Thanks to everyone who wished me luck. Special thanks to who came to the event and sat and waited for a long time. And very special thanks to His Royal Highness, His staff and the Newport and Gwent Enterprise team, who make such dreams come true.

As many had said, Prince Charles is a very pleasant person to talk to, putting everyone at their ease, and showing a genuine interest in everybody he meets. He seemed relaxed and unhurried, and I think he gave everyone at least five minutes of his time, if not more. Of course, that brief time feels like an eternity as he gradually approaches, meeting with others along the way - and it seems to be over in seconds when he actually speaks to you!

He showed quite a lot of interest in mask-making, and asked about the various techniques for producing the finishes on the masks. My Red Dragon caught his eye, and as he took a closer look, the press saw yet another photo opportunity, as this image on the BBC site shows:

Prince Charles And The Dragon

He is laughing in the photo because I had just suggested that he might like to try the mask on… He didn’t of course, but I think he might have been tempted for a second. Naturally, the press got all the prime camera angles, but I hope to get hold of a few more pictures soon.

All in all, it was a wonderful event that seemed to go without a hitch - a very successful day for everyone involved.

I’m being presented to HRH the Prince of Wales tomorrow!

This afternoon we spent a considerable amount of time preparing my display, and I am really pleased with the way it looks now. I think I am about ready.

Everything is in place, and it’s too late to panic now, so I’m having a nice quiet evening. Here’s the display:

The brilliant caricature of Sid James that you can see creeping in on the right is the work of local animator and artist Steve John, whose work is displayed on the next table.

I will update soon, hopefully with photos of the presentation.

Wish me luck!

xx

Official announcements are up, so now I can talk about that rather exclusive presentation that I’ve been invited to take part in:

The Prince of Wales, President, PRIME-Cymru, will visit the Taste of Enterprise Centre at the Victorian Indoor Market, meet Newport and Gwent Enterprise and PRIME-Cymru clients and view displays of their work, Victorian Indoor Market, Newport.

So there it is, straight from the Royal diary. I am one of the invited artists involved in Taste of Enterprise who will be presented to the Prince of Wales, in just under a fortnight’s time…

…and I’m a little bit excited, and a little bit scared now.

~bounce~

I haven’t put any new Art Cards up for sale this week, as I am going away at the end of the week, and would not be here when the auctions close. I do have some really interesting ideas to explore for new pictures, so check back soon! I intend to start work on sketching out those ideas this week.

So I’m off to sunny Cornwall from the 22nd to the 29th! Talk to you when I get back!

~waves~

p.s. Happy Talk like a Pirate day! Arrrr. Avast behind!

I have put one more card up today.

Click on the link to be taken to the auction.

Thanks for looking!

Today I joined EBSQ. I’m impressed so far with the facilities offered to artists who sell online, and it will be interested to see if my auctions show an increase in the number of visits as a result.

I also put a couple more ACEO’s up on eBay:

Click on the picture and you will be taken to the auction….

Thanks for looking!

I’ve been out of action for a while, having broken my shoulder six weeks ago. It has been very frustrating not being able to work. Isn’t it typical that when I cannot physically do anything, I get my best ideas for paintings? I’ve made a list that should keep me busy for a while.

I’m just getting to the stage where I am able to start painting and creating once again. Here’s my latest ACEO - just over one day to go on this one:

Click on the picture to go to the auction, and thanks for looking!

Welcome to my blog!

I hope to use this space to keep you up to date with my current projects and work in progress. In doing so, I hope to inspire the creative amongst you, and turn this into a forum for exploring new ideas. Over time this will hopefully become an interesting archive of my creative process. I would like to look back on this in a year or so’s time and follow my development as an artist.
I’m quite looking forward to the journey.

Helen.