Mabel and Martin liked to Match

Mabel and Martin liked to Match

Painting by Helen Dalgairns

Original size: 42 x 59.4 cm

This is my latest painting titled Mabel and Martin liked to Match.  The inspiration for this piece was based upon my love of the Sausage dog or for the correct term the Dachshund. I do not have one as a pet, I really like them including the Beagle but my life is too busy to own a dog.  If I did own a Sausage dog, I would definitely make it a little tartan outfit to wear like the one pictured above and let it sit on my knee whilst sipping a herbal tea at an artisan cafe.  I can only dream that maybe one day, probably when I am an old lady that this little dream may actually happen :-D  

Today was my day off work (yeah!) and I met my best friend Jenny for a cuppa at my favourite cafe The English Muse on Newland Avenue in Hull. We figured that Cream Tea was the way to go, especially on a gray drizzly day in January.  The clotted cream was sooooooooo so good and definitely worth the added inches it may have added to my hips!

No:1 Lady Chicken Keeper

No:1 Lady Chicken Keeper

Painting by Helen Dalgairns

Original size: 42 x 59.4 cm

This is my latest painting titled No:1 Lady Chicken Keeper and the inspiration for this piece was based upon my love of being a chicken keeper for four cheeky chickens. I know I shouldn't have a favourite chicken but I do, her name is Raspberry and I have loved her since the day I adopted her.  Raspberry is your everyday orange chicken (my favourite colour by the way), she has the cheekiest personality and likes to run around the garden exploring every nook and cranny, including the inside of our beloved 1970s Campervan!  The chicken in the painting was inspired upon Raspberry, although I decided to rename her in the painting as Doris and I am not sure why?

Life for me has had its downs recently, I am currently in recovery mode and my body and mind are starting to heal and wanting to give things another go in the near future.  This means that reopening my on-line shops has yet to still happen.

On a positive note my home town Hull was awarded City of Culture 2017 on Wednesday 20th Nov.  This has made me very happy and excited, especially for the people who live here and for the people who will move here in the future.  Hull has received some very bad press in the past and people who live here including myself laugh at these negative comments, as we know what a wonderful place this city is including the art scene that is now about to boom and blossom even more!  Please watch this fantastic film written, produced and directed by Matt Stephenson and Alan Jones:

Staycation

I am currently on a two week staycation, which means that I have finally got round to painting the tree mural in my bedroom.  I have been wanting to do this for 3 years now and it took me 3 days to achieve it.    I first sketched it out in graphite freehand and then painted it using black acrylic paint.  I am really pleased with the results and my husband really likes it too :-D What do you think?

Neo my cat got a little in the way whilst painting, she is a very stubborn cat not wanting to move for anything.  Rolling the bed covers was the only solution.

During my staycation I have also been spending some time in the garden enjoying the summer sun and the chooks.  I love to watch them, they are funny little creatures with cheeky personalities always scratching about in the mud looking for a juicy worm to eat.  

To all the people who have asked me when my prints and cards will be for sale again, firstly thank you for enquiring. I am still in the process of getting my new pieces prepared for printing and then I should be ready to fill up my on-line shops again :-D  I am also looking at creating my own Nellie and Neo website where I will be selling my artwork.  So keep watching this space. x x x