me going with their kind comments. Only one person has upset me over my blog writing and luckily they are no longer able to contact me.

In short, thank you blogger friends for listening. Not all of us have such fulfilling lives as those who throw scorn at bloggers!