Monday, July 23, 2012

Filling in the gaps

 
You may have noticed I’ve been a little bit quiet lately, 2012 has been a difficult year so far and I want to thank everyone who has been patient and given us the time we have needed to come to terms with everything that has happened.

In August 2011, as you may already know, I took on a new full time job at Serif Europe, as a Creative Illustrator, painting and drawing content for their software CraftArtist, a job which I continue to love! As a result of starting this full time ‘dream job’ I had to stop taking on new commission work, something that made me very sad but something that was essential for work/life balance and my own sanity! I have continued to work with several repeat or ongoing clients, but obviously my output has been visibly smaller!

By Christmas 2011 I had pretty much settled into the new job and as taking less commissions had freed me up to create some new fine art pieces to exhibit, at the beginning of the year I got involved with A Brush With Burlesque exhibition in London and local arts event Lady Bay Open Studios, both of which were very successful, and my plans were to exhibit & create more work in 2012.

In March, On Mothers Day, we were devastated by the news of my Mother in law’s very sudden and unexpected death, we miss her greatly and up until now I have kept this news very private.  Shocks like this (and several other recent tragic events concerning dear friends) make you think an awful lot about your own life & priorities. As art & creativity is such a huge part of my life I have spent a lot of time reassessing the direction my work is to take in future and what I want to achieve over the next few years.  I've always considered myself unbelievably lucky to have parents who have supported me wholeheartedly through the difficulties of embarking on a career in the arts, I was blessed even further to gain a whole new family through marriage, who were equally supportive.  (The painting above is a very old piece of mine which hangs in Dave's parent's dining room)

So after much deliberation I have decided that the rest of 2012 will be given to creating new personal collections of illustrative artwork, collections and one off pieces which have been swirling around at the back of my mind for many years but which I’ve been too busy to put onto paper. This means I sadly won’t be taking on any new commission work until 2013 (existing or ongoing clients need not worry but if you have any concerns or queries please call or email me).

My website will soon see a massive re-design to shift it’s focus, the new focus being on a revamped ‘Art Boutique’ where you will be able to purchase original artwork, a new range of high quality art prints, plus limited edition merchandise & greetings cards.  This will all take a little while to develop and implement but please watch this space for updates!

I can’t speak for others, but for myself I truly believe that out of dark times the least I can do is take positive steps to make the very most of my life and those of the people close to me.

Here are a few of things I’m now doing that I have always wanted to, but never made time for before;
Taking steps to go cruelty free and eco friendly with all our household products and toiletries
Eating to improve my health problems (following low GL nutrition principles to resolve/regulate my insulin resistance…which is working brilliantly, never felt better!)  
Giving more time to see & help family and friends, currently redesigning my parents website and planning a visit to friends overseas.     
Yoga & meditation
Belly dancing classes (!)

Anyway I hoped that this blog would ‘fill in the gaps’ in my online presence that have been visible over the last few months and explain why I’ve perhaps been a little more quiet than usual.  I really look forward to sharing new artwork very soon!
Thank you

x Charlotte





7 comments:

Miss Rain said...

So sorry to hear about your hard times Charlotte,sending all my best wishes to you and Dave.
Good luck with your new work, I'm sure it will be as beautiful and awe inspiring as your previous and if I can ever help you with anything please feel free to ask.
Lots of Love
Emma x

Charlotte Thomson-Morley said...

Thank you Emma, you've done a lot for us over the years, very grateful for your friendship xx

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry for your loss :-( Good for you in spending some more time on things that matter most to your creative mind. If you're in Holland on your travels please drop by for tea and cakes, or cheese and wine, whatever time of day it happens to be :-) Nina (Bite Me Couture / Love Burlesque)

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry for your loss :-( Good for you in spending some more time on things that matter most to your creative mind. If you're in Holland on your travels please drop by for tea and cakes, or cheese and wine, whatever time of day it happens to be :-) Nina (Bite Me Couture / Love Burlesque)

Charlotte Thomson-Morley said...

Thank you Nina, I'm going to be in Amsterdam in November visiting friends, whereabouts are you based? x

Jo Gaskin said...

This year can only get better, hey? Loads of love xx

Charlotte Thomson-Morley said...

Yes you'd sure as hell hope so! 2013 has got to be amazing for both of us! lots of love xx

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