My Home

It may be dated with clashing carpets and wallpaper....the kitchen may be a little ermmm....80's, the bathroom with its peachy coloured suite but you know what, its my home and its what you make of it right?  Which is why i've posted a selection of photos of my favourite things.





A little corner in my 80's living room with my fab iMac (which i love love love).  The desk was secondhand but with an old embroidered cloth gave it a very vintage feel.  My chair which is a typical red office swivel chair covered in a throw with a little pillow saying 'love is a flower that never fades, it buds in youth and blooms with age'.




My bedroom, picture frame with my nan and grandad on their wedding day and a few bedtime reading books.






A table which i covered in decorative paper and coasters which i painted years ago....fake roses which i bought for 25p per bunch in a lovely creamy jug.  This lives in a little corner of the conservatory.




The 50's/60's fireplace....soo so dated but with a little love and tarting up actually looks quite quirky.











And the dining room table as it is today....little 70's doily things bought from ebay and a few fake flowers.  A vintage tea cup with a tea light living inside.





I love my little home...it might not be up to date and full of brand new things, but surely its about how you dress things yes?  I love pretty things which is why i cannot get rid of anything.  I've battled against this for a long time, but you know what?  It's ok...instead of being thrown away my things just hibernate for a while until its time for them to come out again :).

Considering i had to rebuild my home and life all those years ago...i don't think its all that bad!

Social Networking and Marketing my work!

Everywhere i read, tweet, fb, promote promote promote!  I have had a blog now for 3 years and posted on a regular basis.  I have re-tweeked it, made it look prettier, posted about all sorts of things.  I tweet about my blog, my etsy shop.  I update my FB page with new work, new posts etc etc.  I have tried many many different tacts to no avail.  By rule of thumb all of this social networking i have been doing should have got me more views and possibly more sales by now....but no!

Does this mean my work is just not buyable?  Or am i just not 'networking' hard enough.

Twitter.....i find this a very lonely social networking site.  Most of you will probably be screaming at the monitor 'no way'.  But seriously, it is.  Half the time i stare at it not quite knowing what to say, therefore i plug my blog, shop etc....well isn't that just spamming?  and doesn't that wind people up?

FB......getting people to actually 'like' your page is half the battle....100 and something fans later and it still doesn't seem to work for me. 

Blog.....as i said, i update and update.  I visit other blogs and comment.  Yet comments on my page are few and far between and most of my followers probably don't even come back for a second read. 

Etsy.....well....i have seen some real rubbish on there.  Hair accessories that a 3 year old could throw together (no offence etsy people and i'm bound to now get many followers desert me) but its true!  I spend hours re-inventing myself as an 'artist', trying to paint for my audience.  It's hard....again sales are few. 

As a 'shy artist type' i am not confident with my work and it took lots of years and courage to actually show it....what is the answer? 

I guess now this is the bit where i show a new painting and link it into my post

'It's ok to wear your heart on your sleeve'

Yes, i guess that kinda works :)

Monday morning blues

 Woah there weekend!  Why do you move so fast!  All of a sudden you just creep up and then go as quickly as you arrived! 

It's monday morning blues for me today.  Back in the office, confined in a space where i can't breath, be me, be happy.  Four walls trapping me from the outside world!  There is so much i want to do and so little time.

Life DOES move too quickly

Print and original available in my shop

Painting available in my little old shope

Never stop believing in yourself!  No one else will if you don't!  I only wish i could believe those words every single day.



 

Stupid ideas!

I get these stupid thoughts and ideas in my head that i just have to execute right here right now!  Then i regret them.  I woke up thinking about my art room and how i want it to look.  Kinda like this

or even like this..........

i thought with a little tweaking, painting, tarting up i may even get it like this.......

but no!  I get this!!!  just a big mess.  My desk has fallen apart.  There are materials scattered over the floor and i know i just gotta get my butt in gear and get it finished.  But i've now lost the will to live.  Will i ever get the room i so want?  lol.

Paper 53

At last!

It's here!

The iPad app that i have soooooo been wanting and needing.  I have to say it is the best best bestest sketching/writing app that i have ever seen!  My next purchase is a long awaited stylus so that i can really use it as a sketch book, scribble down ideas etc.  At the moment i'm drawing with my finger, which is interesting and really gives a whole new meaning of finger painting!  Who would have thought eh?

Go see it!!  

I can sit in front of the tv with just one little gadget.  No pens, paper, paint to clutter the place, just one small amazing gadget.  I love my iPad :)  I love this new app!

The effects are realistic (colours could be better) but its like painting with water colour.

and can even manipulate it in photoshop!

I  A M  I N  L O V E

The most scrummy purse ever

Isn't this just the scrummiest!  I love the colours, the flowers, the material, size and most of all that its mine and came all the way from down under :).  Love love love.  Can't wait to start using it!

On reflection

I so wish that when i was younger i could have made a decision on my future career.  Instead i plodded along from one thing to another maybe never really finding my true vocation in life.  

Fashion illustration has always been high on my 'things i'd love to do' list, yet now its too late.  I remember watching a programme in the 80's called Gems - about fashion designers - and oh my how i loved it and wanted to be in that industry......if only.

Thats why i guess my style is pretty much all over the place.  People, figures, faces are never far from my paint brush.








On reflection.....that famous saying..... 'Youth is wasted on the young'

Pallet

Thought i'd pick out the colours of this painting as i love them so much....nice to see them as a flat colour....what a lovely pallet of colour!  Will be using those again.

A Little Housekeeping

Bear with me while i rearrange my blog and life!  I'm archiving thoughts, stuff, memories, clearing out in m y head and home.

The first day of the rest of my life......

A little re-jiggling here and there and hopefully all will be well again

Inspiration at it's best

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Painting painting painting

Its what i do!  What i love to do.  I only wish i could spend more time doing what i love.  

Did you know you can follow me on instagram?  i'm caralara.  And also in pinterest...addictive little blighters :)  Happy Sunday

It's all about love init!

Newbie! Creating is love init?



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A creative weekend

So much for spring coming.  Last week i was out in the garden thinking it was time to start getting it into some kind of order, this weekend on the other hand....brrrrrrrrr!!  So i took to my spare room and painted my blues away.

Reach for the Sky...you know why?  cos we can all do it!  we can all have those dreams (within reason of course).  Red shoes for kick your heals 3 times.....all dreams can come true!

It's ok to wear your heart on your sleeve.....yes it really is.  Why be a closed book when there are people out there willing and wanting to hear you.  I know now i must steer clear of those that bring me down and discourage me.

And this one?  Well...it was just for fun and really quite pretty :)  Nothing wrong with a bit of pretty sometimes eh?

 

Love on the Rocks

I took this photo whilst visiting Surfers Paradise.  I loved what i caught.  Instantly i thought 'Love on the Rocks'

A whole month in feet

It wasn't my intention to take so many feet shots!  But i did....and above is part of my month in feet!  Maybe i wanted to snap my feet on overseas ground or just simply monitor my whole baking/tanning process (ok so thats not good for my skin but we all love a tan).

Then it got me thinking, how many feet are there from the UK to Australia.  Google says = 45 423 840!  Whoah there...thats a hell of a lot of feet :)


x

australia collage

 





 





 
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My vegetarian take on stroganoff

Butter

Onions

2 cloves of garlic

Mushrooms

Courgettes

Salt

Pepper

Half tin toms

Cream

Cook time.........20 mins


SIMPLES

Surprising what can be done with things going out of date.

Tastes scrummy too!





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Footprints in the sand

Nothing to really say about these, apart from.....ahhhhhh 

Crystal Castle NSW

I visited here whilst on my travels and what a spiritual place it was.  Situated in hills, in the sun in New South Wales.  Loved!  So much i can't tell you. 


Above is a pic of my mum walking her troubles away around 'The Labyrinth'.  It was a quiet spirtitual place, a place to ask questions - a place to seek answers.  On completion of the walk, mum actually got very emotional and declared that she felt she'd been given answers to her questions.  Whether the labyrinth itself gave the answer or the pure concentration of the walk, we shall never know!



Another photo of the beautiful gardens.  I had my Aura read...wow....i was all orange and yellows and reds!  Apparantly my heart is open.  I'll updated you with all my aura findings some other time.  A fantastic spiritual place in the wonderful Australia.

Sitting on the beach watching the waves and the aqua blue sea, surrounded in shells, my heart was full of happiness and gratefulness that i was able to be sitting on the otherside of the world, in a country i never thought i would see.  So i made my shell heart.