sea blue sky abstracts

Going away for a few days in the UK, in March, can be a bit of a gamble weatherwise - torrential rain, high winds, snow, hail - any or all, are a real possibility. How lucky was I, then that dry weather prevailed for almost all of my 7 days away? First stop was picturesque West Wycombe. Just 30 or so miles outside London, this pretty historic village lies in lovely open countryside just a short distance from High Wycombe. Walking on a bright, beautiful morning, we turned into Church Lane and continued to Church Hill - out in the open and enjoying wonderful views. Through old woods of Yew, Holly, Oak and Beech. Until we reached, right at the top, St Lawrence's Parish Church. (Sorry there's no photograph of this impressive building). The modest car park was chock full of trailers - very unusual according to my friend Sarah - and there was also a very big crane and lights. The whole area was being turned into a set, ready for filming - but what? Down below again, temporary ro

'Rough Sea' 17 x 12.5 cm. SOLD 'Rose' 17 x 8 cm 'Reflective Sea' 17 x 13.5 cm. SOLD 'Flood Tide' 24.5 x 17 cm. SOLD 'Island Sea' 13 x 11.5 cm. SOLD 'Hot Seaside' 20 x 13 cm Original unframed tiny paintings in oil on gesso primed board. Ready for framing. Copyright Lesley Ninnes.

I'm delighted to have been included in Carol's Circle of Friends award - just click her name to visit the excellent 'Not only in Thailand' blog. Now I must write down five things I like to do and then pass the award on to ten friends. Easy! 1. On a Sunday, if not working anywhere, I like to make tea and toast and return to bed to enjoy a leisurely read and breakfast in comfort. 2. Dancing is fun, I love dancing, and it's good exercise. Don't get to do so nearly often enough, the last opportunity was at Christmas, although I'll dance around the kitchen if there's something good on the radio! 3. I like having an 'empty day' ahead allowing time to paint and experiment and explore new ideas. 4. Reading the newspaper - not every day, there's too much information - and then tackling the puzzle pages (with varying degrees of success) from Codeword and Sudoku to Word Wheel and the Crossword. 5. Last but not least, I like spending time with f

Thanks to Artisanne for this lovely, cheering award (which was given some time ago). Apologies for the delay in posting Anne -I have a bit of a tendency to deal with things 'dreckly' - it's something to do with being Cornish! Now, what do I do next? Hang on, am just popping back to see - oh yes, here it is: 'The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world.The rules for accepting the Sunshine Award..... put the logo on your blog or within your post.... pass the award on to 12 bloggers linking to the nominees within your post....let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.... share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.' Drawings from Nature Kauai Artist Frizzelstix Third Age Musings Hens Teeth Magpie Magic My Farmhouse Kitchen Clever and Girlie One Pink Goose Julie Whitmore Pottery Love Stitching Red Not only in Thailand I've tried to avo

Ah, an unusual visitor returns to the top rugby field - a creature wearing a very cosy fur coat, with a great liking for grass! The Llama lives quite close by and breaks out occasionally, looking for pastures new. Some time ago Julie posted photos of her wonderful studio shelf, which reminded me of my shelf below (although it's not in a studio). My brother made it over a decade ago, using old wood reclaimed from a school building. Over the years 'stuff' has accumulated in it and upon it! The bird on the string used to hang in my daughters' bedroom when they were small. The painted earthenware plate comes from Haiti. Lucky horse shoes propped against the wall and a lovely canvas by Viv The little plasticine 'cat' clutching a battery was made by my eldest daughter when she was really young (pre-school), she also made the red heart - using the wax from one of those little circular French cheeses! Lastly, two of my abstract canvases in the window of the S

Just two Love Tokens this time, placed in nice frames! 'Golden Heart' Token... 'Star' Token.... I reused glittery, holographic Christmas labels, some Christmas wrapping paper, the usual chocolate wrappers, some miniscule beads and a smidgen of fabric. Then printed the all important words, which were again glued to a mountboard backing for support. Both for sale in Art Space Gallery, along with three of the first unframed Love Tokens. The other three are on Etsy . Well, I just couldn't resist photographing this lovely flower, the last but one (there's a bud getting ready to open) produced by my Christmas Cactus. It doesn't flower predictably, but timed it just right on this occasion, with flowers starting to open just before Christmas - and although short lived, the blooms are so pretty, don't you think? Bye for now, Lesley

Here are some pics of the exhibition opening on Sunday - enjoy! The show continues until 13 February, 2010 (not 16 Feb, as previously mentioned). Location details and opening times are included in the earlier post 'Exhibition Preview' .

The picture below shows a 'Palm Tree Worksheet' brought home by one of my daughters, many years ago, which lists under the heading 'Fruits of the Spirit' the words: Joy Love Peace Kindness Patience Goodness Gentleness Self-Control Faithfulness. At the time, I was struck by the impact of the words, just reading them had an immediate calming effect, each one acting as a soothing balm. We all want to have joy, love and peace in our lives and, even if we don't always succeed (I'm no saint and fall short of such aspirations on a regular basis) cannot go far wrong if we try to exercise kindness, patience, goodness, self-control (probably the hardest) and are faithful. Although quite yellow and tattered now, the worksheet has remained on the fridge ever since. After the shock and horror of September 11 2001, I started making 'Love Tokens' which, besides hearts and swirls and dots in ink, incorporated the words listed in the worksheet, which were then

Because it's getting late this post will be short and sweet, with just the one pic for now, to give some idea of what I got up to this weekend! It was good to have some creative fun - and quite messy at times - producing these 'love tokens'. More, hopefully, tomorrow. Now it's time for bed - night, night.

Art lovers, if any of you are in the vicinity of Godalming, Surrey, why not pay a visit to Seascape Gallery, for the opening of the Winter Abstract Exhibition today, Sunday 17 January, from 11.45 am - 5 pm. I've included some more information about the Gallery itself below, with just one or two interior photos of earlier displays. Get along if you can - any feedback will be very welcome, as I'm here (not there) in sunny St Ives and have fingers crossed that my work and that of my fellow exhibitors, will be well received. The Seascape Gallery is an independent art gallery supplying modern and contemporary fine art, it was formed out ot the love for collecting art. The Gallery has been established for over two years and has recently moved to a beautiful new space in Godalming, Surrey. The Gallery provides a greater and wider access to leading established and emerging artists work, allowing people to purchase art with confidence. Seascape Gallery, 117, High Street, Godalming,