Time for Change…

Here I am in my studio, wearing my new money belt I made out of a vintage pillowcase. It was so much fun, pity you can’t see the lovely vintage buttons I sewed on the side. Pink, olive green and cream ones.

So many changes happening right now for me and all good ones where my art business is concerned. I feel like my focus is getting clearer and my inspiration is being refined and increasing which is so much fun!

I’ve been loving making these new ink illustrated cards and have some new ones for you to check out…

 

Along with new creations, I’ve been thinking a lot about where I see my business going and how I can refine things to reflect where I want to take things.

Communication has been something I’ve been wrestling with for a long time. I’ve always been focused on connecting with my customers in a meaningful and inspiring way. Being in business for yourself is by no means easy and it’s been very easy to fall into the trap of following the crowd when it comes to social media. I’ve had my Facebook account for a long time but had been considering leaving for many months. With such a sea of information coming at you everyday it’s just brain numbing at times to be honest. I needed to find a better way for me.

So today I deleted my Facebook account. It’s time for me to get back to communicating with you in other ways, including being more active here. I’m still on Twitter but I mostly want to share things with you via this blog and my email list where you can share with me too in the comments and I think it’ll be so much better.

Please don’t think I’m judging people who do use Facebook, it’s just not for me anymore and I hope you will still stop by and enjoy chatting with me here, or email etc.

I’m excited to proceed and also to have far more time to create things for you!!

Many Blessings,

xxx

Back From France!

 

We’ve been in France all last week for a Church mission trip! It’s been very exciting since this was my first time abroad and I’ve always wanted to go to France.  A dream come true!

I took plenty of pics so I could show you where we were and what we did.

This is Chateau Blanc in Thumeries, France. It’s a mission prayer house that is involved with various works and last week a team of us went to help maintain the building and grounds.

This is the view from our bedroom, which you can see in the first pic, it’s the turret at the top :D

This is the bed we were clearing on the first day, it was pretty overgrown so we got to work weeding and chopping and re-potting.

This is the view looking from the grounds towards the Chateau.

There was much work to do including re-pointing, painting, gardening and more. We all shared out the work and enjoyed the fellowship with each other. In the evenings we went for walks and chatted (there was no tv which was really nice actually!) I really enjoyed the slower pace of life and even though we were working hard every day I felt so much more peaceful than at home trying to do so many different things.

This trip has been great for me in so many ways but especially it’s made me realise even more how I need to get my life in balance – which I’m finding very hard to do! More creativity and less busyness + a slower pace!

How do you create balance? I’d love to hear your tips.

Join me tomorrow when I’ll be posting more info about our trip and more photos.

xxx

P.S Like the new look?

Wonderful Weekend

First there was Art Club at ours on Saturday, we made ATC’s which was great fun and great therapy for me.

Then after a great service at Church on Sunday we enjoyed the gorgeous weather and planted these beauties…

 

I love these large bellis (I call them puffs lol) and my mini daffs and pink primroses.

Our front garden is starting to look lovely again at last!

While Hubby planted those beauties for me, I baked some more apple sauce muffins and Ellie happily chomped on her bone.

The weather was so gorgeous Sunday we enjoyed a lovely long walk by the river and then came home for dinner before rushing out to our Churches evening healing service.

Today it was back to work, which I am very happy about! I got right back into painting and created another cutie for you to enjoy which I’ll be listing on ebay tomorrow, so look out for a blog post on that.

This short break has really helped me to see life differently (even more than usual), I’m always pondering but I felt like God has been really teaching me that I can completely rest in Him, have peace and enjoy everything He has given us…I fully intend to!

Live life to the full guys…

Love

xxx

P.S Today I added a cool page of Q&A’s to help you with your paintings. I also updated my About Me page with some fun facts. xx

Taking a break…

Hi Everyone,

I didn’t really want to post this to the blog but wanted to let you know that I’m taking a little break because on Tuesday morning my Nan died.

I’m still doing some painting and popping online from time to time but I’m taking a little step back to just rest.

Thanks for understanding,

xxx

A Family Fun Baking & Making Weekend

We had a great weekend, Saturday was spent enjoying a relaxing free day, no plans, nothing to rush to, lovely! We walked Ellie to the local yarn shop in the morning and I picked up some gorgeous yarns to work on our ripple blanket for our bedroom and then we headed to the park and Ellie and Hubby had great fun running around for a while.

Then we headed back for some lunch and I helped Hubby make some lovely fresh baguettes which we shared with Mum and Dad. Homemade bread makes a great gift! :D

I got working on the ripple blanket for a while and then started thinking about the beautiful fabric I recently got to make a little curtain for our kitchen cubby. We actually call it Ellie’s cubby, because ever since we’ve had her she’s loved to hide in there.

So that’s what I did, I got all my stuff out and had a go. It was way harder than I thought it would be. All the measuring, marking and cutting went really well and that’s surprising because that is the part I like the least! When it came to sewing the hems, I had real trouble. The fabric kept slipping and so my stitch lines were a little wavy lol Still, I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out considering I haven’t sown for ages. What do you think?

Sunday was spent at Church in the Morning and then I dashed off to grab a lift with Mum and Dad down to Dagenham to visit our family for Mother’s Day. Lot’s of gifts, cards and food :D

After a great weekend, I woke up this morning to a beautiful sunny day and decided that some baking and homemaking was in order. I made some more Apple Sauce muffins and have just got this yummy loaf out of the oven. It’s Alicia’s Oat & Honey loaf. It doesn’t look much like hers but I’m hoping it will taste great!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, let me know what you did…

xxx

Spring is on it’s way!

The last couple of days it’s really felt like Spring! Beautiful clear blue sky’s and sunshine, it makes me so happy.

Hubby got back from work early today so we could go walking in the park and enjoy the sunshine. :D Ellie loves to pose for the camera lol.

All this sunshine is so inspiring, I’m sure there will be lot’s more ‘Blue Sky’ paintings to come. The one above is my latest called ‘Wild Flowers’ isn’t it pretty.

I adore flowers, remember me posting about these sweet peas I grew last year? Well I’m going to grow more this year, I just got a new packet of seeds yay :D I went for a different variety this year called ‘Big Tops’ funny name but they are meant to have a lot more colours in them so I’ll be soaking them tonight and sow tomorrow. I always find the growing process so exciting, seeing them come to life and bloom.

Do you grow anything for your garden? I’d love to hear all about it, leave me a comment.

‘Wild Flowers’ is now available on ebay.

xxx

Love Me Always…

I’ve been working on this little cutie over the weekend ‘Love Me Always’. It’s the first in my ‘Sweet Heart’ series and I am so excited to be working on these adorable little lovebirds.

I’ve always loved everything cute and it just seems to come naturally that I paint in this way. I do love to experiment now and then with ‘grown up’ ;) paintings but I always come back to ‘cute’. I guess that’s just ‘me’.

It’s fun getting to know yourself and what you love to do, it’s been a long journey to finally be free with my style and really listen to what it is I love. Now I’ve found my style I feel freer to express myself (sounds an odd thing to say) but it’s true. I feel like I can sit and draw without judging myself and let out what it really is I want to express. I guess that’s a good tip for all of us – when we allow ourselves to be truly ourselves and stop judging ourselves, it’s then that we can be free and our true expression comes out. Not only that but when we are truly being ourselves, then we feel happiness.

We all need to express ourselves and share how we see the world and how we would like others to see it too, in whatever form that comes in for you; art, ceramics, photography, gardening, baking etc etc.

So remember, we want to see your view, embrace it and be happy!

‘Love me Always’ is now available as an original on ebay and also as a print at Etsy.

When it comes down to it, all that really matters is Love!

Love never fails.

xxx

Love Song

Love is in the air! I am really enjoying this ‘Blue Sky’ series of paintings. This one looks way better in real life than I could capture in the photo. It’s so cheerful and pretty.

Hope you are having a wonderful day and if you need a little lift, I hope this painting brings you a smile :)

‘Love Song’ now available on ebay.

Blessings,

xxx

How has art changed your life?

Art has always been part of my life one way or another. I’ve always wondered what impact art has on people and have always wondered how I could make a difference in the world to help people.

Today my desire to help others is bigger and stronger than ever and I’m thinking about how I can do that.

What ways has art impacted your life either in creating it, learning about it or buying it (from anyone)?

What ways do you think art could be used in a more productive way to help others in need emotionally or physically?

If you have a story to tell about how art has saved you in anyway I would love to hear about it, either here in the comments or via email: niki@thevintageartist.com

I know we can all make a difference in this world, touching peoples lives is the most wonderful gift you can give.

Looking forward to hearing from you…

xxx

2009 Memories

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Very Special Day!

Helen Bates, Niki Jackson, Mark Jackson.

I’ve been trying to get this up all week lol, on Saturday 21st November, Mark (Hubby) and I, along with our dear friend Helen, got Baptised at St Andrews Church in Ipswich, UK.

It was an amazing day and I just wanted to share part of it with you. We have had an amazing 1st year as Christians and am very excited for the future.

Hope you enjoy watching this, I’ll be back later with an exciting art update for you too.

xxx

Winter on my mind? + Freedom!!!

‘First Snow of Winter’

Mixed Media on Paper

 

‘Winter Tree’

Mixed media on wood.

WIP! (Work in Progress ;) )

I’ve been painting a lot lately, playing really. Discovering new paths in my journey as an artist. I’m learning to loosen up and be a lot more free in my approach and I am really loving it!

These are what has been appearing this week from my studio and the bottom photo is of a large canvas I have in progress. I’m working on it this weekend in between seeing family and Church tomorrow.

I want to experience a lot more flow to my paintings and be in a place where I’m really connecting with God and sharing what He wants me to put out into the world. It is a very rewarding and exciting journey and I encourage you all to sink in deeper to your creativity and really experience that place of pure freedom.

I’ll be sharing some videos of my journey in the coming week’s so please come back and check them out, I hope they will truly bless you.

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

xxx

Sharing…

‘The Reeds’

Acrylics and charcoal pencil on paper.

I’ve been playing a lot for the class I am taking with Mystele and it sure is an emotional rollercoaster. I’m learning so much about what I love and what I don’t. Letting myself just ‘play’ and seeing where it takes me. Here is a painting I did in my sketchbook at the weekend, I love how it turned out!

It’s such an exciting journey I can’t wait to see where it takes me next and I am so glad to be sharing this journey with you. As artists we are always learning, always evolving and always expressing in new ways and that is the beauty of art!

See you soon with another glimpse of my journey.

 

xxx

Soothing

The past 2 weeks I’ve been on a new journey of discovery with art. Trying to get deeper into what is so desperately trying to leap out of me and onto the page. Up to now I have been avoiding what was inside, not wanting to discover it out of fear mostly but now I find as I get braver and allow myself more time to play I am finding some amazing things!

This sketch I decided to call ‘Soothing’ it is from my sketchbook and it part of my new way of delving into my heart thanks to Mystele’s wonderful teaching, in her GUT Art class. I saw this image in the background and the beauty of the flowing lines were so strong to me that I felt painting her in would ruin it. So I kept it as it is and went over the sketch lines with charcoal.

To me this sketch says so much about how I’ve been feeling for a long time and how I am being transformed in my heart, it’s like a self portrait expressing where I am right now. I love it!

I’m not sure where this journey will take me but I’m sure loving the goodness I am finding! I’ll keep you updated with my discoveries as I travel on this wonderful journey.

In the meantime I’ve added some whimsical paintings to ebay, you can find them here.

What wonderful discoveries are you making today?

xxx

Time to Grow

Check out my tomatoes! They are all starting to go red and there are lot’s which is really cool. Hubby sneaked one and said they were lovely.

My tomatoes aren’t the only things growing right now, I am going through a huge life transition. Growing into my new healthy & fit body and growing spiritually. Both very challenging and also very very exciting! I am so excited to be growing into the person I always knew was inside me. To see my progress so far is quite amazing and I can’t wait to reach my natural weight with all the benefits that will bring.

It’s so easy to get ahead of myself in this learning experience and I find walking in the countryside with Hubby and Ellie really great for unwinding and refreshing my spirit when it all feels too much.

Today is one of those days.

Of course it never is too much, even when it feels like it. We can handle it right!

What ways do you refresh your spirit?

Niki

P.S Don’t forget to enter my contest by leaving your suggestions for new products here. Good Luck, winner draw on Wednesday. xxx