This archived blog can now be viewed in my Main Website, with sketches also shown separately in http://www.jackiesherwood.com/web/sketchbook/

This year is racing by so quickly. It was my intention to let this Art Blog lapse as I will soon have an 'all encompassing' blog as part of my new website, but as things often happen, and cans of worms have been opened, this will be a little longer in the making!  So I'll endeavour to keep this going for a while yet, just to keep you all up to date with the creative things happening in my life right now.....

There has been plenty of painting happening here, well, more like the finishing off of various paintings - at last count I found I had 45 still in the making!  I'm working on finishing at least one each week, but of course, summer has arrived, and that's bound to interfere a little.

I have still been sketching with Gill's On Location group, and here's a little taste of what's been eventuating from these great sessions.  We visit lots of lovely local areas, some near the water and others up in the hills.

As you can see, there have been a few harbourside visits just lately, as well as the beautiful Methoni Castle, and Koroni Monastery.

Its frightening that I last wrote in this blog back in January - the beginning of 2013, and here we are already midway through April.  Its been a very busy few months, with little creativity happening, but we have been in Sydney, Townsville, Port Douglas, and I'm now in New Zealand, whilst Peter is in Los Angeles, so the lack of artworks is to be expected. All going well we will meet up in Southern France later this week!

I did organise our wedding whilst in Sydney, so in some respects that could be called a creative endeavour  (couldn't it?!) - photos will appear soon.  Meanwhile a teensy bit of sketching happened when I first arrived up here in Mahurangi West, north of Auckland.  Should be in France on Thursday, so will see what I can manage from there!

2013 has got off to a rapid start, and whilst I'm still coming to grips with it, I felt the need to have a rerun through 2012.  Take a peek on my main blogsite .......
http://jackiesinfrance.blogspot.gr/2012/12/where-did-2012-go-year-in-retrospect.html

Wishing you and your families a safe and wonderful Christmas and New Year.  Stay tuned for my 'Creative' round up of 2012......

2012 has disappeared in a fog of Italian cities, French villages and Greek tavernas, with yet another trip to Barcelona and France upon us this week  - visa things to sort out!  

To follow us on some of our travels, visit my main blog at www.jackiesinfrance.blogspot.com.

I have so many beautiful photos to work through and put online........a small sample below...

And plenty of sketches to add too - yes, they have actually been happening, but slowly;   some locally......

and others, working on completing my travel sketchbook from earlier in the year.

AND I've even donned a 'teaching' hat in conjunction with my friend and fellow artist, Gill........ check out the link! http://artistswindow.com/new/2012/12/acrylic-paintingweek-four/

Last but not least, my Art Weekly has been coming along rather nicely, and regularly,  as well.

I look forward to getting back into the painting, sketching and collage big time over the Xmas period and throughout January.

We've been visiting some beautiful spots......

Not only have I now managed to get the paintbrushes flying (and lots of sticky glueing stuff), but I'm also joining in with my sketching buddy Gill's On Location Sketching each week.  Its great fun with a group of like-minded sketchers of all sorts of backgrounds and abilities. Its also a wonderful way to explore lots of new places around the Koroni area - once you venture away from the water (which I tend not to do too much of!).  There are some very large hills up behind us here, with plenty of lovely little 'authentic' villages tucked away ...... some with donkeys, goats and the lot!

Gill puts up a blog each week showing many of the day's sketches http://artistswindow.com/new/blog/

At last I''m back into the painting again, plus sketching, plus playing around with various printmaking techniques in Gill's studio. I'm not quite sure which to tackle first, and then of course, there're my weekly paintings to get done each week, and there has been a definite lull in them over the summer.

Gill and I chose 'pots' for our first challenge, and I had fun with various backgrounds in collage. They're on small canvasses  - I kept them fairly simple and am pleased with the result.

I'm also working on a couple of collages using various printing techniques - so far so good, but a long way to go yet.

Yes, it has been a while since my last post, apart from my previous bid to get organised post - but that's the downside of travelling I guess. Once we return home too after such a long stint away, its always a little hard to get back into the swing of things.

Whilst we were on the road though, I did manage to keep up a sketch journal, which I am currently finishing. It is hard to sketch and be sociable at the same time, and I do have some blank pages to fill, but I'm working on it!  A small sample of some sketches below....

Part of my time away was my special Art Retreat on the lovely Greek island of Skiathos.  Here, I did actually 'work' very hard, along with cooling off in the pool, and spending time eating and chatting with Yvonne.  The two of us painted very harmoniously in her studio, and I managed to complete quite a few small paintings, with other larger ones underway. It was wonderful to actually paint with someone again after all these years, and surprisingly, we were quiet most of the time too! 

Now its time to buckle under and work on getting my portfolio updated with lots of new paintings.......