E-books

My publishers, Robert Hale, have just contacted me to say that they are now going into e-publishing and have chosen one of my books [The Glory Girls] out of the thousands they have published in hardback to be included in their first e-list.  Am I a happy bunny?  You bet I am!
The Glory Girls started out to be a saga about the 'Fannys' to commemorate their centenary, but it turned out to be a wartime thriller [according to my agent at the time] which pleased me enormously as I've always dreamed of writing thrillers.  I certainly put as much suspense into my writing as I can, along with the ubiquitous romance and, for me, some touches of humour, without which life would be pretty drab.

Indian Summer

Is it our usual Indian Summer coming a month early, or are we just having an exceptionally glorious September with temperatures here in Gascony still rising towards the late thirties C max?  Only the cool, crisp mornings with the hedgerows glistening with diamanté dew remind us that it is officially Autumn.  Having finished my painting commissions for birthdays and weddings my French neighbour has floored me by suggesting that I do two portraits of her so she can give one each to her grown-up children!  Fortunately, I'm not so good at human portraits [animals being my speciality] so her poor suspecting offspring may yet be spared.

What am I doing now?  Well, I'm giving thought to organising my art group's Christmas party and the painting programme for 2012, which will be much more challenging and comprehensive.  And today I've printed out the first three and a half chapters of my new novel for editing.  This will get it flowing again after a short break from writing and, hopefully, I will get it finished by Christmas - well, that's my aim, anyway.  

Stormy weather

Well, we've just had one of the biggest storms ever in our twenty years living in south-west France.  Only the hurricane of 2008 bettered it [is that a word?].  Hopefully, it has brought an end to the big August heat, which traditionally ends in a big storm after a series of smaller ones.  This year our traditional storm just about washed us away.  A near disaster was the fact that I had left the big sliding door of my studio wide open.  Fortunately, not a drop of the deluge entered.  My new canopy on the terrace came close to being demolished.  I bought that especially for my stepson and his wife coming over to visit from Shanghai, but it was never used because the weather was atrocious during their stay.  The canopy I bought for outside my studio wasn't put up because we were waiting for roof drains to be installed.  When we got that out of its box it had been turned into lace by resident mice in the barn.  Husband not a happy bunny at this time as he considers all this not only an unnecessary expense but a waste of 'his' money.  Sheesh! He obviously wants to take his money with him, while I want to enjoy mine while I can.  We agree to disagree.

Having finished the goldfish painting, my customer then wanted a painting for her friend's 50th birthday, like in a week's time!  Nothing ventured, I sat down and spent some hours doing a small painting of a bouquet of flowers in a size she could afford, then she chose a more expensive one that was already on the wall in my studio.  No accounting for folks, eh.  I also spent the weekend doing a painting as a present for a little boy who may soon have to part with his pet dog.  Thank goodness I'm also an animal artist and have been for many years - animals being my favourite subject and the creatures I love most of all.

Hot stuff!

We are 'enjoying' the big heat hear in Gascony at the moment with temperatures soaring well over 100F degrees.  Yesterday my outside thermometer registered 52C and it was like walking into a hot oven.  Too hot to be in the garden or work in my studio, hot in my office even with the fan going full blast - so I took it easy with my two furry buddies lounging together on the settee in the sitting room which is the coolest room in the house, despite facing south.  Candy doesn't mind being in the house, but Toby was a bit peeved not to get his early morning walk because it was already too hot for all of us by breakfast.  This morning it's just as hot and I'm hoping for some rain and cooler weather soon so that I can complete a very important painting commission - a wedding present with a very odd subject: Two goldfish kissing in a bowl!  Apparently, the French see this as a sign of love and happiness.  Ah, oui!

My paintings in Chromacolour

I've been using Chromacolour now for quite a number of years.  It's magic.  I never did get away with ordinary watercolours, was very happy with gouache - until I discovered, quite by chance, Chromacolour.  It virtually changed my painting life and I am now venturing into new, exciting styles, enjoying the freedom this medium offers.  Chromacolour can be used as traditional watercolours, pen and ink, acryllics and even give the same result as oils used with brush or palette knife.  The paint comes in bottles of liquid and tubes of paste, is water soluble, waterproof and doesn't fade.  It's quick-drying, so perfect for the outdoors artist.  And, unlike most other paint mediums there's no foul odour.  

For the past three years I have been teaching art in our village here in Gascony and most of my pupils are now using Chromacolour with growing success.  Each time I try something new with the medium I get the same excited feeling as if discovering it for the first time.  I can't recommend it too highly - and it's really economic if used with a Waterson's Sta-wet Palette.  Here is a selection of some of my paintings.  Look and, hopefully, enjoy!

Family visit

My stepson, David, and his gorgeous Peruvian wife, Vanessa, are just coming to the end of a week's visit chez nous.  We've had only one day of sunshine, so I'm going to have serious words with the weather boss for letting them down.  Happily, David and Vanessa just needed to chill out and do a bit of studying before heading back to the UK, then David will do some socialising with old pals and Vanessa will fly back to Shanghai where they live and work at the moment. Hopefully, David will rejoin her there in about three weeks and they will take up their posts as teacher and librarian in a private international school.

David has spent a lot of time sorting out his dad's computer problems - the problem usually being his dad!  He has also converted my computer to accept an English keyboard so that I don't get my brain and fingers in a knot passing from the pc to the laptop [which is English]. Vanessa and I have put the world to rights exchanging notes on men and life in general.  She's the most gorgeous girl, inside and out and if I can figure out how to insert her photo here I will do so, but I'm working on a new laptop and it's so advanced I've had to go back to the drawing board - not a long way for me, but difficult enough.

Chromacolour magic

I can't possibly blog without giving a very special mention to the medium I prefer as an artist.  It's so special I feel I can do almost anything with this magical product.  I've used Chromacolour now for quite a number of years and find it unbeatable as well as the most versatile paint on the market.  For those of you who don't know of Chromacolour, it's a kind of acryllic.  I say "a kind of" because it seems to be so much more, so much better than the general range of acryllics, which I have tried.  I always go back to Chromacolour.  I use it in bottles and in tubes [liquid or paste].  There's no disagreeable odour, it's beautifully transluscent when you need it to be, and the colours are so much brighter and fresher than anything else I've tried.  I paint in the style of watercolours and in the style of oils, without problem, neither of which medium suited me in the past. Chromacolour has, in fact, changed my  life as an artist. In short, I'm passionate about it and can't recommend it too highly to anyone, whether they are beginners or experts.