A day off to be Santa.

I took time off painting this week as Clowne Infant and Nursery school asked me to be Santa for the day.

I hope they approached me because of my acting ability rather than my white hair and ever increasing waist size...

Having been on stage thousands of times, I was still very nervous, not wanting to disappoint the children... and certainly not wanting to hear "He's not the real Santa". I did the Nursery first... and I must admit, I 'filled up' as the tiny children sang to me.... Seeing their little faces looking at 'Santa' was amazing... I had 'revised' the night before and so was very confident when I could roll of the names of all 9 reindeer...

Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. Comet and Cupid and Dasher and Blitzen with Rudolf at the front. I had to blag it a bit when a smart 6 year old asked me how I would be able to deliver presents in his house without setting the burglar alarm... (Magic of course) and another asked me exactly how many presents I would be delivering to ALL the children in the World...

Answer being..

Four hundred and twenty Squillion, 9 hundred and 4 Trillion, 449 Million 678 thousand 9 hundred and thirty  6 was my answer....  WOW......... said the children, amazed that I should know the answer.

I had a truly wonderful day.... and only one child said to the teacher, "I know he's not the real Santa because he wasn't fat enough and I could see the elastic on his beard. He must have been one of Santas helpers. He was very good though"

Not fat enough eh? Good lad. I'll work on that over Christmas.... :-)

Here are a few Photo's which unfortunately are not the best I have. The good ones have lots children  with smiling faces which I am not allowed to publish on the internet.

 

Santa danced as the children sang. ;-) 

CHRISTMAS STUDIO CLEARANCE SALE

They always say that no matter how much space you have, you always manage to fill it.... I have heard that said about handbags, but it also applies to my new studio... As I am now 'full time' my work  output has increased. I am currently working on a major 'Woodland Light' project for next year and simply need the space to store new work.... SO it's time for a   studio clear out. 

I have I spent all morning hanging these paintings (and others) at Leabrooks Gallery in Somercotes, Derbys. 

There are over 40 Framed and unframed canvases from 8 inch square to 36 x 36 inches. 

All being sold at half price with many much less. Why not come along and snap up a xmas bargain. 

This is an offer that shouldn't be missed. 

Leabrooks Gallery is open every day (Closed Wednesdays)

Christmas Exhibition

Since becoming a full a time  artist. just over a year ago, my work output has obviously increased.. Unfortunately, the storage in my studio has not increased in size so THROUGHOUT DECEMBER  I'm having a major sort out by having a STUDIO CLEARANCE SALE at Leabrooks Gallery, Somercotes, Derbyshire. There is a good selection of both framed and unframed work... All of it has been reduced in price to give you the opportunity to either treat yourself or buy affordable Christmas presents for friends and family.

Leabrooks  Gallery is open every day but is closed all day Wednesdays.

Painting in the New Forest.

As I am currently producing a body of work with working title of 'If you Go Down to the Woods Today' I decided to make a return visit to the New Forest. Having been there for 4 days in June, I decided to go back to paint the Autumn. It seems that I probably went a month early... as most of the leaves are still green, with only the bracken showing real autumn colour. Unfortunately  most of the camp sites, if not closed already will be closed within the next two weeks ;-(

As I wasn't camping in Hollands Wood (it was closed) I decided to concentrate on Whitley Wood and spent all 5 days immersed in this amazing ancient wood, surrounded by Ponies, Deer and the occasional family of pigs...  by the end of the week, some of them had names... Tantric Ted, the Rutting Deer being one of them...

I was very pleased with how my work developed throughout the week. After the first two days I began to loosen up in an attempt to capture the atmosphere rather than being too representational. Lots of artistic licence in terms of colour to try and create an autumn feel to my work. The reason I was there.

Whiteley Woods

Only the bracken looking autumnal.

Love the Light in this photo

Studio for the day.

Snow White came to see me most days

Whitley Woodland Light

Tantric Ted kept me awake every night. He was a very noisy 'rutter'