Jessie Lilac Blog

There's a good reason for my quietness here over the past couple of weeks. So much has been happening, I don't know where to start! I'll begin with last week, when I was immersed in a new illustration project. It involved drawing men. Now those of you who are familiar with my paintings will know that this is a rare thing indeed and at first it felt quite a challenge to me. I've done a lot of life drawing in the past so when I started to draw a man's form instead of my usual lady ones, my memories of life drawing came flooding back to help me. They're almost finished but sometimes work has to stop while life events take over doesn't it? Two BIG events took over the beginning of this week. On Monday, Youngest Son had his graduation ceremony at Birmingham University. He's a primary teacher now, working in Devon. Tuesday saw the birth of Ruby Rose, Middle Son's new baby daughter. It was a bumpy journey into the world for...

Doodling in my sketchbook I kept to a restrained palette of purple and lime green with my two ladies. Which one do you like the best? :) I'm having to relearn how to scan my pictures because I'm using my new laptop and trying to get used to the programmes on it. Apparently on my old one (that died unexpectedly one day,) I was using an 11 year old programme, Microsoft Office Picture Manager which I could do almost blindfolded! This new laptop doesn't have it but at least I've worked out how to make them smaller so they don't cover your entire computer screen. ;) And some good news, I have a clever son who rescued my old hard-drive from the abyss and I have all my pictures back again,  hooray!

I like to paint intuitively and leave the interpretation open to the viewer.  Quite often, I don't know what they're about myself until a while after they're finished, a bit like dreams.  The best way to describe it is that they spring from a place inside my mind in the same way that dreams come from the subconscious and I become just the bystander watching it happen. Now having said that, the last two pictures you've seen here were purposefully made to look happy. I've had some major life issues to deal with lately and felt the need to see bright cheery colours, smily girls and sunshine. I can do that.

Thankyou for your comments, it really is lovely to see flowers again isn't it? I didn't realise how much I missed their colour until they started sprouting forth again! With colourful blooms still on my mind, here's my picture for this week's Illustration Friday. 'Yield'. **UPDATE** This painting is now available as a print!  CLICK HERE  to see the details. :) Why did I draw a teapot? I'll explain why that was on my mind. The other day I bought a packet of loose tea by accident, thinking it was teabags. I have a few teapots on the shelf in my kitchen (There's something about them I love, maybe it's their shape, so round?) but they very rarely get to be used. I don't like to waste things so I've been making proper tea in a proper teapot just like I used to in the olden days. Being the only tea drinker in the house it does feel like a great big faff and life is too short and.... I think I'll go back to tea bags next time! ...

I had the idea for this illustration after I came across an old photo of my children playing on the beach. My daughter (in the white top) was making a fish design out of shells. She's always loved fish and has carried on this interest to this day, now working in an aquarium in Cornwall!

Feel the love, this Valentine's Day :o) ˙·٠•● ♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥ ●•٠·˙   ♥  ˙·٠•● ♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥ ●•٠·˙

I'd love to learn how to play a harp but they probably cost lots of money and I do love guitar music so I'll stick with that I think.

When you think that you know what your fears are and then it takes someone else to point out it could in fact be something else, you have to reconsider quite a lot about yourself don't you? That was quite a powerful full moon we've just had wasn't it. It was enormous! This little sketch was an experiment in drawing a face in an 'animae' style. I love those blue eyes, like a blue watery ocean.

Stream of Consciousness As I painted I let the picture tell me what to do. I pour myself onto the page and wait until tomorrow for the answer.

(click for bigger) Melody Beattie wrote "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Insanity is feeling like we can't choose, or can't choose anything but the one thing that doesn't work." My own definition is having totally lost control of your own  thoughts. Do you have  your own  definition?

First of all let me show you my illustration for this week. 'Twirl' for Illustration Friday . **** Look what arrived in my letterbox this morning. My parcel from Micki has arrived! Micki Wilde from the Secret Hermit has been running an art swap this month and today her painting arrived at my house! Do you remember last week I told you about the one I was working on to send to her? I hope she likes it. I love hers! Around the edge of the painting it says, 'She had a deep desire to unleash her imagination for the all the world to see.' Thankyou Micki, I am now the happy owner of 2 of your lovely paintings! :)) The one on the left I bought myself for a treat a few weeks ago. It's called 'Fly Free' . Two lovely ladies to watch me as I paint! :)

Awareness is a choice. I'm still enjoying a more subdued pallette of colours (for me.) I did limit this to two but I think another one wanted to get in on the act, must be a couple of accidental splashes of paint from an earlier drawing. The little splash peeping from behind the tree looks like a pink heart doesn't it?! I wish I'd noticed it before, I could have put a sweet little face on it.