To close or not to close ? Paintings and a stamp challenge !

Just lately l have been wondering if l should close my art studio. Why? Well although l am paying the rent and am able to buy all the paint etc l need, for the last 3 years l have not paid myself. Don't get me wrong, l LOVE teaching babies, tots, children and adults but l hate cleaning floors. My main problem is this ... l cannot get volunteers to help me for just 3 hours in the afternoon for 4 days a week! They want to work with the children but not share any of the "yuck" jobs, in their view. So at the age of 61, l am laying the paper all over the studio floor, washing all the floors, washing the toys and so on. 

Anyway, l have had time to think and l have decided to try and get the word out there more and see what happens. Fingers crossed please everyone.... or just the one person that reads this blog! :)

I must start finding time for myself to paint more too, especially as l have signed up to take part in Open Studio's this year again. 

So here are some of the pieces l have been working on recently. As l seem to have so little time to paint these days, l savor every painting session. The trouble is l seem to need at least 4 hours straight, to be able to think, potter and paint these days! Teaching in my studio, takes up most of my day. Don't get me wrong, l LOVE my work but sometimes l wish l could just paint all day.

A while ago, l bought a Geli plate and l have had so much fun.

This is one of my children's paintings, that l have added more details to.

I am just about to finish"The Fallen Angel "series. I am stuck on their faces and am half way through the end painting. The faces are really stumping me, at the moment. I don't want to paint actual faces but l don't want them to stay blank either. Need to think about them for a while, l think. The first image is painting number 3 and then the next one is the last one.

My style has started to change again! This is a new finished piece. It has about 12 layers to it and l had so much fun creating it. Using acylic paint, stencils, modelling paste, inks and markers.

The next piece is another dream that l have had over 3 nights. It is still a work in progress but l am having fun, finding out where it is going!

The next image shows how a lot of my canvases start out. It is the result of me wiping my brush on a canvas, instead of a rag, when l change colour !

I have also been making stamps out of sticky-backed foam. So easy and l love the results. I challenged myself to use every pice of a sheet of foam. Look ... not only did l do that but l made 26 unique stamps. :)