Myeloma Update 1

Hi Everyone,

Many thanks for all your thoughts, love, hugs and prayers.  I have been busy practicing my jellyfish on the couch act....

Blue - created  on watercolour paper with copic markers, prismacolor pencils, watercolour paints....148mm x 210mm = 5.8" x 8.2" 

Small faces for me....just for fun and I started an online course called Beautiful Faces which I'm really enjoying watching the videos from and seeing other people's gorgeous work in class - I look forward to fully participating when I'm ready but for now just some no pressure, let's have fun faces and try out some big hair too.

I'm doing ok.  I went into hospital for a round of chemo on Tuesday 7th April and stayed for a few days only, not the week to 10 days as was expected.  I've been for chemo on the day ward since and have started on the Myeloma chemo now too.

I have the usual symptoms I guess you could say - food taste funny, very tired - which is very good as I need to rest to get better, I'm a bit like a wobbly duck....I walk funny now due to pain and balance....slow and steady.  I've got a nasty red rash on my upper chest but my hair hasn't started falling out so......

The biggest challenge can be the mental one...waking up on my 48th birthday wondering if it was a bad dream.....48 with terminal cancer how did my life come to this....all our lives change...some we can control and some we can't....some we need to deal with and accept and fight to change and make better but I now have a new life that involves doing 'nothing' - the most important 'nothing' of my life and that is to get rid of the nasty cells in my body..... and when they are gone I get to start another new life....ch.ch.ch.changes.....

 Love love love this material of my new pyjamas - it's just gorgeous - the colours and the flowers/leaves! Wish I had painted it!

I've been busy colouring in - pencils, Sharpies/markers/textas and received some travel watercolour paints which are awesome, so these have given me some fun to play with.

Many thanks again to everyone for thinking about me, love and hugs back atcha.  Mxxx

Frida Kahlo

I have worked some more on the Studying Under The Master's - Portraits and Self Portraits online class - the Master I am working on is Frida Kahlo.  She was a challenge, she's full of mistake but I'm very proud of her.

Evolution pics:

Gelli Print Self Portrait Picasso Style

I have worked some more on the Studying Under The Master's - Portraits and Self Portraits online class, learning about Picasso.  I created this self portrait with an acrylic paint background and using gelli prints instead of acrylic paints for the girl, dove and umbrella - just for something different and for fun.

I gotta say... I love her!  :D

Picasso's Sylvette

Today I worked some more on the Studying Under The Master's - Portraits and Self Portraits online class which started at the beginning of October and I'm now at week 2....been too busy...

Week 2 we are learning about Picasso and we painted his muse Sylvette - the Girl with the Ponytail. I looked at Picasso's layers and did it a little differently to the teacher, some I got right and some such as the cheek I got wrong. I had a little trouble with the sgraffito - which is scratching into the paint so I just used paint....

Here's some evolution shots:

I do wonder how she would look with gelli print clothes and hair....maybe tomorrow...

I put some small gelli print based canvases into my Etsy store today too...  :D

Van Gogh's Postman

BlogtoberFest 2014 - Day 14 - Van Gogh's Postman

Today I managed to work more on the ecourse I'm taking - Jeanne Oliver's Studying Under The Masters - Portraits and Self Portraits. I have painted Van Gogh's Postman (Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, April 1888) in acrylics and found it very challenging but a lot of fun.  It was difficult to do without knowledge of the colours he used and I found it hard to get my brushes to show distinct lines/patterns.....

Here's the evolution pic:

Prior to this I created this Frida painting to practice faces - I used graphite pencil and gesso.  For the postman I found some charcoal which works better.

Tomorrow is the start of the Gelli Print Blog Hop and I'm having a giveaway - so pop back them and check it out!

Van Gogh Part 3

BlogtoberFest 2014 - Day 7 - More on Van Gogh.

I still haven't been feeling well so I went to the doctors and got some antibiotics for an infection.  So I had another quiet day today and managed to work more on the ecourse I'm taking - Jeanne Oliver's Studying Under The Masters - Portraits and Self Portraits.

Working mainly with watercolours...Van Gogh on the left and me on the right....

Tomorrow I get my hair cut....

Van Gogh Part 2

BlogtoberFest 2014 - Day 6 - Van Gogh Part 2

I haven't been feeling well for about 24 hours so I had a quiet day today and managed to catch up with the ecourse I'm taking - Jeanne Oliver's Studying Under The Masters - Portraits and Self Portraits. We've been looking at Van Gogh and all the patterns he uses in his sketches and paintings.  I love mark making and patterns in art and some in the class have described him as the original zentangler.

This is my sketch.  There is so much wrong with it that I dare not show you Van Gogh's but it was still a good experience.  My pen wasn't the best choice either but it was what I had.

I still have the watercolour and acrylic/oil exercises to do yet and the next class on Picasso is waiting for me... I shall be busy and learn lots.