Feeling the warmth!

"Beltzville ball game" by Hilary J. England, pastel on hardwood panel, 18" x 24" 2011

I am feeling the warmth!  Literally!!  It is about as fine of a day as you can get, very very warm (low to mid 80s), quite a change from the last several weeks.

I am really geared up.  I have been doing alot of studio work because of the weather, and also doing alot of work TO my studio, since it was in serious need of some help/upgrades.  First and most importantly, we got the giant new studio easel together...me and Ant.  It took about 3 hours, with miserable instructions, lots of bickering, and a few near mutinies, but we did it...and didn't have any reassembly necessary due to mistakes.  Pretty impressive.

I also am adding more electricity to the place, as well as the addition of several ceiling fans.  It turns into a sweatbox my midafternoon, and after two summers of suffering, I finally said enough is enough.  So, hopefully the fans and additional ventilation will help.  It's not central air, but I'm not Donald Trump either so, this is the most economical compromise I can make ;-)

The track system to hang my paintings is due to arrive on Friday, and I'm very excited about that.  Right now, we have wood screws somewhat haphazardly into the barn walls, but this will organize everything very nicely. 

All in all, everything continues to go well...we seem to have Noelle's health stabilized, so I'm thankful for that, and the summer will be upon us in the blink of an eye, so I'm making preparations for all the stuff we all have scheduled, and trying to get that coordinated...not really an easy task, but doable.

Well, that's it for now.  Out to get some more work done, and head off to the framer.  I'm also looking (again) for a professional photographer who photoes art, but this time I have a recommendation for one, so hopefully this will work out!  As you probably can tell from past entries, photography is the "thorn" in my side...it literally drives me nuts trying to get the photos just right, so this will be very helpful.  Confuscius says, "if you suck at something, delegate."  At least I think it was him, lol.

So, I'll leave you with the above painting I just finished, developed from a series of sketches done at a lakeside picnic.  It's simply titled, "Beltzville ball game" and it's 18" x 24" pastel on hardwood panel.

By the way friends, please vote for me at:  www.arttakeslondon.com/hilaryjengland  It only takes a minute, is free of charge, and will help me out immensely!!  Thanks!!