Oh bother

Grrrrrrrrr I just wrote my journal then lost it!!! It's somewhere in cyber world - if anyone finds it can they send it back to me!! Now I can't be bothered to write it all again!!!  I was telling you how I'm getting on at work and thought you might like to vist the site of where I work - it's not a very good site but at least you can see where I work. (www.crowhurstpark.co.uk) If you look at cabins and lodges you can see what I have to clean - see we keep them looking lovely!!! LOL My friend and I are nearly there with cleaning our 11 lodges - just three to go now but we also have to go back over the ones that have had new carpets - and clean all the dust away and hoover!! Oh happy days!!! LOL

I'm back to college tomorrow - firstly though Im going for a walk in Battle  Woods(famous 1066 country!!) so I can take some more pics then go back into college for the lecture.  Then on thursday we have our London trip at last - we are visiting 12 galleries - so I hope I'm feeling fit that day!

Anyway sorry I didnt have alot to say - i did write it all out once!!!!

Love Laine xxxx

Sunday Sunday

Awww the sky was so blue today - I posted three of the 73 pics I took today - these are my favourite out of all I took.  Mind you I was very pleased with all of them I took today.  We found a lovely little woods that we hadn't walked in before - it's at the top of Alexandra Park in Hastings - our local park. How lucky we are to find such beauty on our doorstep.

Had a lovely weekend - just sad it's all over so quickly.  We went to see John's brother on Friday night - his wife Debbie cooked us a lovely meal and they were very welcoming and we had a great time with them. John's brother seemed so different - more friendly than I have ever know him - really chilled out and very good company. So thats good.

Yesterday I bought myself some gorgeous boots in QS for just £10.00!!! They are lovely fluffy brown ones and Im so pleased with them!! LOL  We went out last night with Shelley and David to a gorgeous Chinese restaurant in Tenterden - the food was lovely and we had a nice time!

Today John and I had our lovely walk as I just mentioned and we also went to the Del a War Pavilion in Bexhill (its an art gallery) and had a lovely time sitting out on the balcony watching the sea, soaking up the sun and drinking wine!! Well cant believe it was snowing yesterday and then sitting out in the sun today - it was gorgeous.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Love Laine xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Seminar success!!!

Hi guys, had a great great day - thank you so much for all your comments on my last entry!! Anyway all my hard work paid off today as everyone was really impressed with all my pics that I put on my walls in my studio.  Putting them all together like that brought the same feeling you have when you look up into the sky at the trees and get kind of disorientated.  My tutor was well pleased with me and he said that I have reached something that's working and I should carry on with it - an installation could come of it! Watch this space!!!

Those of you who asked what sculptures I had done - well I did one last year - I will post it in my Journal maybe on Sunday evening and tell you all about it. Let's just say its amazing what you can do with a cardboard box!!!

Right now this weekend we have no kids so I might not be turning my computer on again until sunday evening so apologies if I dont read all your journals til then. We are out tonight at John's brothers house for dinner - we dont see alot of them as we dont really have much in common but we get on - never know what to talk about with them though!! Anyway we are taking the DVD game Telly Addicts with us so it wont be such a strain on me and John to think of what to say LOL.  Then tomorrow night we are out with my mad mate Shelley and her hubby David - John and David used to work together about two years ago and we kept in touch.  We get on really well with them and Im really looking forward to it!! Anyway, we are also going to enjoy good quality time together with no kids. LOL Have a good weekend all. Love Laine xxxx

 

up late and tired

Hi guys,

Had another great day at college, rather productive actually. Sorry about the late entry - I've been printing stuff off for my seminar tomorrow  - I expect most of you are in bed by now! 

I had a great tutorial today with Sonia, one of my tutors, she was really excited about my work - she said it gave her an excited feeling in her stomach.  She also said that she cant see any reason why I shouldn't get on to the B.A. Hons course next year.  She said I definately have potential - bless her!! Anyway, I now have to convince my tutor tomorrow that I'm not painting at the mo.  Sonia said she could definately feel  an installation coming out of me or a sculpture - so Im looking towards more 3D maybe.  Anyway got seminar tomorrow - so I'm going to read all your journals then go to bed. It's really late!!!

night night

Love Laine xxxx

 

Feeling better

Hi guys,  Thanks for all your lovely comments - what a lovely lot you are - Im so glad I joined this community - thank you all for making me feel so welcome. 

Well I went out walking in my lovely woods again today - feeling very tired but I made the effort! Took some lovely pics some of which I share with you today - also showing you how Im displaying them at college at the mo.  I'm putting them all on the wall so I can look at them and decide what is the next stage.  Also what pics I want to keep and what ones need altering or discarding.  I'm feeling better -getting into my work again now.  I really feel that the photography side is the strongest so I'm concentrating on that - spoke to a tutor today and she like my idea of perhaps doing a 3d sculpture thing - but that will come with time LOL!! I hope!!! Got my seminar on Friday morning - so thats good Ive got tomorrow to get ready for it! A seminar is when a group of us walk round and look at each others work and see how we are all getting on and get feedback. It's really good. So looking forward to that - I'm first on the list so I will get mine over with first LOL.

Had a really busy day - toing and froing - feeling like a taxi again!! As always - school runs! getting myself to college! after school clubs!! nightmare!! Sometimes I just get so fed up with driving about and the traffic was terrible today!! And some drivers!!! Just don't know how some people passed their test!!! LOL well that's my moan for the day LOL. Anyway, just thank god for my car - just don't know what I'd do without it!!!

See you all soon Love Laine xxxxx

Feeling a bit low

Hi Guys, First of all can I apologise that I take so long to comment on all your journals - Im just so busy then I realise there are so many alerts in my in box and I go crazy LOL. But I dont want to miss any of your entries so Im going to sit and read them all in a bit.  I'm a bit low today and I dont really know why.  I spoke to my brother on the phone tonight - he has been really ill with anxiety attacks just lately so I was relieved that he was much better.  He lives in Norwich which is a good 150 miles away - so dont seem him much - miss him like mad.  Anyway, I came off the phone and I sobbed like a baby!! John was so good and cuddled me and said you just say the word and we will go and see him.  So we are going to go up there as soon as I have finished working on a saturday which will be in about 3 weeks time.  I miss my brother so much and especially now they have a little boy who is not even a year old yet. 

Also been trying to sort my life out - got to think realistically about what is going to happen at the end of this academic year - I might not get on the the degree top up so I have to sort out what Im going to do as back-up.  I think I will do a course next year in teaching which lets me teach people over the age of 18.  I really want to do something with teaching.  Quite frightening to think that this could be my last year as a student! But part of me want to get out and do something - I'm good with people and I love being involved with the education side of things.  I am a governor at my little boys school and I did some training for that today - I loved it!  So I know that it's education I want to be in somehow!!! Basically Ive got to sort my life out.  But I do have to concentrate on doing well on this course too!!  I've got a seminar on Thursday and Friday and have not got anything really ready for that yet!!! EEEEEEEEk best get my skates on.  Crikey sorry I waffled alot tonight!!!!

Love Laine xxxx

Sunday

Hi guys, well now the weekend is nearly over!! Wonder where all the time is flying too - anyone got it? Had a great day at my Mum and Dad's - nice drive over to Brighton with my two boys.  John stayed at home with his eldest boy James and they cleaned the driveway - took them all day!! Bless I didnt go on too much to John about what a lovely dinner I had had at my Mum's.  Well now not really got much to say - I'm gonna go and sit down with my pernod, black and lemonade!!!  Work tomorrow!  Monday again and soon it will be Friday again!!! LOL

Laine xxxx

P.S. where does everyone get all those cute pics from - especially Barney the Polar Bear LOL

Is it really Friday already????

Hi guys, here are a few of the pics I took today when I was out on my walk - just a few - I took 60 - dont think you want to see all of them!  Anyway, I was really pleased with what I got and printed them all off - then Im going to put them all over the wall - study them and maybe come up with a painting.  I might even think of doing some sort of sculpture.  I spoke to one of my friend's today and I said to her that the tutors keep asking why am I so interested in trees.  She said that I should be strong and tell them how I feel - otherwise they bully you into not believing in your own work.  I believe that the trees are strong and powerfully project into the sky and nothing can stop them.  I love their strength and power but at the same time their delicacy and the beautiful way they dance. When I am among the trees and stare up at them I feel safe - they are my safety net my security from the scary world that's out there. 

Anyway, I've got to really believe that what I'm doing is right and be strong about it - I've got a seminar next week - we have to talk and show our work that we have done so far this term - I better get my skates on - it's taken me this long to get my wall up and a bit of studio space sorted.  Anyway sorry Im waffling!!! LOL

Well I can't believe it's Friday again - where does the week go?  I have got to work tomorrow - then I'm going to visit my Mum and Dad on Sunday with my two boys - John just has his eldest son here for the weekend so it will give him time to be with him on their own.  Then on Monday evening we are going to see John's daughter - I really can't wait to see her - really looking forward to it. 

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Love Laine xxxx

 

Wednesday - back to college day

Hello everyone, well I was back to college today - I have smothered my wall with pictures like the ones above - but they are all in black and white.  I don't know what Im going to do when I've finished smothering my wall with images of trees - i was hoping to talk to a tutor today but I didnt get a chance.  Was so busy today - I had to pop home from college to use the computer (as I forgot my memory stick!), then I got back to college at lunch time and we had a meeting - then it was time to pick the kids up so I didnt really get much done. Anyway Im focused and doing stuff so thats good!! We got an essay brief today - got to do 2,000 - 3,000 words on our own personal development - shouldnt be hard for me to talk about myself LOL!!! Or we can do a presentation for half hour if we dont want to write the essay. Not sure what Im going to do yet.

Not going to London tomorrow now!! Its been called off til a few weeks time as there are not many exhibitions on at the moment so not worth our tutor taking us. Anyway at least I can still look forward to it.

Anyway, you may be asking why I'm surprised. Well I'm surprised because for the last two years now it's been hard with my stepdaughter.  Bit of a long story but when I first met John we were very very close and were for three years - then all of a sudden she turned 16!! LOL and she was very distant from both of us for a long time - anyway she is nearly 18 now and since about October last year she has started to become friendly again.  Well tonight she asked John to go up and see her for a drink and she specifically asked that I come too!!! Well Im very pleased that she is finally accepting me again!!! So just wanted to share that with you.

Will write again soon.

Love Laine xxx

Rome

Well it's almost a year ago that John and I went to Rome with my college and Im feeling nostalgic about it.  Stuart's picture of the Alps reminded me because I took pic no. 1 out of the aeroplane window and i think its the Alps - on the way to Rome LOL!! The next pic is me and John at the colleseum - oh Rome is a beautiful city. The college is going to New York this year - Im missing out because we cant afford it. Everyone say ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. :(.

Well Ive finished my three days at work - we got 3 lodges cleaned and have started on the fourth - only 7 to go!!! Back to college tomorrow!!! Where does the time go? Right so I've got to get myself back into artist mode!! It's hard to fit it all in!!  We go to London on Thursday - to visit galleries with our tutor.  That should be good!!

Anyway hopefully I'll have some more pics for you tomorrow of what I'm doing in the studio - be late though - i'm going to dinner at my friend's - yippee I dont have to cook!!! It will be nice.

Love Laine xx

Monday

Hi guys, hope you all had a great weekend.  I havent had computer on so not looked at all your journals yet - but I will and send my comments. 

Been working today, I've got work on a Monday, Tuesday and Saturday definately for the next 5 weeks - i work at a holiday park and whilst it is shut we have to clean the lodges from top to bottom - hard work!! We call it the winter clean! My mate Maria and I have 11 to do! Eeeeeek - anyway not too bad if we get on with it.  Then the rest of the week Wed. Thurs and Friday Im at college - so only Sunday to rest for me1! When am I going to fit everything in. Then next Tuesday for three weeks Maria and I are on Governor training!!! So got to fit that in with work too!!! Oh well I wont think of it too much then it might be alright LOL!!!

Love Laine xx

Friday - oh no work tomorrow!!!! eeeeeeeek

Hi guys.  I had a great day today.  Met my old tutor this morning as he was doing tutorials in our group today.  So was nice to see him again.  He said my work reminds him very much of the work I was doing in my first year at college - but then i was doing figurative stuff - but I can see what he means by the way my lines go.  Anyway he said its good that Im doing the drawing and painting on the wall and that - i shouldnt stop doing it but he thinks I should concentrate more on my photographs and maybe take soem film - I can do that on my new camera!!!! Not sure how I'd show all you guys film though!!!!

Went to lunch with my friend - she picked up my Sam for me and brought him along too - he had an inset day at school today. We went to the college restaurant - they were Korean students training today - its good because its really cheap for a three course meal - they are training but the food is good. 

Then my Sam came with me to my History lesson - bless him he is 12 and he sat through an hour and half of slides and discussion.  Looked at a brilliant artist today called Chuck Close - he painted from photographs and his paintings looked like photographs - see if you can look him up on the web. Worth a look!!

My Joe has gone to his Dad's for the weekend.  Sam likes to stay here with me - he goes once a month to his Dad's.  John's two boys come down every weekend - John gone to get them now.  Sam likes to be with them.  He did open up to me yesterday though and said he doesnt like it at Daddy's because there is always arguing going on.  His dad just recently moved in with his girlfriend and she has a 14 year old and a 16 year old who are very argumentative apparently.  Sam likes to be quiet.  Even my Joe who loves to see his Dad said he doesnt look forward to going anymore. I'll keep you posted on that.

Anyway must go now Sam wants some tea - even though we had lunch out we are now starving!! LOL

Not sure if I will write over the weekend and if I dont comment on your Journals I will do it on Monday. 

Laine xxxx

Thurs eve

Hi its me again, just wanted to say thank you so much for all your comments - and that you have all made me want to carry on with my Journal - so thats good and it means that I can share with you what's going on.  Back to college tomorrow!! Mind you only got the morning as Im meeting my friend for lunch - is her birthday. Then Ive got History lecture in the afternoon and then wow!!! cant believe its the weekend again!!! - where did that week go?

Laine xxxx

Thursday - day 2

Hi guys,

No pics to add today - I went into college and painted my wall white.  I had a chat with my tutor - he was excited about my new space and I told him I was planning on surrounding myself with all my images and trying to connect them in some way using thread or wire or something - not sure yet.  Anyway he suggested it would be a good idea to create my space into a thicket rather like the woods I walk in - make it mysterious and a bit scary to go in but also really interesting and beautiful at the same time - bit of a challenge!! I thought of using silk thread in different colours - or find lots of different materials for different thicknesses - not really sure yet. 

Anyway so off I went to the library to print off the images of the pics I showed you all yesterday and all the printers had run out of ink - can you believe that! and they didnt even have any back up cartridges!!  What sort of a college is that!! Oh well. So I came home to use my own computer - meaning I have to pay for the ink!! Oh well - then my partner John is wanting to use it (because he works from home) and he needs to print out a huge tender so my time and ink limited here too!!  Anyway John went out to buy some more ink so Ive printed quite a few images to start sticking on my walls tomorrow.  Be quite interesting tomorrow as I have the tutor that I had in my first year of college two years ago - when I did my foundation course.  So be good to see him agian.

Oh by the way my tutor wasnt really interested much in my aol journal - he said thats just a sideline - well I think its really important to my work and all your comments are really valuable - so Im still going to keep it up - it also helps me to talk it all over - all my ideas and that - even if it dont make sense to anyone else!!! hee hee

bye for now - ill be back!! LOL

Laine xxx

Wednesday at the studio

Well Ive started!!! Got my wall put up - as you can see Ive not got a lot of studio space but its all mine - at least Im near a window.  I had to wait til quarter to one for the guy to come and put it up for me - worth the wait though - Im all excited and cant wait to paste the wall with all my images.Many thanks to Jeannette for some of her wonderful images!! Cant wait to put them up!!! While I was waiting for my wall I did a painting - but not sure if I like it really - I ran out of black acrylic - It's more of an expressionist painting about the way I feel with the trees all around me.

Anyway, wall up I was then able to go for my walk with my lovely Oscar and my partner John - so took some pics that you can see above. I like the feeling of the trees all around me - thats why I took pictures about my head and all around me - not just from the front but every angle.  I was lucky because all day it had been dismel and cold and when I decided to go for a walk the sun came out! It was lovely - bit muddy underfoot though.  Oscar got really muddy - bless him he has been in the kitchen ever since - he knows he cant come in the lounge when he is muddy.  Blimey Im waffling on now arent I.  Well hope you enjoy my first pictures and thank you so much for being part of this journey - dont forget to pass my link on to people - I really value everybody's participation in my project - you are all part of it - you are all part of my art.

Thank you love Laine xx

 

 

Meet an artist2

Hi guys, Yes I agree with you - you really need to see the painting in the flesh - Im going up to London soon so I hope to visit the gallery where Peter Doig is currently exhibiting - Im not sure where - I did hear that the Saatchi had closed - dont know if thats true or not.  Anyway, I post the pictures of other artists just to give you a feel of the sort of art I like and then hopefully if you get a chance you can go visit the real thing!

Right Im off to bed - long day ahead tomorrow!!!

night night love Laine xx

Meet an artist

Thought I would paste in a picture of an artist who I have been interested in recently.  His name is Peter Doig - he is a modern painter - he has had exhibitions recently at the Saatchi and The Victoria Miro Gallery in London.  What do you think guys? This picture is called 'girl in white with trees' and was painted with oil on canvas 2001-2002.

Here's a bit of blog about Peter Doig:

1959 born Edinburgh, lives and works in Trinidad

Developed from film stills, footage of actual events or photographs of urban and rural environments, Peter Doig's paintings emanate a quiet nostalgia, triggering a lingering sense of a long forgotten memory. His work often deals with subjects at the fringes of normality, peripheral or marginal sites, unnamed places where the urban and natural worlds collide. Nominated for the Turner Prize in 1994 and winner of the John Moores Foundation Prize the previous year, Doig is known for his innovative exploration of the formal and thematic possibilities of landscape. His rigorous approach to surface, texture and colour puts him among the most inventive painters of his generation.

So a little art lesson for you all LOL.

Well I'm in the studio tomorrow so its all exciting for me today!! I still dont know what Im going to do - Im really into this journal stuff - now you know these modern artists today seem to be able to do their art about anything - wonder if I could do mine all about journals - or about my trees and how they connected me with all you wonderful people.  hmmmmm dont know!!! LOL

Love Laine xxxx

Yipppeeeee

Hey guys Ive worked out how to add you all to my list of journals so that people visiting can look at yours as well - hey Im getting good at this!!! Thanks for all your help.  Love Laine xxx

P.s. if I missed anyone can you let me know and also would be helpful if you send me your link to your journal when you make a comment so I can add you on.  xxxx

Still excited

Well I found a lovely picture of my gorgeous doggy to show you all.  Im still getting together all my tree pics. Ive been so excited looking at everyone'e journals - there are some brilliant photographers out there - I really am impressed.  I got a new camera - its really good - digital one but I really cant work out how to use it yet.  I tend to take alot of pics from my mobile phone when Im out and about in the woods. We took oscar down the beach today - the sea was out really far so he was able to have a good run.

I really cant wait til Wednesday - back in the studio!! I'll take some pictures of my studio space as it develops to let you all know what is going on.  The funny thing is I just dont know what Im going to do!! Spose thats what makes it all so exciting! 

Thanks to all of you who have added me to your journal and alerts thingies - LOL I still havent worked out how to do that yet!!  I must do it soon as I want to keep up with you guys too.

Love Laine

The beginning

Right now I popped into college today and got my studio organised so hopefully by the time I go in next Wednesday I should be able to start printing images of my lovely trees off and putting them all round it.  I posted a photo of the sort of images of trees I like - maybe some of you could tell me how you feel when your out walking in woods or how a tree makes you feel when you look up at it and its just so huge!!  I also put in a pic of one of my paintings that came out a bit blurred - sorry!  Anyway guys I'd also be grateful if you could tell me what part of the world your from - then I know where your trees are!!

Thank you to those of you who have already commented and making this very exciting for me - it only works with you guys commenting!! Also those of you who have left me your journal link I will be visiting you to make comments on your journals too.  I might even print out some of these comments and use them in my work - they are truly wonderful thank you to you all.  Love Laine xxx

I think this is going to be really good - i can feel it in my bones. Im really excited about my art and havent been like that in ages!!! Love Laine xxxx

The snow on the trees

This is one of the pics I took when the snow first fell just after Christmas. The trees looked magical in the woods that day.  My Joe said 'Mummy, it's like Narnia!' Bless him.

My New project

Well this is the start of my blog.  I hope to make it really interesting - I thought it quite appropriate to start with a picture of me on my 40th taken last year (2005) crikey thats last year!!! Was in August.Well Im really excited because I want to share with everyone the lovely walks I go on with my dog.  Ive tried to paint the woods and just lately Ive not being doing very well with it.  Anyway, Ive now got an idea to just take photo after photo with my lovely mobile phone!! hee hee!!! Im gonna post most of the pics on here - see what you think - and Im also gonna paste them all over the walls of my studio - I might start painting again, or I might sculpture or I might do something else.  The main thing is Im excited about it and its happening!! Also that I can share my experience with anyone of you that wants to ride it with me!!! Hope its fun and I hope you enjoy it too - I will love to hear your comments on the way. Also if any  of you out there are Art students and your doing a project let's do our projects together - side by side!!! Take care for now. Laine xxx