Summer Holiday Slow Down

 

So first off wow, a long time since I have posted and I cannot believe that! The correlation has to be the Summer holiday slow down. What do I mean by that??? Children. There has been a dramatic decrease in productivity since the schools broke up and we have had the children at home. Neither Steven or myself have had a chance to paint or take photos. As Steven’s main income for this house is his role as a commercial photographer that is kinda a bummer. That is not to say he has not being processing back orders and preparing prints for framing but the actual getting out there … well at this rate he will forget what a camera is!

And you can forget the ability for me to sit at the computer and paint. As soon as I am down the children seem to come from all corners of the world and all sit on my lap wanting a go at painting or to play One More Level.

We do however love them lots and in reality the pleasure of being self employed is that we do not have to palm the children off to relatives when the schools break up. Instead we get to share in their every day adventures and go surfing. It’s a hard life but someone has to do it.

 

Painting the Penis

Painting the Penis.

My latest work on how we can use the naked body as a metaphor for society.

South Hams Devon

 

Apologies to all. We have been very busy, if that is the right word….. family holiday in South Hams Devon! I cannot begin to tell you how exhausting it is taking 4 children and 2 grandparents to the beaches around South Hams every day so far. This is gonna be a LONG Summer holiday. Mind you I should not moan. My husband and I are fortunate enough to work from home and so we get to stay with my family in South Hams any time we really want to. So last week we spent a few days with mum and dad visiting Thurlestone Beach, Beesands, Bigbury Beach and walking over to Burgh Island. We have some mega tans now too it was lovely and hot although we ended up buying wet suits for the children so they could swim and surf. After all they are so used to swimming in Lake Ontario where we used to live; warm water that never disappears during the day and ends up getting hotter as the Summer goes on. As you can imagine jumping into the sea off of Devon was a shock to their system and a reminder to us as to just how cold seas swimming can be.

Thurlestone Beach

Playing Ball on Bigbury Beach

Fishing for Sand Fish Bigbury Beach

Sea Tractor Bigbury

 

Of course for the children and us young adults one of the highlights we love each time we go to Bigbury Beach is the world famous SeaTractor that ferries people and dogs over to Burgh Island at high tide / when the causeway is covered. It really is a sight to behold. For those who are unaware Burgh Island is where the hotel that Agatha Christie stayed where she wrote many of her books. The hotel is stunning all art deco but expensive to stay in…… When tides are high you take the Sea Tractor over to the island however as it begins to go out you can wade / swim over and when fully out you can walk across the causeway. We have done each.

I can recommend Bigbury Beach to everyone. Hot golden sand, warmish waters, organic Venus cafe, surfing galore and a fab island to explore.

 

 

 

 

My Drunken Stouper State

 

So here I am school has ended for the Summer Holidays and I am already sitting here with wine in large glass and glazed over. Depending how you look on it this either does or does not bode well!!!! So off the bat please excuse spelling and grammar, on the othe other hand screw it. Imake no honest heart felt apologies.

Instead I shall show you some of my art work from earlier this year.

Please enjoy or not, it really is up to you xxxx

Bare Foot Street Party

 

Dragon flies & Butterflies

Both these paintings are for sale.

Thank you for looking xxx

 

My Unemployable Qualifications

Ok. So now for something different…..

Recently I have come to realise like every artist does, art does not = money. It equals people loving your work but never actually handing money over. Well almost never.

So I have began to look for actual employment a hard push in a recession and for someone who has been a house wife for a few years. Clearly I am unemployable as my rejection letters keep piling up – now i am not applying for brain surgeon but shop assistant, classroom assistant those sort of roles. Maybe I should look at picking up litter. Oh heck I did you need an NVQ level 3.

Any advice…….

Steven Draper

So let me tell you some info about my other half – Steven Draper.

He is widely known in the art circle as a fine art mast aerial photographer. What is that I hear you ask!! Well you take a crazy man, you let him buy a truck, you let him design what looks like a giant ground to air missile launcher and mount it to the roof of the truck. Heck even I now sound worried. No wonder the local police helicopter guys from Devon and Cornwall police keep flying over our house…

Any how, he then spends way too many thousands of pounds (and when we lived in Canada dollars) on Nikon camera equipment which he mounts via a pan tilt head to the top of the telescopic mast ( known locally as “what is that giant missile launcher”). And proceeds to raise it to 70ft plus some of the truck height, whereby he takes photos. Simple really. His company is called FocusBritain and the system is called Polepics.

Prior to this or as long with when we lived in Canada he was also chairman of an art gallery called ArtsonMain in Picton Ontario.

And way way back before then and before he grew unwell with an illness that meant he lost his job (not contagious) he was an airline pilot (Captain) with British Airways.

So at least now when I mention Steven or show you some of his pictures you have an idea of who I am rambling on about. Steven also has a fb page under his own name Steven Draper and also FocusBritain has a fan page.

Absent minded no wonder I am an Abstract Artist

So I was discussing the other day an accident that I had when we lived in Ontario Canada. And it got me wondering about how many other incidents that I had managed to get myself into without the help of anyone else that resulted in lengthy hospital stays.

The one that sparked the memory road trip of hell off was the day that I put myself in hospital in Picton Ontario after being discovered by our builders….. Long story very short I have 4 children the youngest of which was only a few months old and we had a 40 acre farm. My husband Steven Draper of Polepics and FocusBritain was out on location shooting and was popping to the supermarket on his way home. We home schooled which meant all 4 children were home. Although if I remember correctly I had dropped number 1 and 2 child off at friends for the day.

I remember feeling tired and the next thing being helped up off of the down stairs bathroom floor by my builder. His face gave me a clue that maybe not all was right with the world. Let’s just skip the part where I must have been on the toilet or had just got off of the toilet and yet my knickers were correctly pulled up (yes he must have helped my dignity there)….

The 2 yr old was watching tv and the baby screaming.

I suddenly felt an awareness of an aching feeling on my face and my eye was sore to see out of. It was then the builder said he would help me to a chair and that he would call an ambulance!!!!!!!!!!! No my heart is racing, what the hell had happened. To this day I have no memory of the event…….

my face

 

Drugs helped my situation out a lot..

in hospital

 

Of course explaining to everyone else on the street that my husband had not beaten me up and I really did hit my head on the sink was a hard sell. People would just smile and nod understandingly. For the record this is when we found out that my already low blood pressure was now dangerously low and I was suffering from exhaustion.

Two years later we have discovered that my blood pressure is still very low but I am also very anaemic. I suffer from black outs when tired and this was not the first time it had happened and is not the last. The only difference is this is the only one that I have no memory of.

Thought Provoking

Thought Provoking.

From my other “Adult Art” blog.

Naked & Naughty

Just to update everyone that an area of work that I am currently studying is the naked human form. As such I will be posting pictures of a mature theme. To this end I have set up a second blog called “nakedandnaughty” on which just that specific area of work will be shown. All other works will be posted on this blog still.

I have set up the second blog so not to offend anyone.

Of course feel free to follow both blogs.

Performances and Art

What a splendid day it has been. Roughly up until now as my 2 youngest are wired. Not sure why, but def wired. So they are currently sitting in the lounge watching tv doing their own performance of 2 divas from Desperate Housewives. Best leave them alone until Daddy gets home. He can be the bad guy tonight.

On another note altogether our oldest 2, Orson and Callum have already had one performance of their school play and are now doing the evening performance. The theme is the Olympics and bless him, Orson, our wild child is acting in a swimming dance and so strutted his stuff in swimming trunks and goggles and danced his heart off to “Splish Splash I was Having A Bath“. Not sure where the Olympic connection was for Callum’s class but they enjoyed themselves as F1 drivers and by looking at the sponsorship pretend signs Ferrari drivers at that!!

It was a wonderful performance and I really believe that for a small rural Devon School, Stokeinteignhead Primary has pulled the stops out and each one of the 100 pupils has really shone. The costumes and back drops were all done by parent and teacher volunteers. Hopefully pictures will follow. I did not take any but Steven did as he had been hired by the school to produce a dvd to sell. so once he has finished the dvd I shall use my feminine wiles are convince him to let me share a few stills.

Oooo what is that I hear as I type, the two little ones have taken themselves up stairs to bed. Nope I am wrong, not bed. The baby is playing on the landing with hot wheel cars and the 3 yr old has decided that the 4 soft toys on the floor are sticking him to the bedroom floor and not allowing him to stand up. Boy I wish I had a tape recording “Could somebody move these softies, I can’t get up”. Followed by what sounds like almost vomiting hysteria and tears and yells. Ok just checked. Rest assured dear reader, he is not stuck or being beaten up by soft toys. If he sits up he can get up. This is a temper tantrum of a huge magnitude. I shall persevere and ignore. God only what the neighbours must think.

I have managed to update my art portfolio though. Smugmug are creating for hosting not just photos but all forms of creative art. My “A Study of Being Woman” is a roaring hit and 2 new pieces have been uploaded tonight. Afraid content is likely not appropriate for a blog posting incase someone under the age of 18 see it. So if you wish to see new pieces you will have to visit my Smugmug portfolio link on the side bar.