The art of dressing my "self"

Gudren  is a "good "  woman who works and creates to "live a good life "  and so am I

Gudren loves nature  so do I 

Gudren says "Beauty to me is adding colours and patterns"  I agree 

Gudren says  "Quality of life is living close to nature in colourful comfortable and practical clothes "
Gudrens' designs are  eco-friendly ,affordable, high quality , modest , suitable unto my  years ,a little folksy (which I favour) and  definitely Bohemian like  Gudren and myself.   She makes clothes for those who are like herself  . She makes the clothes she likes for all women like her of all ages ,in natural organic fibres  .

I choose to wear these clothes because they ad"dress"what I believe in at soul level

What to wear over 70 ?

Since the departure of Tanya Sarne of the  Ghost  fashion label I have felt bereft of what was once the very great pleasure of clothes shopping .Ghost still exists but it is not hers anymore , and there  are none of the great warehouse sales beloved of so many others of my tribe .

I love all the are e wares on sale in the  Anthropology emporium but really, apart from the odd household item in the sale I find it way over my budget and I have heard odd stories re: ethics there which put me off a little although they may not be true  .

Other things are out there that I like the look of .. linen eco cotton  garments etc  I notice them all but none  compare with the value I find at Monmouth Street in  Covent Garden  at the London store of .......

                                                                  .......                 Gudrun Sjödén 

Gudren designing

from Gudrens' lovely book "Portfolio"

 above : a design from gudrens' Portfolio
below :textiles in the shop 

towels  :the shop

a design 

some designs on the wall of the shop

the shop in Monmouth Street

the shop in Monmouth street 

designs from Gudrens' portfolio on the wall of the shop

the shop in Monmouth Street  

 the shop in Monmouth Street

 happy here in 4 layers of Gudren 

(petticoat £45  Dress £75 tunic £68 scarf £17  )

(Approximate prices)

so here is the website : a portal to this planet-loving  , life-enhancing ,age-inclusive , spiritually-sound, ethical , reasonably priced (given the quality &durability), bohemian style trip. For folk like us that is to say, Gudren and me 

http://www.gudrunsjoden.com/uk

UK | Gudrun Sjödén Ltd. 65-67 Monmouth Street, London WC2H 9DG | order@gudrunsjoden.co.uk | Phone store (+44)(0)20 72 40 22 11 | Phone mail order 0800 056 9912 .

A Painting day

We artists find great fulfilment in pursuing our craft, but we are always dissatisfied with the results, which pushes us toward growth and excellence. (Steve Easterwood)

today is a Wednesday . Wednesday is a painting day . Why do I have a painting day? good question . Why do I do anything ? Because I want to be a better painter .( to self ..Is it all about becoming better ? am I not good enough ? Am I good ? after better will I want to be best ? ..no ,but I would like to be my  best and  someones favourite !I am more than one persons favourite person  already and am loved by one or two also.)
I want to be more skilled  at everything.
There is a great deal of desire it seems in my life in all that wanting. Is there passion ? What is the difference between passion and desire ? between passion and wanting ?
I have a passion for colour ,for design for beauty for nature, for kindness ,for wholeness and integrity and a desire ,a want, to love and be loved  . I want love ?
Am I wanting love ? Do I really feel myself to be without love ? I do not love myself very much these days , so yes I am wanting that love my love for my self .

.
How can I love myself more ? I cannot be younger ,taller ,smarter,but I could be more "successful" could I not ?
Success has to be evaluated and measured .It is an outcome . I learnt this in my teacher training .
There has to be a goal or rather ,in teaching terms, an aim . I have never been good at setting goals which is ,I suppose  why I am a little hazy about what success or successes  I may have had  over the years.
However, In November 2014 I set myself the goal of becoming a better painter. Have I achieved that goal ? By what criteria should,or could ,I now  measure my level of success ?

here is an oil painting from 2003

and below , an acrylic painted in July 2015

The 2003 image of the mare and foal on the moor ,to my surprise ,shares  certain similarities with the second 2015 image of the swallows . The difference ,other than the medium ,(the first being in oil and the second in acrylic),is that the horses were painted plein air ,out in the open ,on Dartmoor and I was painting what I saw . The swallows on the other hand were purely from my imagination and not at all conceived of when I began the painting.

 The process which brought the swallows into being went thus-wise .

stages 1-9

I am not a better painter than before . I am though a different sort of painter ,braver and my imagination more liberated . So There you are regardless of whether the painting has improved , I have definitely improved as a painter . I am braver and more liberated. I have more to learn about colour and about the dark . 

I also enjoy this process more than painting directly what I see . It is quite different from painting what one sees and going straight for reproducing the object or scene on the flat surface ,which of course has it's pleasure and its value. I find the latter  too easy . Too easy , so not much of an achievement . I now enjoy the exploration of colour for its own sake in fact I am passionate about it whereas previously I was just copying it from the subject. I explore the very edge of failure throughout the process . 

All in all ,painting this way has made this painter,my self ,much better ,I  love this self who is adventurous ,brave ,intuitive , who trusts in the process so wholly. 

If you have any questions about this method I have adopted please subscribe to the blog and ask away

It's cool ...and there is loads more to tell  !!

GREY DAY!

It’s one of those grey days.


One of those grey days when the sky is an n ever-changing grey or should I say an ever-lightening grey.

On a grey day there is no pressure to be gay, to be bright or to be doing anything spectacular.

On a day like today one need only go through the motions of going to work , taking the kids to school, getting in the groceries , paying a bill maybe.

There is no requirement to be fabulous ; to match or be infected by, the weather. It is a particularly great day to allow yourself to simply be and that includes staying in bed if that is where you want to be.

In a grey light,and I mean light , not a dark grey day, colours become brighter. There is no competition from the bleaching or blinding sunshine on such a day.

Enjoy your grey day.

It is a day when your smile will be more appreciated and seem brighter than on a sunny day too. Be cheerful and it will be noticed.

Just a small word of caution, if you don’t want your clothes to steal the limelight from your pleasant nature ,don’t wear red in large quantity.

Have a great day !

(pun intended)

all cotton white and beautiful...

My white linen gleams in the sun today.
By linen I mean

a white Egyptian cotton sheet and

antique damask bedspread.

It is indeed an Indian summer .Speaking of India and summer I realize that there is no way of buying White Indian cotton bedding in London .If you know otherwise then please let me know...
Buying Egyptian cotton does not have to be expensive if you are looking for the feel and health-benefits of cotton and don’t mind the lower thread counts.
I find them cheapest in my local market at North End Road SW10.
I like my sheets quite rough and have really enjoyed (once anyway), sleeping in quite heavy Irish linen.
White bed-linen has the fetishistic appeal of a blank canvas for me and shares many of the properties of the same. It is white for one thing and cotton for another .
As I can’t quite make it to the canvas supplier at the moment and have some commissioned canvases to complete, I could consider stretching the sheet and painting on that. I won’t though, as it just won’t become taught enough and will keep sagging.
Only cotton canvas will shrink and become taught, (Even Linen sold for painting has a tendency to sag and needs constant attention and restretching to keep it taught.)
Taught.. Taught as a drum and great pleasure has been had by this painter, enjoying a good old drumming session on newly stretched and shrunk canvas. Rhythm is as important in a painting as line colour and form after all….
And now for a bath in the sunshine that blazes through my door.

What a life of many affordable luxuries and at least one of them free today.
May the offers never end.

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