Happy Days....

The last few weeks have been quiet but so beautifully spent. I still have terrible problems with the fact that I am so easily distracted from what I want to do - I guess the polite word is procrastination, but I think it is more correctly called laziness!!!!

..inspired by Tracy verdugo in Paint Mojo  - 'Look back into Summer'

However, I have done a few courses to continue the amazing learning curve that I am journeying along - the fantastic Paint Mojo with Tracy Verdugo (a fantastic group, too), Faces and Figures with Pauline again. I felt that I needed to increase my technical and academic skills, too, as I now take my art very seriously, and want to do the best I can. At 66, I didn't think I could or would want to, fit in at the Fine Arts Faculty in Porto, an Open University course requires a lottery win to finance it, so I did some research and discovered the Virtual Art Academy. This is a detailed, technical course with amazingly high standards over at least four years, largely the work of one man. It seemed wonderful, with a huge number of enthusiastic students and brilliant reviews. So I enrolled, and am fascinated by what I am learning, and adding substance and know how to my art skills. Here follows, for any soul who is interested, a few examples of recent work - some for courses, others my own, all great fun to do. You may have seen some of them on Facebook, I am happy to take that risk!!!

Grand Canyon fifteen minutes after sunset

Tree of gold

I felt I could have done better in India - next time I am resolved to do better!:-

Rajasthan

The day a crow died...an amazing sight. One day, a crow dropped dead into the backwater. Within seconds, thousands of crows lined up on branches before swooping down low over the water. The squawking was deafening and went on for ten minutes. It was a funeral for a crow.

A WIP of my very own gnash, Lord Protector

...and work from some of the courses, as well as another selfie on a very sad day, 30cm by 40cm in acrylics. I am finding that my I love painting my Buddhas and elephants, but I also get immense pleasure from both portraits and abstract landscape work. A mixed bag!