Welcome back to another edition of The Excitable Artist…
Get ready for a whistle-stop tour! It’s the last newsletter of the year and since I’m just back from a triple-show weekend with another three day-er around the corner I’m squeezing this little bit of writing in so that I can hopefully send some chuckles your way before we wrap up for Christmas.
Much to Spud’s delight, it’s Ollie in the hot seat for this weeks pupdate. After I watched him grab Spud by the tail on todays walk and swing him round like a champion hammer thrower (it’s giving Miss Trunchbull) I think he’s earned it.
There’s also a look at some not so instagram-able house updates and of course the greatly anticipated Postal Stamp Launch! Painting small is the perfect way to make original art more affordable… look out for my new whale artwork too!
Let’s scroll baby!
Walk the plank
Oh look, a perfectly angled shot. Nice and zoomed in. You’d never guess that should the camera zoom out just a smidge it would reveal a floor thats so mottled and dusty it could pass for the surface of the moon. This morning I took a small trip down to the lower floor of our house…. that is to say, my foot stepped on a loose plank at the wrong angle and I found myself falling into a crevice, slipper and all:
There is still so much to do for our renovation! We are using selotape to pull open our kitchen cupboard doors as they don’t have handles yet, we are still sleeping in my work room and our living room has become a store room for furniture and boxes whilst we have the insulation done.
I wish I had some more glamorous updates for you but work has been so unbelievable busy that it’s been tricky to progress much on the house… so for now we are still living in what is mostly a builders site but with these teeny tiny pockets of nice bits (the hole in the floor not being one of those!)
We did get some nice new handles on out bathroom cabinet though! We have been pulling on a screw to open them for the last month so handles have been a nice upgrade!
A very special delivery!
The postal stamps are here…. this is only my second ever collection. I’ve done a total of 10 postal stamps and then there’s one tiny original of a Schnauzer called McMuffin. They are all framed and ready to be posted out next week with next day delivery - postage is £10 but means it will be tracked, insured and you are guaranteed to get your art in time for Christmas!
Just a reminder that there are nearly always one or two hiccups when I upload launches so if you click the link and can’t see anything don’t panic give it a minute and keep refreshing - trust that I will be madly trying to sort it on the other end!
Click below to browse the full collection..
I’ve also got my latest original… see below! ‘Underwater Masgic’ was an exciting piece to paint as it’s the first one where I’ve spread it across two pieces of paper effectively splitting it in two! There’s even gold leaf on the jellyfish…
They’d look fab framed separately and hung together… click below to make it yours!
Commissions
I’m almost done for the year with just 3 pet portraits to finish off by the end of the week… I’m already taking on commission for 2025 so please do get in touch to get booked in!
A very cold sausage…
If you remember from the last newsletter I mentioned that Ollie had his first ever trip to the groomers coming up. Well, we went along to the salon and Ollie trotted in full of nothing but naive curiosity which quickly turned into panic as he realised it was his leash being handed over instead of Spud’s…
He came out 45 minutes later looking like a piece of whipped candy floss (see above). Every inch of him had been blowdried so that he was almost double the size. He was fluffier on every part of his body… except for one. It wasn’t until we got home and I found him constantly attending to his, ahem, personal area, that I checked and realised one area of his body in particular was significantly less hairier than the rest... that’s right, along with the shampoo and the blow dry, they’d chucked in what I can only describe as a bikini wax (yes, Ollie’s a boy but… you know.)
Who knew that was a thing for dogs? Apparently it’s called a ‘hygiene clean’, or as my sister more poetically put it; he was treated to a back, sack and cr— okay let’s stop there.
Poor boy though, and to think that, in a cruel twist of fate, the day after was a snow day… he could have really used some insulation.
Here’s a couple of pics. Below, Ollie on snow day, screaming as the cold hit an area of him he never expected to feel the cold:
Below, Ollie quietly suffocating Spud after he made one too many jokes at his expense after he came back from the groomers…
Guys that is IT for my final newsletter of the year! My website shop is open until the end of the week, I’m also going to be at Bowhouse Christmas Market up in the East Neuk of Fife this Friday-Sun. The Friday is 2-8pm and then the sat/sun are usual hours of 10-4. It’s going to be a good one!!
Can’t wait to catch up with you all in the new year. There will be some amazing house developments as we push forward on the decorating (famous last words!!) I’ve got two big trade fairs and plans for new originals! I’m also going to be posting workshops on youtube so that those of you who want to learn to paint with watercolours will have lots of free resources and tutorials!
Oh, and to the lady who came to my stand at Kelvin Grove and told me just how much she loved reading my newsletter - THANK YOU. Feedback (especially in person) is honestly the best because I adore writing this newsletter and knowing you guys enjoy reading it gives me a buzz like no other…. <3
Hope you all have a fantastic Christmas - and don’t eat too many roast potatoes (said no one ever!!)
SEE YOU IN 2025!! xxxxx
I love this picture because with the blanket wrapped around Ollie it looks like he’s off to the Met Gala. Then again, maybe it’s a practical move to ensure his pickle is nice and toasty after it had its fur coat shaved off…hehe!