The Blackbird Sings

Things I'd like to paint in 2012...

The following list was taken directly from my notebook, where I jot down every idea I have, no matter how random or vague. I'd advise any artist to make written notes - I find them as useful as sketches, if not more so sometimes. Often a single word is all it takes to jog my memory, and then I remember the image I had in my mind while I was writing the word in my notebook. But that's the important thing: I actually have to write things down - if I don't, I'm scared that a potentially brilliant idea (possibly leading to a new series of work) could be lost forever. My brain runs at a million miles per hour, and throughout the course of a day I tend to have several new ideas. I'd never be able to keep track of them without making notes!

I'll use most ideas, even if it takes a few years - sometimes, the time has to be right to paint a certain subject, and you'll find you won't get around to it until you're ready - and some I'll probably never use. I'll either discard the idea altogether, or maybe the initial idea doesn't work but it will become the spark for something else.

All I know is this: I couldn't survive without my notebook.

 

Things I'd like to paint in 2012...

[Please don't laugh at my descriptions - as I said, this is taken straight from my notebook!]

* Dala Horse (make template). Use as silhouette and create a landscape around it in gouache and acrylic ink. [In the notebook this is accompanied by little sketches].

* LARGE FEATHERS [Not sure why this is written in caps - maybe I didn't want to forget it? By the way, this is Leon's idea - he wants me to paint huge feathers on canvas or directly on to walls!]

* Campfires

* Exmoor ponies

* Pegasus

* Ghost Birds

* Mountain Ranges

* Antlers - on stones and pottery

* Huge realistic moon

* Snowy folk art landscape with spindly trees

* Flying birds over fields

* - TREE STUMPS -

* Turquoise and orange / Turquoise and teal on a pale blue-grey background.

* Design Seeds blog as inspiration for colour combos.

 

That will do for today - I'm sharing just a few of my ideas for now. I can't give everything away at once, can I?! ;)

Have a fantastic New Year and I'll see you in 2012! x

I'm sticking to it... ;)

During the last blog post I promised that I would be posting every Monday and Thursday from now on in an effort to bring some regularity to the blog, and even though it's Boxing Day here in the UK, it's also a Monday and I am a woman of my word. So here's the blog and...Happy Boxing Day!

I hope you all had a good Christmas Day - at least I hope it was better than mine, because on Christmas Eve I caught the flu my brother has been suffering from all week, so I spent Christmas Day shivering, aching, unable to breathe or eat properly (I couldn't taste a thing) and feeling completely awful. I now know that he wasn't exaggerating when he said he felt as if he was dying when it was at its worst. You may know that I'm only now getting over a long and nasty cold (2.5 weeks and counting at the time of the onset of the second virus), so I guess my resistance must have already been low. I'm usually the type of person who has maybe one cold every 1-2 years, so to catch two within a matter of weeks is really unlucky! The fever has gone today, and even though I'm still ill and a little weak, I feel a LOT better. I actually have an appetite and can taste food again!

Anyway, I have two new canvas paintings to share with you...

Tree With Goldfinches

Original painting in acrylic on deep-edge canvas. 20x20"

© Natasha Newton 2011 (SOLD)

Flying Swallow

Original painting in acrylic on deep-edge canvas. 20x20"

© Natasha Newton 2011 (SOLD)

These were both commissioned paintings, and are part of a set of four I've been busy creating this year for a local couple who live in a beautiful house set in the most amazing grounds. These are the last two pieces and I'm pleased to finally be able to show them to you. As you can see, I've used 'new' colours (for me) in the Flying Swallow piece. It was quite a challenge as I rarely use yellows or greens in my work, except for perhaps a muted grey-ish green occasionally. I also really want to make more paintings along the lines of Tree With Goldfinches - I really enjoyed working on that one!

In other news, my Etsy shop was featured on Typepad's official blog the other day - that was a nice surprise! You can see the feature here.

Which reminds me - as I took part in the Black Friday Thanksgiving sale on Etsy this year, I felt it was only right to run a special Boxing Day offer in honour of our UK tradition! So from now until 31st December, you can get 20% off your order by entering the code BOXINGDAY11 at the time of purchase (excluding 'RESERVED' items). I've added a few new pieces to the shop recently as well as the archival prints and new postcard sets, so feel free to head over and treat yourself to some new art for 2012! You can find the shop here.

See you on Thursday! Oh, and thanks to those of you who left nice comments after the last blog post - they made me smile. x 

Long time, no blog... (but lots to tell you)

Firstly, I'm so sorry! I realised today that it's been nearly a month since I posted the last blog entry.

I actually can't believe it's been that long, and I'm appalled by my general tardiness recently when it comes to posting regular blogs. My intention a couple of months ago was to try to post on a regular basis rather than haphazardly as I had been doing (nothing for weeks and then three blogs in quick succession, for example). I think I'm going to have to choose two days per week on which to blog and stick to them. I think Mondays and Thursdays. It's the only way I'll make sure I post regularly, and it's good for my readers to know when to expect new posts. Plus, twice a week is achievable for me and isn't 'blog overload' for you (I hope). ;)

The Journey (1)

Orginal painting in acrylic on deep-edge canvas. 6x6"

© Natasha Newton 2011

Available from Snape Maltings Gallery, Suffolk.

The reason I haven't blogged isn't because I've been lazy. It's actually the opposite. Since I came back from my last trip to Paris in October I've been busier than ever, and I've produced more work in two months than I ever thought possible. I have two large commissioned paintings to share with you after Christmas (I can't do so yet as they're a Christmas present for someone!) and I've been working on several other commissions, new pieces for three different galleries, and lots of new paintings and painted stones for my Etsy shop. Etsy has been incredibly busy for me this year and sales this past month or so have been fantastic! So I've been going with the flow and trying to keep the shop as well-stocked with new artwork as I can. I'm also now offering professionally printed, archival quality signed prints (see below). I'm so pleased with how they turned out - they're beautiful! You can find out more about them here: Magic Forest Archival Print

© Natasha Newton

Alongside all of this, I've been fighting off the worst virus I've had for a long time - a very bad cold with an upset stomach that lasts for more than two weeks! I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and I'm feeling much better. My boyfriend Leon also came over from Paris again between 16th - 18th December to spend a long weekend at the little cottage we rented in early October. It was wonderful to be back there again and we made the most of our (short) time together. We went out for some brilliant meals (I highly recommend The Crown pub in Ufford - the food was the best I've had anywhere!) and we lit a fire in the evenings, celebrated Leon's birthday with a Gu chocolate ganache cake (or something like that), and slept in a heavenly bed. It was just what we needed! We'd both been ill recently and also working ridiculously hard, so the break was good for us. I'm planning on going back to Paris to be with Leon again for three weeks on 3rd January - I can't wait!

And the last piece of news for today is that I've officially started a jewellery design collaboration with the talented jeweller Kirsty O'Donnell. We're calling our collaboration Ghost Birds, and we'll be releasing a collection of jewellery in 2012 that we'll be selling through the new Ghost Birds shop on Etsy. I'll be sure to let you know when the shop is open, and you'll be able to see our designs on this blog too!

For now, have a wonderful Christmas, and I'll be back soon with another new post! I haven't forgotten about a special blog post I promised you last month either (the one about running your own small business). That will be coming soon!