I’ve really missed sending out a good old fashioned monthly newsletter and so I’ve revived my Mailchimp after shutting it down for a year or so.

In the past, when it was time to write it, I found that I was getting that horrid feeling in the pit of my stomach - you know the one, ‘argh! I’ve not done my maths homework and it’s 10pm on a Sunday night’ kind of feeling.

And so I decided to shake things up a bit.

One of my favourite things to do in the whole world is to pop the kettle on, get a HUGE cup of tea (have you seen the size of my very treasured tea cup?!?) and have a good old chin-wag. So that’s what I’m doing.

Every month (or so) I will make a secret Youtube video (only my newsletter subscribers will get the link) and we can have a chat. I’ll let you know what is going on behind the scenes, tell you about any exciting offerings and workshops before everyone else and just generally chat about the things that are making me happy.

If you haven’t signed up in the past for my Mailchimp newsletter and you’d quite fancy a monthly catch-up, please CLICK HERE and you can sign up.

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I’ll be popping back here soon too (argh! there’s no escaping me!!!! Tee! Hee!)

Big hugs x

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PS: Thank you for the constant source of inspiration in your beautiful and powerful writing.

I’ve been painting pretty solidly for the past few months and I felt as though I needed a little change to shake things up a bit.

Acrylic is a very forgiving medium, it’s fast-drying and can be overpainted easily.

You want transparent glazes? No problem.

Thick areas of chunky impasto? Go ahead!

In fact, if acrylic paint were a person, then she’d be the easy-going mate who goes with the flow and is a social chameleon.

So, for a couple of days I thought that I would reacquaint myself to the exact opposite of this, and crack open my dusty watercolours.

Don’t get me wrong, I love watercolours, it can be the most relaxing thing in the world letting the watercolours flow into one another - just as long as it’s on her terms.

You see, watercolour can’t be controlled or cajoled, she will flow wherever she wishes… and the word ‘forgiving’ isn’t in her vocabulary.

Once the mark is made, it is made.

But that is her charm isn’t it, her gorgeous translucency - she doesn't need to hide her ‘true colours’ and sometimes, if she decides that she likes you, she can be gloriously fluid… but never forget that it could go very wrong in a split second!

So I’ve been getting to know her again, and yes, there are several pieces of scrunched up paper in the bin, but I will be popping two of the watercolour originals in my shop tomorrow, Monday 26 February (as well as an acrylic on panel.)

It’s been ages since I’ve put any original paintings up for sale but I feel as though it’s the right time, and I’d love to share my work after this period of painting ‘hibernation.

Here’s a link to my shop if you’d like a peek: Mrs B's Shop

Best wishes to you x

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And when it doesn’t flow I tend to push myself harder, which can be counterproductive.

If creativity was personified then I imagine it to be like an imaginary playmate who just wants to have fun, one whiff of anything sensible, one utterance of the word ‘should’ and its gone, off in search of someone less dull!

I’d been tackling this one painting in particular and I’d begun to force it to be something it just didn’t want to be.

The composition became more complex, the mark-making heavier and controlled.

So today I was simply playing with my iPad, cheesy Christmas film playing in the background, hoovering and housework done, and, just like that,I think it’s begun to make sense.

It needed stripping back and simplifying.

Just like life I guess!

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Designing and writing Christmas bits and bobs for my shop is one of the most joyful Mrs Bertimus jobs, I hope you like this festive tale!

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Drawing is an emotive subject, at school often we were either labelled the ‘kid who draws’, or not.

I have Mr.Davis to thank for my label, he held up my drawing of a pineapple and said that it was good (you see, I had drawn the little pineapple-y triangle things and used an orange crayon to define the edges, blending into the yellow to make each segment more three-dimensional, without sounding too boastful I think it was the best/ only pineapple I have ever drawn!)

I can still see that drawing as though I drew it yesterday, and I can still feel the swell of pride from that life-defining moment.

So I became that kid who draws, and I followed the path that Mr.Davis kindly gave me.

But not everyone had that moment, and that is why it was such a privilege to teach this workshop.

There was such bravery and camaraderie in the room, thank you so much to those who came along to share this experience.

(And thank you Mr.Davis.)

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I’ve always struggled with it, saying the ‘artist’ word.

It was much easier to say that I was an art teacher, you have to have an interview for that, you even get a certificate.

But ‘artist’… that’s a different thing all together.

But on the 30th May at 11.38am I became an artist.

I was with a friend and I spotted a dead mouse on the ground.

Out came the phone, down I crouched, and I instantly began photographing it from different angles.

Unbeknownst to me, a lady walked past and my friend said:

‘It’s alright, she’s an artist!’

The lady nodded and walked on…

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I usually start doodling and dreaming up ideas in the summer and then I begin designing the Christmas story card.

Story-telling (be it with the written/ spoken word or images) is a magical gift to share and a tradition that connects us all.

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Narrative and imagery are so intertwined in the work that I want to create, designing these story cards is the most joyous project for me, there are more details about them here, if you fancy a peek.

I hope that you enjoy the ‘reveal’ of my Christmas card design for this year…

My walk to the studio has become increasingly important to me and my art.

The other morning I was thinking about how much my life has changed and that I no longer feel I am of service to anyone.

I now no longer have any students and my daughter has left for university.

There is no-one to mentor and no-one to nurture.

This realisation initially offered me the ‘gift’ of guilt.

And as I walked under the trees I came to the conclusion that this is how I feel expected to accept this passage of my life; neatly packaged in a bundle of guilt and shame.

But what if this season was lovingly gift wrapped in the translucent tissue paper layers of acceptance and introspection?

What if this time has actually been given to me so that I can look inwards and really find what I want to do in my life?

So I’d like to give thanks for the gift of selfishness.

(I also came to the conclusion that the trees are very wise indeed!)

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Final prep for my drawing workshop next month.

Sketchbooks are time capsules, they capture those tiny moments and let you relive them over and over again.

Sketchbooks are magic portals.

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