Wowser, where have I been?! I think that’s about the longest gap since I started blogging three years ago (not counting travelling). Like apparently everyone I know, my life suddenly exploded with activity and newness recently. Last week was I think my busiest of the year thus far; I could tell because I kept finding myself looking for windows to spend some time on my own. For someone as naturally reclusive as I am, one or two hours here and there wasn’t cutting it. I had a lot of fun ~ there was the photoshoot for Style at Home magazine, various coffees and meetings up with friends and family, a lot of internal work {which tends to disguise itself by looking like doing nothing on the outside}, a total revamp of the roof terrace, Reiki and lots of other not very interesting little things.

There’s been so much going on externally and internally, most days I don’t know which way up I am, but it’s all good. Since the big shift last Monday/Tuesday things have suddenly lurched into warp speed . I’m trying to find a metaphor that will work here but none is forthcoming so I’ll just do a little show and tell instead. My brother asked for a painting for his birthday (9th Nov), and so far it’s going very well. The brief was ‘use blues’. A boy of few words, my brother.

I have thrown a bunch of media and techniques at it, including collage, acrylic inks and paints, mesh, stamps both ready made and improvised, stencils, spray paint…

…oil pastels, other pastels, pencil, love…

The spray paint/stencil combo was a revelation. I had to restrain myself from covering the entire thing in sprayed on numbers and letters. I think I may have got a little high from the smell also.

And this is where we’re at now.

I’m happy with all of it bar that massive circle-in-a-square area. I like it but it feels unfinished. I am confident that it will reveal to me what it needs though. I’d like to put some words on it and am waiting to hear back from Ben whether there are any that have particular meaning to him. In the meantime, I have chores to do and a beach to visit.