This week my fluffy friends have turned their attention to their diets. A strict five-a-day regime has been adopted in an effort to keep them at their best. By this we mean five acres a day. Keeping the hills and meadows neat and trim takes a lot of effort and they have to munch constantly. I'm hoping this will get me the best presented farm for the third year running. There's no points for long grass, weeds or bunching up of livestock. When the judges arrive the animals need to be spread evenly over the fields. To make it a bit more attractive to the stock I've introduced some new varieties of grass. This has two benefits- a more varied diet and some more colours in my paintings. I must go now, before I get sectioned!
The exhibition at Harrison Lord in Brighouse has gone very well. The combination of great presentation and hard work has resulted in healthy sales of original pieces. I want to thank Steven Lord and his staff for their continued enthusiasm and support.
Following this, the next venue will be Priory Art in Tynemouth, commencing on Saturday 13th April. Jan Tandy will be taking delivery of a range of original pieces over the course of the next few days. In the meantime I need to be busy replacing work that has been purchased by those who have seen the work to date. It's really exciting that this work and my new 'icons' have proved to be popular with collectors. I cant wait to see what the future holds.
Well, the truth is I've been rather busy in my studio and it's given me time to think. Following my successful exhibition in Sheffield I have several more to follow. My peaceful country scenes are appearing in galleries across the UK. It's a good job really, as it seems we may be hearing the patter of tiny trotters soon. Following an 'eventful' visit from a very frisky boar we've got some happy sows busy knitting lots of booties. The sheep have been very curious given the strange squeals going on day and night seven days a week!
But there's more news. Life down on the farm has given me a taste for the village life. This has resulted in me producing some new pieces, a few of which I have put below. You may recognise a few familiar characters from my farms here.
Not being one to sit still though, I have also decide to introduce another style of work to my portfolio. This now resides in a sister blog-just tap on the link at the bottom of this week's post.
I have been hiding away recently to complete work for an exhibition at Heartbeat Gallery in Sheffield. The owners, Helen and Thanasis are making final preparations for a two month exhibition, starting on 2nd November.
This will be the largest collection of the work to date in one place and I am looking forward to it. There is more information on Heartbeat at www.heartbeatgallery.com
In the meantime I continue to develop the style, introducing new features and details. Here's some new pieces below.
At last! We have finally managed to coax our latest additions out of the pig hut. We enticed them out using a bucket of fresh food. Nothing else would work. These are our new saddle back pigs and they are an impressive bunch. The other animals didn't know what to make of them at first, but curiosity is getting the better of them. I love their big floppy ears. You never see their eyes as their noses are always on the ground, truffling.
As you've probably noticed by now all my animals are committed vegetarians. We've cultivated the highest quality grasses for our discerning little friends. This excellent diet has resulted in healthy animals with glossy coats and a pleasant nature. This makes it easy for me and my faithful sheep dog, with no arguments before bedtime. The other benefit is a landscape that looks like carpets of many shades. What a picture!
Golden rolling hills, winding narrow roads, quaint farm houses-typical sights in the countryside of Britain. It's just the way I like it. Autumn sunsets are unforgettable with their lengthening shadows and rusty colours. The livestock are making the most of the fresh grass and seasonal extras. Heavenly bliss!...
