I’m writing this post using Windows Live Writer, so I’m really not 100% sure how it’s going to come out, IF it’s going to come out at all! So here goes!
The other week I was up in Yorkshire, staying with a friend of my parents, Margaret Roberts, who is an artist! As in a real one haha – she’s been a working artist her entire life, and she’s done pretty much everything from doing adverts on the back of busses to newspaper cartoons to set design and.. well.. I think you get the picture (pun not intended originally, but it’s too good to leave out). Very interesting and varied life! She’s working on making a website now (which I might have slightly bullied her into doing) but it’s not ‘live’ yet – I have to go back there and sort all that out for her when she’s ready, but for now you can see a couple of pieces of her work here:
The reason why I went up there is because I cannot draw to save my life and I hate not being able to do something. It seems that most people got some form of education at school and learned the basics of perspective and all of that during their GCSEs. I didn’t do GCSE art – I don’t know what the heck I did, music or something, so by the time I managed to talk the art teachers into letting me take it up for A-level, everyone else knew how to do this stuff and I was left to make it up as I went along.. which is fine… if you don’t ever draw a building or anything with any form of perspective in it in your life. Literally. People ask me how I can paint when I can’t draw – and really – they don’t see my ‘preparation’. for example – for a painting of something like this (this isn’t my photo by the way)
would be like this ^
a vague idea of where things go and paint fills the rest out.
So. I learned all about perspective and had some good walks on the dales and the moors which was great! I will post some photos up eventually, but when my computer died a few weeks ago, I lost Photoshop and have been bemoaning it ever since, but hopefully I'll have it back soon – I also got Windows 7 yesterday which is B.E.A.UTIFUL! I dunno what everyone is complaining about. It’s shinier than vista and a HELLUVA lot quicker. And I like the pin to menu thingummys. Installing AVG was initially a little bit of a challenge, but one easily overcome by looking in the avg forums. I’ve only had this for a day soIi obviously can’t judge yet, having not put it through its paces, but so far so good!
Yesterday was a day of adventure and intrigue!
On the way up to London, everyone on the train was staring at me – I hate people staring at me because I get very self-conscious. All I did was pin my hair up a bit 1940s at the front and slap on some lipstick.. I didn’t realise that wearing red lipstick gave people licence to stare at me. Didn't realise it was half term either and South Kensington - where I was going- is museum central – you’ve got the V&A, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, Imperial College and the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal College of Music ALL THERE on the same bit of road, so it was a battle past millions of kids - actually had to queue for 5 mins to get OUT OF the station - as in to get up the stairs off the platform.. This is where it got a little weirder: I was walking along, and a bunch of about 8 Chinese guys all wearing identical business suits turned a film camera on me and were filming me walking up the road (??!) Evidently they thought I was someone I’m not. Met up with a friend for lunch at the ‘nines’ (aka the queens arms – I love that pub) made friends with a puppy there - a beautiful husky with ice blue eyes - called Charlie, who I wanted to steal and take home with me. I may have a couple of jobs coming up (normal-person jobs) working on a switchboard, and had a meeting with the new stage manager to see if I could possibly get some work on a show doing props and scenery end of November/December... um.. went up to the National Gallery but got off at the wrong stop - read 'Westminster' as 'Embankment' but it's just like a 4 min walk from Westminster anyway so no big deal, sent my friend a text, because he works in Big Ben, saying 'I just walked past Big Ben so thought I'd say hi!', got halfway to the gallery when he text back saying 'fancy coming in for a cup of tea?'
It only 4 mins walking in the other direction, so went and was x-rayed and checked and stood on a thing and had a photo taken that made me look like an axe murderer and.. yeah, so went in and had tea in parliament, in 'the village', they call it...No idea what kind of village they based that on, it's all palm trees and water features. 
But yes! interesting day!
oh! I DID eventually get to go to the National Gallery - for all of 15 mins before it closed, and saw a peepshow! (not like that) -this really cool box in there where they'd done a kind of painted mock-up of a room and you peep through 2 holes in the side of it and it looks 3d!!... but this was done in like the 1600s - very awesome!
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paint ... utch-house
