BIG PAINTING!

 

AMIATA FLIGHT Oil on canvas 100cmsx70cms

Yes, I know, this could hardly be cosidered a small painting, but as I get nearer and nearer my date of departure for London and my exhibition I am trying to finish the large paintings that I abandoned when I was whizzed off to hospital in June. Not what I had planned at all!

When we were living in Tuscany, my husband had set up Ballooning in Tuscany and our main living was from taking very nice people on hot-air balloon rides. Since I was always following with a jeep and trailer I got to know the roads and country tracks like the back of my hand, so that when I flew, it was always very beautiful for me see the well-known landscape from the air. I would always take a tiny sketchbook up with me, as well as my camera, just in case something really caught my eye that I would like to paint or draw afterwards. It was obviously impossible to take my paints and canvas up with me! 🙂

If any of you out there, would like to come to my London exhibition at the end of October you would be very welcome.

My exhibition;

FLYING

Paintings from France and Italy

54 The Gallery, Shepherd Market, London W1

Nearest tube. Green Park

Opening times;

Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26   10.00am-6.30pm

Thursday 27, Friday 28, Saturday 29   10.00am-8.00pm

Out of the loop!

There’s nothing like a long bout of ill health to make you feel amazingly perky and energetic at the end of it.

All painting and blogging came to an abrupt end towards the last week of June, when I raced around the local supermarket and got my left foot trapped in a new cabinet thing which sent me flying to the floor while frantically trying to keep my right hand in the air as I thought, “Oh no! My painting!!!”

I lay on the floor with a friend saying “Don’t move!” while slightly amazed shoppers edged around me. Very quickly I was picked up and carried off by four handsome firemen to the local hospital, where my leg was operated on the following morning and there I stayed for 8 days while being wonderfully looked after in a private room.

So, no week long holiday, painting in Provence with favourite friends, no more working in my studio which is up a flight of steep twisty stairs and all in all, a rather painfully long 6 weeks to follow. But now all is well and I’m back on stream … thank goodness! And the “new cabinet thing” was apparently hastily removed from the shop 🙂

In this last week, since I was still a bit wobbly, I decided to concentrate on framing my small paintings for my London exhibition in October 24th-29th. The frames are really nice and made locally by a great intiative for teaching handicapped youngsters a trade, which in this case is woodwork and they are overseen by a delightful older artisan. They’re in plain wood, then I paint and varnish them to suit the painting. All of this I’m now doing in the spare bedroom so I can keep my studio free for painting … it seems I’m really taking over the whole house!