Arty catchup

I still haven't got into the swing of doing this regularly, will I ever, who knows.
Although I am supposed to be a papercutter I seem to have been doing more drawing of late, still art, but a little step out of my comfort zone.
There is a trend at the moment, it may be fading as I tend not to keep up to speed with "trends" for colouring books. I have given in to it and have had a go myself, not a book, way too ambitious at this stage, just a page, my Ghost Bunny character has been the guinea pig, even though he's a bunny! I haven't been overwhelmed with orders for it but it's early days snd I'm very slow at marketing what I do, despite help.
That's the thing with my art, it is mine, it is me, and I find it so difficult to push it out into the world as it feels like I'm showing off and I will overdo it . . . "Oh no, not her again". . . "Why's she showing us this". . . that type of thing.
I don't know why this is, lack of confidence most likely. I've spent most of my life just doing my art but putting other stuff first that now it seems odd that anyone should want to buy it. But, if I want to make it work I have to overcome the niggles.
When I really sit and think about it I have moved on, I do exhibitions, have been taken on by a card publisher, done book illustration, and have an article coming out in a magazine soon, all good things. So why the doubts? Why indeed. And now I sound as though I winge too much! Ahh, the creative mind, it's a bloody mystery and I'm not a detective! Back to the cutting mat then . . .

Another Sunday . . .

The weeks are rolling past way too quickly, as ever. But for once I'm a little more on top of things, 2 out of 5 Christmas card designs done for this year. I finally got the magazine article done, more on that in another post though! Except to say that it meant several trips up and down to the next village for the photography, good old Neil saved my skin as he does fab pics, I don't on the whole!
As a break from the norm I am now officially a "proper" arty person as I was asked to judge the art/handicrafts at our local produce show, which has just been started up again after many years, it was great to see so much there, but so cruel to be in such close proximity to so many buns and cakes when I'd not had brekky! Thankfully the cake judge needed help so we were eager volunteers, you can have too much though . . .
We are having a bit of an Indian summer at the moment so art has been put on one side a couple of times in order to get my hands mucky up the garden. Hacking back the Russian vine that should never have been planted . . . it wasn't me! And just enjoying the sun. The sound of crows made me look up at one point to see 4 or 5 of them mobbing a buzzard that had come down low over the village. As it rose on the thermals they drifted off to get on with crow stuff elsewhere. Not so many years ago we would never have seen buzzards down here so as a raptor fan I'm glad they're here now.
It's the time of year the owls start getting chatty too. As I sit here in my studio I can here them squawking as they float from rooftop to rooftop up and down the village. It's great to hear them again after the summer silence but it is a sure sign that autumn is in the air, as is the sound of geese gathering which we hear on most days now.
I'm so glad we decided to plant trees in the garden as they are alive with smaller birds, various finches and tits, sparrows, crows, rooks, pigeons and doves, and only the occassional sparrowhawk popping in for a snack, when it isn't sat in the tree outside the kitchen window, which was quite a surprise the first time I saw her there!
Not much arty talk tonight but I'm going now as I have a poster to design for my next exhibition. Nighty night x