Jessie Lilac Blog

This is the last of my posts for 2011 and the word this week is ' Highlight' . My youngest daughter saw me drawing this and asked me why I had to draw 'creepy' pictures. It's not creepy is it?? It wasn't my intention! I've had many highlights this year but if I'm to recall the highest highlights of this year it would be moments when I've felt love.  ♥ Because love is the most important thing of all. :) ♥ I'm off to celebrate my birthday and I'll be back soon with my new year's resolutions. See you then! Jess xox

I feel a bit like the girl in my picture, semi-reclining! It's been a mad whirl of visitors and lots of sleep-inducing food. My birthday's in a few days too so this time of year feels particularly indulgent to me. (I could never do moderation anyway!) I hope you're all having a nice christmas week where ever you are. :) 

I've finished the last of the christmas shopping, my cold is slowly getting better, more visitors arrive tomorrow and everything is now ready for christmas 2011. Thankyou to each one of you for your support and lovely messages. :) This blogging world is truly like no other and has changed all sorts of aspects of my life. It's helped my artwork become closer to how I want it to be, (even though I feel I still have a long way to go!) It's opened my eyes to different ways of communication between artists and friends. But best of all it's introduced me to amazing and wonderful people such as yourself!  I'm off now to open some treats.... I wish each of you a v e r y h a p p y christmas filled with l o t s o f f u n ! : o ) See you very soon! Jess xoxoxox

I'm in the depths of a cold right now but surrounding myself with collage, colour, and ladies with their birds. Can't be bad can it? ;o) I'm having a cosy day. The sort of day when I stumble upon the selection of children's christmas story books that have accumulated over the years. They've brought magic to my children's christmasses and will perhaps be passed on to the next generation. Or maybe I'll just want to keep them for myself!

My fairy on top the christmas tree from the post below was having trouble flying and was sinking into the tree. It was my fault, How can I have forgotten to give her wings?! She's looking a whole lot happier about things now. And talking of happy, I am so happy  (yAy!) to be chosen by Allison Marie   to be included in her beautiful treasury 'Colour Frenzy'! (click HERE  to take you to see it.) I'd do a screenshot of the web page but my computer doesn't have that option in the drop down menu. Does anyone have an idea how I might do it another way? Answers gratefully received! :)

My youngest son with his little niece Lexie, before the pantomime. It's that time of year, pantomines, decorations, christmas trees.  This week's Illustration Friday is the word 'sink'.   The christmas fairy on top of the tree started to sink....   oh dear! !

My illustration for this week is in watercolour but after seeing my girls cutting up magazines at the weekend I thought I'd like a go too, so here I've combined a watercolour painting with a little bit of collage! Talking of 'my girls'and 'separation' (not for long though, going to see them soon!) my eldest sent me this picture of her with her own little girl getting ready for christmas. A little angel, just like the one below. Not really. (!)

I have my middle daughter from Cornwall staying this weekend and together with my youngest, they made paper chains for christmas. This has turned into an annual tradition! They ran out of coloured paper so I gave them some colourful glossy pages from magazines to use.. Actually better I think. :) Her carpet is a luscious red and I had reservations about it when she first chose it but I lOVe it and it's such a christmassy colour isn't it? Hmm..youngest not keen on having her picture taken! She said I can put these pictures on my blog but not Facebook... ;o) ....I didn't! (in case you were wondering!) ~~~~~~~~ I've been working on some new paintings.  I had a blissful time getting my watercolours out again. I love loading the brush with the washy colour and watching the paint as it travels across the paper, so satisfying! I don't think I have a favourite medium as such, I seem to go through phases and I've tried just about every medium you...

This is my granddaughter Maisy. She has a very big smile just like her mother did when she was a baby! This is taken in my daughter's flat but they're coming to stay for christmas and I'm looking forward to that. This will be Maisy's first ever christmas and I'm so  pleased she's going to be here! I managed to get out for a quick walk at the weekend for some much needed tree therapy. I love trees, whatever time of year. They look like two people holding on to eachother don't they?

I want to show you my christmas cards I've designed for this year. I'm offering them for sale to you on Etsy . Each card is individually finished by me with shiny silver! They come in a set of 4, each with their own envelope, wrapped with a pretty ribbon and measure approx 15 x 11 cm (approx. 6 x 4 ins.) I'd like the photos to be clearer to show you but my youngest is going to a Jedward concert tonight and took my camera! I hope the pictures I took on my humble phone show you enough of the colours and detailing! Inside each card says....  Merry Christmas! Thankyou for your kind comments. I realise this is a difficult time of year for lots of people, so much to do and when life's problems rear their heads it makes the whole mix a little tricky. I'd also like to say  Welcome to my new followers!  I'm so happy you pressed my 'follow' button, I hope you enjoy your visits. :o)

Each day has good and bad, easy and difficult but yesterday it weighed more on the difficult side. I played  in my art journal and that always makes me feel a bit better. This page had a lot of wrting underneath the things you see here. I write out things that are worrying me and read them back to myself later in the day to get some kind of perspective. Once I've done that, I half obliterate the words with doodles and collage until I feel the page doesn't need me any more. Today is a new day. The worrying things of yesterday and today will dim in time when other things step to the forefront because life is forever changing.