St Valentine’s Day

 Hola amigos!

This Valentine’s Day I am holding a 25% off sale of artwork. Only available in my gallery. I am hoping to increase my footfall and get lots of people venturing out to find my gallery. Both days I will be open from midday to four pm....tea time! 😂 

If you are local please pop in for a browse or come and make a fuss of Pancho....just don’t get too close to his bed! 😆 

Since A New Life in the Sun, I have been absolutely inundated with messages and email requests. I am quite surprised by how observant people are when watching me on tv. Almost every painting on show in the background has been asked about.

By far the most popular was Consuelo’s three paintings. She has kindly allowed us to sell limited edition prints of her work. They won’t be signed because she does not live near me.

I heard about Consuelo for years when I lived in Arboleas, Andalucia. She is my most famous artist in the gallery. Famous because she creates her stunning artwork with just the palette knife or spatula as they call it in Spain.

So for quite a time people asked me.”Did you meet Consuelo.” And my answer was no.

But it’s funny the twists and turns of life, huh? I started teaching 1:1 a young student called Meili.

Keep an eye out for her. She will be a star! ⭐️ 

One day when I turned up at her home, her mum said to me....”Do you like my new painting?”

Yes! I said and then I saw the signature....Consuelo. “Oh! It’s beautiful! It’s a Consuelo,.”

“Oh yes, she’s my friend. Would you like to meet her?”

And so I did.... and I picked her brains.... She was very kind and generous. She told me she used to hold seminars on how to paint with the palette knife. She said she wasn’t worried about sharing her technique...because...it’s not easy, you know!. 😂 

For me sadly Valentine’s Day only means one thing. It’s the day my mum passed away.

My mum Waltraud is who I get my resilience and tenacity from. She was born in 1930 in what was once called East Prussia.

She grew up living on the banks of the Danube and then moved to Luneburg. That’s was where she met my dad who was in the  army. They met in their teens. She moved to England to get married when she was just 18 years old. When she went to live in Ilkeston Derbyshire, she was considered by my grandparents as the enemy...and they didn’t allow her to use her name, but instead referred to her as Alison. As really just a child that must have taken some strength of character?

She was from the generation where the woman does everything. Plus she was German. (I consider myself to be European not English). My dad would walk past the kettle and flick the switch on...that’s was his share of the tea making task.

Now I am getting older, sometimes I look in the mirror and see my mum looking back at me. 💝

Hasta el fin de semana chicos!