Nude Model

A few weeks ago I did a painting of an old street with some children playing, If only had it on  the website for a short time & it has already been a best seller. So I wanted to do more olden day themes, when I first started painting plates as a teenager I loved finding old black & white Victorian photos & painting them in colour so I guess I have come full circle.

I never expected to be painting naked pictures of myself but I guess you never know what can happen when you're self employed. I remembered an old black & white picture of me as a child in a bath with my nephew I had to add all of the background & after a lot of hard work I finally have a finished painting. On the original photo we had an 1970's council house tiled fireplace so the think the children in my painting with a Range fireplace are quite a bit posher than we ever were.

 

Smelly Cat

Another day another new product. Well actually it's an old product we
used to make from clay. We are now printing these onto a creamy glossy Fiberglass. We can print the small hanging heart with a personal message but I also like useful things as well as gifts that just look pretty so we can still make the little hanging heart from clay so that a few drops of scented oil can soak in & make it into a Smelly Cat!

Janurary one of my favorite months

Most people don't like January but to me it is one of my favorite months. It is the month I get to do all those little jobs around the house that I have to put off the rest of the year as I have no time. It is the month I have the tidiest house & the most nights off. It is also the month I get time to think about & try out new ideas.
We have changed a lot over the last few years & we are now adding more items to our printed range including these new Heart Brooches which I love, I have just got them today so it is exciting to see them finished & ready to go.

We have also just got our new Stars which I have been looking forward to for months. I painted this Red Squirrel looking up at the stars in anticipation of putting it on this hanging star.

We also have some other new items waiting for paintings but I think these are enough for one day.

Refelctions 2013

It has been a long while since I have wrote my blog, I always have  ideas for blogs but don't seem to get round to it. But as it is nearly the end of the year it would be nice to reflect on 2013.
It has been a tough year the craft fairs have not been as good as they used to be & every trader I speak too is finding it hard going. We have changed alot over 2013 we how print more than we handpaint but as long as I can hand paint the original artwork I'm happy. I guess every business has to evolve to survive & we have changed more in the last year than since I started in 1996.
We have  added lots of new products to our range including children's gifts like this Money Box.

I have really enjoyed painting for the Children's range of gifts my latest design is one of my favourite's "Moon Rabbits". A customer requested a design to go with the wording "I love you to the Moon & Back" so at first I thought of painting Owls sitting in a tree with the moon light but they ended up as Rabbits.
I guess things don't always work out as you first think but sometimes it is for the better, a bit like 2013. We had some bad shows where we thought we would never sell again only to come home & find loads of orders for printed items waiting for us. We were lucky to get orders from most of the Tourist Information's in Northumberland. So I spent the summer painting Alnwick, Berwick & Puffins.  We also added Friends of Durham Cathedral shop to our customers, they had a really busy summer with the Lindesfarne Gospels so we were constantly getting orders for Durham Mugs, Magnets & Bookmarks.
But the seasons change & the orders for the Tourists die back like the summer flowers to be replaced with Holly, Robins & Snow.  I was asked if I would like to place an advert in the December Prima & Vogue magazines but I needed a new mug design for the winter. I only had a few days to the deadline so one September weekend I did a painting of a Winter Footpath, printed the mug on the Monday morning & sent it off to the Magazines on the same day. I think I work better under pressure. The mug has been selling really well & makes me wonder if that is the way to go in 2014 more magazine adverts as they are a similar price to alot of craft shows but there is a much wider audience. So now I am trying to get my mind on Daffodils & all things spring for House Beautiful March issue but that is not easy when you spend every other day painting snowmen & Robins.

Freedom - Feb 2013

I am really enjoying painting on paper for the first time for about fifteen years. One of the reasons I started painting on plates was that I felt there were so many good artists about I could not do any better & a blank plate is not as scary as a blank piece of paper at least not to me. But as we have started printing onto mugs I needed some paintings to fit them so I started painting on paper over the Christmas Holidays. It was a bit strange at first but I am still piping the design onto the paper using a cake decorating bag as I do with the ceramics so it is not too different. The main thing I have to watch is that I do not get my piping bags mixed up as the kiln would burn all traces of the non ceramic piping paste away.

I love being able to put more detail into the paintings & be able to do all the paintings I have been planing in my head for the last 10 years but have never had time to do. I normally have to stop myself from painting too much detail on the ceramics so it is lovely to have the freedom to paint as much as I like for a change & maybe I might even get a little more freedom from working 24/7.

  

Original photo & Painting                                                    Finished Mug

Right Third Time - Nov 2012

Seems like forever since I have had a moment to write a blog, with such a large amount of orders from Country Living magazine we thought we would never get through them, but I think we are coming out the other side now & straight into the Christmas rush. Sometimes I get so stressed I cannot sleep at night so I start working which often makes things worst but now & again I get my best ideas at night.
We have just been getting a new kitten as I convinced my Husband she would pay for her keep by being a model for me. So far she has had her paws in the paint, chewed my paint brushes & everyday nearly knocks over our pots.  So one night when I could not sleep I put her to work as a model for a Christmas Plate. I tend to find that most designs are never right first time, they often take a bit of working out. As I don't have time to mess about with a pencil & paper I have to do my try outs straight on to the ceramics with a pack of baby wipes by my side just in case it all goes wrong. It seems to be third time lucky. By the third try I usually feel that I am happy with the design & I have got it out of my system & I am ready to look for something esle to inspire me.

   

However sometimes I am left unsure which design I like best?

I love Birds July 2012

I love these cute bird hearts.

I know a lot of customers in the north-east do not like anything with a bird on in their homes. I think it might be something to do with the Miners & the birds they used to keep down the mine to warn them of gas. However I cannot resist doing these designs so it is a good job that we are going to be travelling all over the country in the next few weeks because if they do not sell I will be really disappointed.