all that glitters...

August is flying and I am already past the halfway mark of my challenge! Day 9: Pastel Day 10: Watercolour Day 11: Ink Day 12: Graphite Day 13: Acrylic Day 14: Graphite Day 15: Pastel You can follow my progress daily on instagram @hrequineart.

So after a diverse start, a rather watery week followed! Day 3: Watercolour Day 4: Watercolour Day 5: Watercolour Day 6: Gouache Day 7: Watercolour Day 8: Gouache Follow me on instagram  @hrequineart for daily updates

This is a quote I read this week, from American Artist Nikki Smith and she is spot on; "Just do your work. If the world needs your work, it will come and get you. If it doesn't, do your work anyway. You can have fantasies about having control over the world, but I know I can barely control my kitchen sink. That is the grace I am given, because when one can control things, one is limited to one's own vision. " Meanwhile, I will continue to play with water colour and take a leap of faith into the unknown. follow me on facebook - www.facebook.com/hrequineart

A winter sunset I actually like the days between Christmas and New Year. Christmas is done, the planning, stress and everything that goes with it is finished, I am off work for a few days and finally have time to come up for air and clear my head. It's a good time to reflect on the year gone by. So much happens and is forgotten in our busy lives, so its nice to have a chance to revisit and mentally digest everything; the good, the bad, the ugly and to realise how far I have come and how lucky I am . Whilst it's human nature to remember the bad stuff, it's so important to remember the good and to turn what you thought was bad around into something positive. From this reflection, I can set my goals for the coming year. I believe very much in constant development and evolution. Stand still and this world will leave you behind. Listen, learn evolve and grow! I will endeavour to record some of my progress here as well as my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/hrequin...

As ever, I'm always looking for new techniques and ideas to experiment with. I have been playing with a few different ideas recently. I wanted to try to recreate the look of cameo jewellery in a painting, easier said than done! Here is my first attempt using both acrylic paint and watercolour. I have also been playing with collage and finding myself very influenced by the change of season. Autumn is certainly here. The piece that I am currently working on is certainly influenced by our current Autumnal foggy, misty weather....I will share it when it's done. To see more of my work, stop by at facebook.com/hrequineart

Yes, Autumn is pretty much here. The days are getting shorter, the leaves are fading from green to gold, and the breeze is fresh. Another summer is departing and leaves me wondering where on earth the time goes! Then I look back to the Spring and it feels like a long time ago, so I think it's just a sign of how much we seem to pack into our lives that makes it feel like the time evaporates. This watercolour was inspired by one of my sunset rides. I love how the light turns everything golden and my horse seems to enjoy it too! Wherever you are, I hope you can find time to enjoy a sunset or two this week. Heather You can follow me on facebook: www.facebook.com/hrequineart and instagram: hrequineart.

It's funny, I was a salesperson for 17 years but self promotion just doesn't come easily to me. Still, necessity breeds action (or something like that), so in addition to my ramblings here, I have a facebook page for my art: www.facebook.com/hrequineart and I have joined instagram as hrequineart. Feel free to visit, like, follow or whatever. Meanwhile my collections All that Glitters and Silhouette are available. They come mounted and framed and ready to hang for £35 + delivery. This is Sapphire - My thoughts are now turning to my next collection, plus I have a commission to get busy with, but first a little special canvass I think! Watch this space to see what I do with it. :)

Art is... For me, an emotion. A feeling. Here's a thought; What other species greets a fellow with. "Hi, how are you?" There is a phrase in every language for this. So from the dawn of communication, or at least some early point, humans were aware of each others feelings and emotions. Not only that, but were interested in them, albeit it for empathetic or mercenary reasons. So art is a way to express and share our emotions. How does a painting make you feel ? A picture, play, movie, song, or dancing all provoke some kind of emotion within us. The artist is portraying their emotions via whatever media they use and sharing this with anyone who cares to partake. So what emotion am I portraying with the above picture? Well, I am happy to leave that to your own interpretation :)

Yes, I know it's only August, but the nights have already started to draw in and forward planning is a good thing, so here is a preview of what I have in store for the autumn. The"All that glitters" range will be available on my website from September. Priced at £35 for a framed original, just in time for Christmas. I am really excited about these and a new series "Silhouette". Here is a preview of some of my favourites from both:

Just a short, sweet update this week as I have had to work (day job) for 6 days in a row, so this is my one day off before I'm back to work tomorrow :( Still, I have made time to finish a couple of wip's so I feel that I have accomplished something! These are 2 more in the All That Glitters series. These are such fun to do. Twinkling water colour backgrounds, bordered with texture paste. The horses are painted in gouache. I love the contrast of the shimmery background and flat mat subject. It shouldn't work, but it does!