- Happy December!! How'd that happen?? I think I'm still in August - where did Autumn go?!?!? I hope all those that enjoy Thanksgiving had a great day!!
- I'm back to the bullets today! too many paragraphs and not enough photos to break them up. Or maybe not given I've got 9 photos in this one! Please let me know if blog posts like this cause problems with inbox limitations etc, I'm still finding blogging a bit of a mystery with strange rotating photos (I didn't do it!) and paraghraph breaks being mysteriously eaten away!
- A bit of a shameless brag today I'm afraid, I have new things I want to show off!
- I've had a lovely week full of treats! Following the completion of the portrait of Flint last week, Sarah (who commissioned it), asked me if I wanted paying with money or goods. Well, given the financial climate and the fact that any money I receive for artwork goes towards paying things that need paying, and the fact tha Sarah is family and I never feel comfortable taking money from the folks; I thought I'd opt for the "goods" this time - heck, the day-job's for paying boring bills!
- Sarah knows me very well and understands how my mind works. I told her a few things I'd be interested in and she brought me some lovely goodies! The photo below shows my week's haul, although that silver case is a rather interesting one...
First (pictured below) - this is something I've been after for a little while; a table-top box easel. As my works always have to travel around with me, I often find myself carried any number of bags and cases, it can get pretty awkward. I wanted a box easel to a) help me get the items I need into one place and make them easier to carry about, and b) raise up any pad/canvas off the table, as drawing on a flat table is pretty hard on my back and shoulder (I'm sooooo old and decrepid y'know!).
This Easel has a few extra treats supplied with it - a nice canvas, a set of acrylic paints, some brushes, pencils and paint trowels. I've not yet ventured into painting portraits, but now I'm well equipped to give one a go! In actual fact the paints will eventually be replaced with pencil crayons/blu-tac/paper pads/pastels etc.
Sarah also presented me with this small, simple little box (not sure why the photo has rotated or if it will be rotated in the email blogs, but if it looks odd tilt yur head to the right)
his little box is actually a brilliant piece of engineering! It opens out like a toolbox, and has two built in legs which hold it steady and level. I knew what I'd use it for as soon as I saw it...
...Pastels!! I have one box of 36 pastels which have their own wooden case, and a lovely wooden set of 12 Caran D'ache pastel my Dad bought me about 16 years ago (I was rather unimpressed att eh time, shame on me!! They my most cherished materials now!) but the other individual and smaller sets were all kind of loose and awkward, so I completely demolished their packaging and arranged them into the new box. I don't know what wood it is constructed from, but it has a beautiful grain (I took the pics with a flash last night so haven't done it justice), and a lovely simple but beautiful brass inlay. The box is also lined with a velvet type material, but as I'm using it for pastels I've added some foam lining so I don't ruin it.
Finally, this one is a rather unusal story with a great ending - this aluminium case and it's contents were a gift from Sarah and her partner. Her partner works fixing machinery, I don't know exactly what he does but he travels around a lot and mends broken machines. Turns out that some of these machines are in tanning salons. In a previous job of his, he was given some items and this had been sitting around gathering dust so it was kindly offered to me. Yep, you read it right - it's an airbrush tanning system!
Now, I'm not really into the body beautiful. I try to look respectable but have never really been into tanning, especially spray-tan; so was a little confused when offered this. BUT, on opening it up, suddenly it made sense - can you see what caught my eye in the photo below?
THIS did!
It's a small, pink compressor! Also in the box which has me intrigued is this item:
- So, I'm now the proud owner of a delightfully girly compressor and airbrush! Ok, so perhaps the airbrush might need replacing (I know nothing of these things yet) but suddenly my horizons are widened; not only with the (oh so tempting) possibilities for painting models, but also for casting - if I can finally get my hands on a pressure pot I will have all the equipment I could need for excellent casts!
- I still don't know much about this fabulous new arrival, I don't know what pressure it will push out, I don't know if the airbrush works and even if it does it's missing some mixture pots (the pots that attach to the airbrush, that hold the paint mixure - whatever they're called).
- I don't know if this is normal, but I always find "trading" (ie taking goods instead of payment) so much more satisfying than taking money. Of course, money never hurts, but I like a good old-fashioned goods exchange!
