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
