Smile For No Reason

OK....it's still Winter, the light is returning, but not by any noticeably degree. After the fun and frivolity of the Christmas period, it's easy to feel down in the dumps as we get back to the mundane-ness of life.

It's important, if like me you suffer from S.A.D. to focus on the sunshine to come. The promise of the flowers that will soon be on their way.

A good morning, hello or smile given to a passing stranger can make all the difference to them. It costs nothing and it may be that YOU are the only person that has spoken to them all day.

Rarely is a smile not exchanged.... and so what if it isn't? It takes less muscles to smile than to frown and also releases endorphins within the body which will make you feel better and lighter.

I chose to illustrate this Power Doodle Quotation with Sunflowers. The giants of the flower world, that never cease to make me smile when I see them. That gorgeous sunshine yellow is definitely uplifting and the quote reminds me to SMILE.....even if it's for no reason :o)

What's going on!!!!

Well if you're wondering where I've been and what's going on....jaunt over to my Inspired by Script Blog to see for yourself....or simply click on the links above the photos.

This year has got off to a flying start and I've written 4 blog posts this evening....and I haven't even scratched the surface.

I've already done a Wedding Order....

I have a separate Wedding Website,

just for the Wedding Side of my business

http://northyorkshireweddings.co.uk

I already sold a Piece of work....

Had another one Commissioned....

Written and personalised a Baby Birth Certificate....

And made a concertina card

for a very ill lady in Sussex

We've booked 2 Wedding Fairs and Steve has got 2 shows booked for his Jewellery...Oh yes and did I mention 3 Art Shows this year too. I've also got a day teaching at North East Scribes next month....which I am so looking forward to. It's nice to get together with like minded folk and I love teaching and inspiring others. We also have plans to expand the Wedding side of the business....but more about that later. All in all we have a busy year ahead, but one that we are both looking forward to. It's nice to have the support and encouragement that we so often need when working as artists and for ourselves. Having someone to bounce ideas off is so important.

What's Been Going On...

Well.....lots and lots and lots and lots actually....and as most followers and readers of my blog are also friends with me on Face Book....I won't re-hash the more personal news here. However, first off, new direction and with the rethinking of my business and the need to actually not only pay my bills but also at some point in my life make a living out of it, I've started with the repainting of the Gallery...

Many paint swatches and much dilemma as well as being terrified of picking a neutral, neutral that would go with just about anything....All the shelves were painted too, so at last I feel like the whole place comes together.....much like my old place in Darlington.

The pale shelves set off the Concertina Books wonderfully.
And are just as suited to the Paler pieces of work....

As they are to the brighter pieces.....

All in all, I'm happy with the result. I have taken down old, worn out and jaded pieces of my work that no longer reflect my work now and the services available. Now, in between working I need to rehash the store room, which was originally a store room come office. I feel creatively stifled sometimes and I need to reopen my space. A good weekend and a skip seems like a good idea lol. More blogging and more photos will follow, until then, keep your Creative Spirits flowing,

Meanwhile if you want to follow me on FaceBook CLICK HERE

Brightest Blessings,

Sue xxx

Pot Boilers For Sale

So.....Just "What is a Potboiler?"

Well....in Answers.com it says....

Potboiler or pot-boiler is a term used to describe a poor quality novel, play, opera, or film, or other creative work that was created quickly to make money to pay for the creator's daily expenses (thus the imagery of "boil the pot" which means "to provide one's livelihood").

Authors who create potboiler novels or screenplays are sometimes called back writers. Novels deemed to be potboilers may also be called pulp fiction, and potboiler films may be called "popcorn movies" or, in film industry slang, "tentpoles" (large-budget films typically based on well-known characters or prior works, which, due to their immense popularity, support the studio economically, like tent poles hold up a tent).

Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say they are, "poor quality" but they are produced More quickly and perhaps not up to the usual standard of a regular commission where the price would be a lot higher. I produce Potboilers as interesting and affordable, unique pieces of original art to basically sell for a low profit and keep the wolves from the door and enable me to keep the studio going. They are fun to do and created from the heart.

I work on the principle that I would rather someone have the pleasure of looking at something on their wall than have it gathering dust in my gallery. Much art these days is overpriced and as artist we have to work on the principle of either sell a very expensive piece once or twice a year or sell lots of smaller things on a regular basis. Personally I would rather r do the latter.

So on that note...I offer the following.....

Your Vision will become clear,

only when you can look in your heart.

Rumi

Size: 12.5 x 44.5 cm (8 1/2" x 17 1/2 ")

Materials: FW Acrylic Ink, Gold Pen on Canaletto

£14 including FREE P&P

BELIEVE in the power of your dreams

Size: 18cm x 41cm (7" x 16")

Materials: FW Acrylic Ink, Gold Pen on Canaletto

£10 including FREE P&P

The value of friendship,

cannot be measured,

only treasured.

Size: 21cm x 42cm (8 1/2" x 16 1/2")

Materials: FW Acrylic Ink, Gold pen on Canaletto

£12 including FREE P&P

Forget safety,

Live where you fear to live,

Destroy your reputation

BE notorious!

Rumi

Size 23cm x 38cm (9" x 18")

Materials: Dr Martins Bleedproof white,, silver pen on Canson.

£15 including FREE P&P

Nothing can grow,
until the ground is turned over

Rumi

Size: 20cm x 31cm (8" x 12")

Materials: Dr. Martins Bleedproof White and Silver Pen on Canson

£10 including FREE P&P

Do what you love,

the money will follow.

TRUST that as long as you work from the heart

all will be well

Size: 22cm x 50cm (8 3 /4" x 19 3/4")

Materials: Dr Martins Bleedproof White, Silver Pen on Canson Navy Blue Paper

£15 including FREE P&P

PAYMENT: I can take payment by Paypal, cheques or postal orders.

SHIPPING: All pieces come packed flat, are ready to frame and signed by the artist.

Any questions please do not hesitate to email me at; inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

NEW Inspirational Prints

These are a couple of Rumi Quotations I've just done. These will be converted to Prints and Greeting Cards as part of a series.

The first one reads.....

This is a simple truth, whatever you love, you are.

This second one (and I LOVE this quote)

I have lived on the tip of insanity,

waiting to know reasons, knocking on a door,

It opens....I've been knocking from the inside!

Personalised Baby Girl Poster - The Goddess and the Butterfly

Way back in February I blogged about my newest prints: A personalised Prayer for a baby Girl or Boy. I have been fortunate enough this week to have been asked to do one for a Christening Gift for a little girl ‘Freya’. The advantage of part print, part original is twofold. Firstly from a cost point of view it is much cheaper than commissioning one from scratch, although this can be done if wishes, but secondly and more importantly it gives you scope to add details and specific items that would be meaningful to the recipient, in this case ‘Butterflies’. (Click photo to enlarge)
Freya is the Goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She was said to have blond hair and blue eyes and is reputed to be the ‘fairest’ of all the Goddesses and people prayed to her for happiness in love. She was also called on to assist in childbirth and for the kindness of the seasons. The symbolic meaning of the butterfly is similar across most cultures and time. Invariably, this beautiful Celtic animal symbol represents transformation, inspiration, and rebirth. The concept of rebirth with the Celts is particularly of importance in terms of recycling of life – both in the spiritual and physical realms. Perhaps the bible and the Byrds extol the concept best: "To every season, turn, turn turn." This was an intimate concept with the Celts, and the butterfly – in its miraculous way symbolizes transformation and rebirth.
Further enquiries about this or other items on my blog
contact me at:
inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

My Work

Baby Girl Personalised Poster and Concertina Card

Well…. As if by magic…..I said a couple of posts ago, or was it the last one, that I had done the Baby Girl Poster, but everyone in the world seemed to be having boys. Then during a conversation with my friend Alison over at Eden Valley Scribes I was told that a work colleague was at that very moment, in hospital having a baby. Great news and we hoped it was a girl. An email the next day, told me it was, so I’ve had the opportunity to at last write the details of the new baby girl, Lucy Charlotte and photograph it for my blog….so here it is…..Printed in a lovely assortment of pinks…..
Close up detail. And if anyone is interested, because of the virus problem with my website, I’d advise you to email me direct. They are selling for £7.50 each, complete with personalisation and which includes P&P to mainland UK. Email me direct and I can send you an invoice by Paypal
My email is: inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

January right through to May is a crazy time for me. I have birthdays almost every week! Next week is my nephew Seans, the son of my brother Steve. So here’s the card I made him. Nothing flash as he’s a grown up teenager now and will probably be more interested in the money that’s inside it! Lol.

Close up setail: these are also £7.50. Made to order and personalised.

Contact me here inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

And I just have to show you a close up of this….
It’s a small charm, and I’ve bought a huge assortment to add to my hand made books. I just wanted charms that were a little bit different. Aren’t they lovely? Thanks Amber Moggie for directing me on where to get these, I spent a fortune! And CJ, the paper I used for the cover is a Chinese Hand Made Silk Paper, do you want some sending across the pond?

Personalised Baby Boy Christening Present

If you're looking for a special, unique and quite different Birth, Christening or Baby Naming Day Gift, then look no further. This is a large (29.7cm x 42cm) Print taken from an original piece of work by myself, Sue Simpson.
This piece will be personalised with the Name, Date and Weight of the Baby and is printed in a variety of blues.

Price: £7.50 including P&P to mainland UK

Contact: inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

Payment by Paypal or Cheques accepted

Close up detail of personalisation

Old Work, worked New, and New Work Worked!

New A3 Print for sale!

Buying an A3 printer was definitely a good move. Sometimes, A4 prints when reduced from an original A3 look quite different when scaled down. A good and satisfying layout can look wrong and out of place when made smaller. A lot of my larger work is done on A3 and for the extra cost of the paper it’s well worth printing as a size for size copy.

This print is a reworked piece that I did quite some time ago. Although the original is lovely and I’m really happy with it, I wanted to do it again (possibly to see how really bad my lettering is now my visual impairment is an issue). I love this quote and was happy with how it turned out. Quite a boost to the confidence to realise that it’s not as bad as I thought.
The Mark Twain quotation is a particular favourite of mine and teaches us to ‘Take risks and throw caution to the wind, that you have no time for regrets and you need to just go for it!.
it reads:

20 years from now
you will be more disappointed
by the things that you didn’t do
than by the ones you did,
So throw away the bowline,
Sail away from the safe harbour
Catch the trade winds in your sails,
Explore, Dream, Discover.

I do intend to list them in my Etsy Shop, but if you would like to buy one in the meantime, please email me at: inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk They will be on sale for £7.50 including P&P to mainland UK. All other countries charged at cost and you can pay through Paypal.

Below is an idea I am working on.

It’s great being a nutty artist! Ideas come to you at the most inconvenient times. Now I haven’t the distractions of a relationship, getting home to prepare meals at a set time, shopping when I have to rather than when I need to, leaving the hovering and housework if necessary, I can run with ideas so much more freely. This was an idea that I had and really want to develop it into a series, this is the first working rough. I wanted to make a card, book and signed piece of art work in one neat little gift. The idea is taking shape, but the only problem you have is that shops want something for HALF their market value, so really when selling to trade customers you have to price yourself low and then because of this it can make even the best idea totally impractical. Selling through a shop rather than selling through the artist certainly gets you more publicity, but I also think that so many artists are undervalued in their work. I mean the artist has taken time and effort to produce the goods while the shops make the same amount (more even, because the artist pays for materials) for just putting it on a shelf.
No wonder we artists are known for starving!!!! Lol.Anyway, I’ll see what happens on this one and will let you know if this idea goes any further
The card opens to reveal a book and the artwork is concealed in a pocket at the back of the book. The pocket is part of the main cover.

Mark Twain Quotation Poster

This is one of my favourite Quotations

Mark Twain - 20 years from now....

This is a reworked version of the original,

so that I can sell it as a print.

The A3 print is for sale for £7.50

including delivery to the UK.

For information on how to buy

If you are interested in either buying, commissioning my work

or for any other reason, please contact me at

inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

Clicking on the picture should enlarge it

if you would like to see the detail.