A stroll along the promenade

Phase one… started at Smart club

I have been carrying this huge canvas around for about five years. It’s a long story, but it had almost become some sort of (anti) trophy after somebody graffitied on its cellophane wrapper. It is a bit of a monster at 1×1 metre, so maybe that held me back. It has to be a winner at that scale…no pressure!?

So one sunny afternoon we took Lulu for a stroll along the prom, where she slipped naturally into cabaret mode and entertained the general public with her ministry of silly walks repertoire. I took a squillion shots of her elongated shadow, trying to capture the perfect fabulous distortion of an already rather wonky dog.

I chose this one which I think has a very dynamic composition. I love the fact that the shadow takes up three quarters of the canvas whilst the actual subject is less than a quarter of the space.

Phase two…

I was politely asked if I could remove the monster canvas from the Dnky residence, which I’m smirking at the thought of right now. Nice try Andi…

So after this, I wrestled it back into the tiny car and back into the house where it obstructed the lounge for some weeks. Even the threat of the cats urinating on it did not help in its relocation. Until Roger in desperation found a space for it on the wall, and it hung awkwardly on its frame and jeered at me from the sofa…”Hey you..thought you were supposed to be an artist…I’m not finished!”

Phase three- the end result

Waiting for Roger to return home from work, it all got too much. I grabbed the beast from the wall and paintbrush in hand I finally nailed it. The sun glaring off the top of her back was quite a challenge, as it is not something I have tackled before. But I think it’s not too shocking, and I’m very happy with it. It is back up on the wall and everyone can relax again. Phew…

Roses & bedside cabinets in all their glory

Apart from a bit of attention to wax, the cabinet is finally finished. I’m very happy with the result. It is a great improvement on the old faded thing I started with. Not that I didn’t love it, being a sentimental old thing. I think my Nana would approve of the overhaul too. She’d have said “who’s a clever girl then?!”

For the meantime I’m back to ‘proper painting’, finishing off the elephants in the room that have been hindering my progress since before Christmas!