Life Is A Walk In The Park

Bluebells covered the ground as far as the eye can see.

With two long-weekends of public holiday in the same month, May sees us shedding coats, scarves and comfy socks after this cold period of wintry snow, intermittent sunshine, and more rain in April than we've had for many years. Suddenly spring was sprung on us, just as we entered into summer time. Spring flowers like crocuses, daffodils and tulips, made brief appearances and gave way to hardy camellias, which arrived late this year, and the elegant magnolia lost their flowers to the rain.

The colourful azaleas and rhododendrons braved the cold to reassure us of summer just around the corner, and then maybe we can envisage wearing shorts and sleeveless tops, but not just yet, as the deceptive sun still has a wind chill factor too blustery for me to venture out without a windcheater.  On our terrace, we've lost a few non-hardy perennials to the snow, but the deeply planted bulbs and corms survived, to brighten our patio among the conifers, roses and climbers.

Delicate bluebells

We had a couple of sunny days this weekend, warm enough for us to explore a lavender field on the A36 going towards Salisbury. The season  is too early for this most fragrant of edible flowers, but their tearoom serves a delicious, aromatic lavender cake, home-made with ginger, chocolate or pecan nuts, which, in a sheltered part of their garden, gave us the best of British afternoon tea this year.

It really felt like summer for a couple of hours, but the sun's warmth soon dissipated, so we headed towards a bluebell field near Motisfont, which we had visited in previous years.  Alas, this year the bluebells seemed washed out by the rain. It was still a lovely walk, with the pale bluebells swaying beneath the trees.

Painted in 2007 for Southampton Art Society

On our return journey we came upon yellow fields planted with rape, a brilliant contrast against a light blue sky, divided by hedgerows and deep green trees.  Summer is truly round the corner!

I once painted a rape-field through a gate that is not far from here, but that field is still green this year, waiting for more sun to ripen into gold. It's true you can paint anything you see around you, so long as it brings you peace and tranquillity, and allows you time to relax and immerse in nature.

Tulips at Chelsea

The Chelsea Flower show in London, is celebrating its Centenary with excellent blooms, prize-winning garden designs and innovative ideas: turning wasteland into communal oasis of peace and calm; utilising exotic plants from the desert and the rainforest to build contrast and drama, healing powers of Teavolution's 65 herbal plants, as well as an Artisan Garden, a Homebase Garden for the Alzheimer's Society, there's even a Get Well Soon garden to improve mental and physical health. Great inspiration for all garden lovers.

This panda looks like a lot of fun, so I put a twig in its mouth and swung him up a bamboo above an autumnal background, calling it:  An Autumn Lookout, which was sold a few years ago, when I was a member of the Southampton Art Society. Alas, travel and retirement make it difficult to find enough time to be a member of more than one art club. As a member of The Romsey Art Group, we   meet once a month for professional demonstration and a day of Open-studio for members to paint together. I try to paint about three pictures for each of the two exhibitions held every year, with one or two extra exhibitions for special events.

As a member of the Society for All Artists, (SAA), I have the option of attending one of their Regional or London three-day seminar/workshop for beginners, improvers, as well as professional and amateur painters, with lots of art demonstrations and new product lines, to inspire and to interact, where we can learn new techniques or test new products.  More importantly, it's a platform to rub shoulders with artists and art teachers, who could help with new gadgets or any painting problems we encounter. We get six magazines a year, full of tips on painting in different media, competitions to enter in each issue and a chance to be voted the SAA Artist of the Year.

Pembrokeshire in Wales

This landscape was painted four years ago when my husband and I went to chill out in Wales, after his many operations on throat cancer with six weeks of radio-therapy.  It was a gruelling time for both of us, but he has since recovered fully and we are enjoying our retirement travelling, writing, painting and saturating our computers with lots of photographs.

I look forward to talking to you again in a couple of weeks' time, when I hope to publish a few portraits painted for past exhibitions.

Life's many Challenges

This is my new blogspot, created to showcase some of my paintings, many have been exhibited, but only a few sold and the majority are cluttering up my spare room.  I shall publish some of these a few at a time, before I de-clutter our home.

In my Life's Journey, see jeanlairomsey.blogspot.co.uk, I have come to  many crossroads, the decisions for which have brought me here today, to Southampton, and life is still evolving. Life is still full of challenges and the journey had been long but every bit as interesting.  Right now my head is just above water, in organising this Blog, learning along the way.  Google Blogger is really easy and full of creative tips and tricks and I am enjoying all the discovery so far.  Try it yourself, you might like it so much, you could get addicted like my husband Roy. See his site at http://itravelstories.blogspot.co.uk

As a member  of the Romsey Art Group (RAG) I entered three paintings  into this year's Spring Exhibition, at The Mountbatten Gallery in Lee, near Romsey, went on  refreshments duty last Saturday afternoon, and had a great time, chatting to people who stopped for a cuppa and a piece of cake.  During the week, I took a small group of our Spanish coffee morning to visit the gallery, and was told that one of my Penguin paintings had just been sold!  How exciting! My first sale through this Art Group, bought by the Mayor's wife, Dr. Tippet, for her daughter-in-law.  I hope she likes it, too.


I was so happy I kissed the messenger for this good tiding - he was a new member of our Art Group and didn't know how to react to my joy!

I painted this friendly tiger in 2011, which didn't sell at the RAG Autumn Exhibition, but our friend Keith Field bought it for his sister's birthday last year.  She was interested in wild animals, but I hope this is not too ferocious for her.

Life is definitely what you make of it, and at the moment it's fantastic!