Gifts for friends are probably one of the hardest things to paint. Instead of just getting in the zone, you dont seem to relax into the painting, because, it has to be special. Instead of just evolving on the paper, this piece has taken weeks to finish. Every time I came back to do some more on it, The more I saw. I laboured over this painting, and therefore doesn't have the flow that I imagined it would have. I will hand this piece over tomorrow, and watch my friends face, hoping upon hoping that I have captured her family as she sees them.
After speaking with my friend and mentor this arvo, I have decided to focus on what I do best instead of trying to be all things to different people. Lots of people can paint portraits and landscape, but not everyone does my whimsical look on life.
So from now on, I will be concentrating on being true to myself, just painting one style and giving it 100%.

I went to the opening night of the strathdon art show on Friday night, and met my friend Linda,( from art class) there. We had a great time walking around wine in hand critiqueing, as you do! An elderly lady was ushering an older gentleman who was assisted by a walking frame up the aisle we were in. "hurry Bob, you have to see it, its called the dinner gong or something , it is so wonderful bob, you just have to see it. !" He then protested that he was hurrying, and I watched them join a group of about 6 or 7 others, they were all huddled around my painting _ The dinner bell_.
They were laughing and identifying and pointing, and then they all declared that it had their vote.
Fast forward onto sunday, when I went to pick up my artwork, only 3 were available, and then the news. The dinner bell had sold. Story goes, one of the residents of strathdon retirement home, had said that it just made her so happy to look at it, that she would buy it and donate it to the home so they could hang it in the cafeteria, for all to enjoy. My heart was singing. My peice was going where it belonged, and it was doing what I hoped for as I created it, it made people happy.
Later on, as I was celebrating with a glass of champers, I had a call from the art committee to say that, votes had been counted, and I had WON the peoples choice award . That is better in my eyes really, than winning best painting, as that is the subjective view of one judge, this award, is the publics vote. YaY !