You can't be part of the beach with your shoes on!

As a would-be (by origin, not location UNFORTUNATELY) beach babe, toes-in-sand scruncher, and all round vagabond, imagine my joy when I stumbled on this colourful book :

Inspiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired was I. Am still going through a yellow phase which I have subsequently put down to withdrawal symptoms: it has now been 5  months since I have had the pleasure of glimpsing, let alone scrunching, a single grain of golden sand. This means I have to resort to using a pumice stone in the shower… not quite the same joy ;-)

Anyhoooooo! Tis my Mama's birthday and she sort of subtly (like a sledgehammer) dropped the hint last time I was home, that her walls could do with a piece of my work. Alors, drumroll please! VOILA! Ze Masterpiece ;-)

In case you were wondering, which you may not have been, it is surprisingly delicate trying to dance a metal nib across a discarded roof plank, which is why I often use brushes instead. Roof planks are ornery things - having spent most of their life NOT being part of the beach - and highly resistant to being danced across with a metal nib (known in France as a 'plume'). Even if said nib is gaily dressed in shades of yellow. Sadly, I have been subject to a mutiny. My brushes are all ganging up on me at once, sporting punk hair cuts and brandishing rebel attitudes, supposedly due to my recent neglect. What then is an artist to do, but go back to square one?

Ah oui! Patience is definitely a virtue when one is wrestling with unbending 'plumes' and unforgiveably ornery wood. Of course, if your 'plume' has a distinct penchant for blue, then you oblige and drape her in turquoise. Only then will she really dance… like sea water sliding across the sand ...

Happy birthday Mama! Dutiful daughter now recommends that you remove your shoes and become part of the beach as you wait for your parcel to arrive :)

Thanks to all of you lovely people who commented for letting me know that my last post did indeed inspire you and make you smile. I can take off to Wales secure in the knowledge that you are smiling and well. Did I say 'take off to Wales.' Bugger! I knew there was a story I still hadn't told ;-)

See you in 10 days. I don't know if driving over the Severn River counts as glimpsing the sea… but it's as close as I'm going to get for now.

Much love
xxx

P.S.

I've put a few more photos of recent work HERE on my Facebook Page (click on the link for those of you who didn't know I had one!!) so if you want to check them out, don't forget to stop by and 'like' my page. It'd really make me smile too.