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Forget the whiskery goats and head for the red

Where to start? I should be writing half a dozen blog posts, not just the one! So much has happened this week and its only half past Wednesday….

Well, from the beginning, since that’s a very good place to start (why have I got Julie Andrews in my head for that one? Is that a line of lyric from The sound of music? that well known German film featuring naughty nuns, men in jack boots, and some smiling goats?). Anyway, I digress…..

At the weekend, which seems so long ago in this moment in time, I had some excellent feedback from the pictures I’ve recently hung at Eureka in Kent. The most popular piece being the black and white drawing, with a small amount of vibrant red in it of an erotically charged woman referred to as  “Hot and bothered”. It still amazes me how much people really really love those simple but extremely effective pictures I do in white conte pencil on black card, with some red pastel picking out the sensual detail of the lingerie. They always get a great response, which is fabulously wonderful feedback!

On Monday, I had three unexpected phone calls, and I’ll tell you about each of them in all their variations, cos I know you’re interested…

We’ll start with the one from my cousin, who’s just turned 50th (am I allowed to say that? Well, I’ve not mentioned her name, so it doesn’t matter if she’s keeping it secret!). She’s one of my favourite cousins, and one who’s company I always enjoy, and who I could talk to for hours because she’s always funny, amusing, informative, interested, interesting, and extremely feisty with it.  Due to ill health I wasn’t able to attend her recent party but sent on the present I had got for her, pretty sure that it was the perfect gift for her. And boy was I right! I remembered a few years ago she had commented on how much she liked my “Cool regard” painting of a tiger’s head, and since I had recently started doing Limited Edition prints of it, I knew that she would be interested in having one, and since I had JUST started selling the prints, the very first one was available, so it was with the greatest of pleasure that that was the very one, number one, that I gave to her. And sat back, pleased with myself for the thoughtful gift I had sent. Not expecting, at all, the  response I would get to it. She emailed me first, and it took me a bit aback as I read it…

Thank you SO much for the tiger print, it was incredibly generous of you, and I can’t believe that you remembered that this was the print that I loved so much. And no 1!!!!!! Wow. I tried ringing you tonight because I think that picture deserved a phone call and not an email. Speak soon, and thanks again, to say I was pleased was an understatement.

 Wow, she didn’t just like it, she LOVED it! Aw, I’m sooo pleased! When we spoke on the phone on Monday I could HEAR the happiness in her voice, as she excitedly told me she wanted to get a really lovely frame for it, and hang it in her lounge so that she could see it all the time, the fact she’d shown it to her friends and told them all about it. Her joy at the enjoyment of it was a delight to hear! And I came off the phone with a big grin on my face. Aw! Success!!!! YAY!

(And whilst I’m on this subject, although some of the prints have sold already, there are still a few “Number Ones” left, if you want to be the proud owner of the first ONE of my Limited Edition prints. )

 The second phone call was from Ireland. From a guy I’d never heard of, who loves my erotic art and is offering to fly over to come and pose for me, should I consider starting doing life-drawing-with-an-erotic-twist drawing classes. It’s something I have been thinking about for some time but not been able to put into practice yet.  So, if you’re reading this, and are gently or incredibly interested in it, let me know, because I’m still thinking about the logistics, venues, pricing, advertising, and set up of it and whatever response I get to it, might alter my decisions about where to hold it, and how to run it.

The third phone call, which was actually the first one in the order of the day, was the most enlightening, and the longest of the conversations that afternoon. And was from the woman I’d met at Eureka the other week when I was there taking my paintings to hang, and she was doing her sales pitch to the under manager there and I’d heard snippets of it so as she was packing her stuff away, I went over to introduce myself and have a chat. I liked her that day, and liked her professional forthright manner and ease of character. She seemed like me in a lot of ways. So to hear from her out of the blue on the phone was great, it was one of those conversations I sometimes have, when you’re not quite sure the purpose of the start of it, but by the end you’re firmly connected, and offering help and advice to each other as you know it will be acted upon and useful. And she must have enjoyed it as much as me as it went on for an hour and twenty minutes! I was amazed how the time had flew whilst we’d been on the phone! Her business is Erolife, which is an online meeting place for people and businesses in the erotic world. She has recently been to promote her business at the Erotica show in Olympia, London, that I exhibited at a couple of years running, and we have a few similar contacts in this sometimes clandestine but small world we work in. I’m just as happy making my living painting landscapes or pet portraits but I do love doing erotic art, as its such good fun. And having the chance to advertise my art on her site is a wonderful opportunity. She also wants to do a magazine article about me on the site in the new year which I’d be delighted to participate in. She also gave me a lead into the possibility of finding another new venue for me, and I’ve given her one which she was most intrigued in! The networking is working already!

So, that was Monday! A blur of intense and interesting phone calls. Oh, no it wasn’t! I’ve just remembered, there was another call, a fourth one. I told you it was a busy day! I’d forgotten, I also had a call from my friend Stuart who wants me to paint a picture of him that he wants me to be *proud of*. Now, bearing in mind I’m proud of all the paintings I’ve done, that is an interesting request, and one that needs deeper thought than normal. And, boy, am I a deep thinker, I’ve been told that enough times by those who know me well! He wants a painting done of him, well that’s simple enough. But, its the essence of what needs to be put in it that’s the important thing. I’ve batted back the thought to him – “What is it that you want in the picture WITH you, that makes it you?” – I said it might be just of him reading a book, or writing, since those are things that he does a lot of. It will no doubt contain humour since that is a large part of who Stuart is, he loves plays on words, he loves the cleverness of the English language, and the saucy innuendo that it can imply in such subtle ways. He is also a huge cricket fan, and also a fan of a number of other things, any of which, or, all of which, could be put in the painting to portray the man he is. So, when we sit down, having a chin wag over it, it will be discussed, a brain storming session I suppose, that will bring forth some great ideas, I know already, as between us we can produce some great ideas, and some saucy comments. Which will lead onto some great art, something that I can be proud of. And him, as well, of course! 🙂

Tuesday had one long and  intense call too, of a more personal nature, one that I don’t want to discuss here. Suffice to say I was glad to help a dear friend in need, even if the most I could do was listen and offer whatever verbal support I could. And send love to her.

And now we’re on today, and my hairdresser was asking what work I’ve got on at the moment, and what I’m up to. I haven’t got any urgent artwork to complete, I told her,  although I have three *on the go* which will get completed when Christmas is out of the way and I can concentrate on them properly. I like to paint a picture when I have the full momentum for it, and can pour all my passion and skill into it, thinking as I paint, adding the bits of things that make it more deeply emotional and technically interesting. And then after she’d gone I had an unexpected email from a guy I met earlier this year who is interested in purchasing a Limited edition print from me, as a gift for someone.  This is why I did these prints, for the affordable enjoyment of my art. Because I know it makes people happy, because they tell me so.