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It was with great surprise and immense pleasure that I was excepted to take part in “Borders Art Fair” held in march annually at Kelso, displaying many  talented artists from across Scotland, the Borders and Northumberland 

I had applied in July with fingers and toes crossed, but when the email arrived in early October I was blown away with excitement which soon turned into outright panic!!! WHAT HAVE I DONE ?? 5 months to prepare for something as professional as this art fair…HELP.

Needless to say I was transported into a frenzied artistic meditative universe, nothing else existed or mattered…OK…so in the real world I juggle day to day life alongside many hour of painting!

I’ve realised  I paint my best in the winter months when there’s no distractions that the summer months bring, like gardening, long sunny walks with the dogs etc etc. I’m at my happiest hibernating in my garden studio with some good music and a scented candle while the weather outside does what it does best in winter …dreek dark days ..wet and windy weeks and miserable cold months.

March came around soon enough and the three day art fair was a great success, what a learning curve and super experience it was. So many people to talk art to,  new friends made amongst the exhibitors and to my delight paintings sold! 

Phew.. can I go on holiday now please ???

Oh my days it’s been a whole year since I last posted something on my journal. It’s not that there hasn’t been any news to shout about,theres been so much happening that I just haven’t gotten around to writing it down to let you all know!. 

Where do I start?

Part 1 Recap of the missing year

Ok.. so my daughter decided to have a pumpkin festival (a little one she said) she never does anything on a small scale!. True to form off we when, first job was cleaning a pathway through our woods. Many hands makes light work was the mantra. Ages 74-4years old were recruited with various tools and motorised vehicles, this was the summer job. 

That completed next came the bale maze and pumpkin patch, this was altogether an easier job allocated to my son and farm staff. Harvesting came and went providing us with lovely big bales for said bale maze etc

Daughter set forth organising a LITTLE bit of entertainment to run along side the P picking (remember small scale she said) Happy with her day’s work rounding up ..half of the entire Slaters Family FunFair! Burger van!! Local coffee van!!!mobile toilets!!!! and the purchase of a very large marquee!!!!!(for the face painting-children’s crafts- gift stall-etc etc) hope your all getting the SMALL point.

My personal job in all of this was to come up with around 24 scary installations for the haunted woodland walk (keeping it small of course) and 8 not very small!! photo opportunities boards, hand painted, this was my job as apparently I’m “the artist”

With help from an amazing workforce team we completed the walk with hours to spare. 

Oh did I mention the Bedford Vintage horse box that was sprayed bright orange as the reception area and 9 very large scarecrows for the pumpkin patch. 

Needless to say it wasn’t the one weekend festival originally talked about,oh no …every weekend in October we welcome lots of families through the gates. 

Happy Halloween..please not again next year though. 

Have a peek on instagram @Springhillpumpkinfestival to see the fun videos and pics of the event

The very talented Scottish artist Ann Oram rws visited us from over the border, she is probably more known for her still life floral works, but this week she demonstrated her water colour and mixed media seascapes 

And what a week we were blessed with, it couldn’t have  been more perfect.

The sun stayed out, the temperature was blissfully hot and there wasn’t a breath of wind. Perfect for mornings of plain-air sketching.

Afternoon studio time was spent Sharing tips, techniques and many laughs while we worked on our mornings studies. 

Hopefully next year there will be many more workshops/art holidays on offer

Remember the old saying  “Your never too old to learn something new”

It resonates with me constantly, both in my artwork and spinning/weaving

To find a new approach to a technic that is familiar is so exciting and can offer a new way to look at your work keeping it fresh and stops that “I’m in a rut” sensation that creeps up ever now and again.

Social Media is great platform to explore. There are hundreds of artists willing to share their art  technics and studio time with us, some free and some requiring  subscription, but its always money well spent as you are learning something new and also helping the artist in these stretched times. 

Art should be FUN not something that needs to be repeated time and time again, until you are so automatic that you forget to feel, sense and really appreciate what you are creating. 

We all develop a STYLE, but who’s to say that style can’t be adapted in an new and varied approach that might fire up some different feelings within us and rattle up a new body of work…..we can always slip back to what we know or are known for after we’ve had that break free moment!! 

Have a fun filled April everyone 

March brought a trip to London to visit Brick Lane Gallery.

I needed something to kick start me into action on the art front and preparing for a joint Contemporary art exhibition did the trick.

I took along my daughter and granddaughter for moral support and also the fact that they are my chief advisors on the art front - “i think that’s finished now” “ the horizons not straight” “the sky needs more atmosphere” etc etc, you get the picture.   

Typical our luck there was rail/tube strike, demonstrations and protests when we arrived bringing  central London to a standstill. We booked a hop on hop off tour bus before arriving to show Rose (granddaughter) the city sights but we ended up walking everywhere passing frustrated drivers stuck in their gridlock but finding little treasures of side streets, street food and even Savile Row!

Back home now away from the bustle of the city, has found me in my studio every opportunity i can. Replacing dried tubes of paint (well it has been nearly 3 years after all) sorting through my stash of unfinished canvases and generally getting excited about the prospect of painting every day i can manage.

I loved seeing my work alongside other emerging and professional artistes it gave me such a buzz. Something i would love to repeat in the future, maybe being accepted to show in some art fairs or exhibiting in some local galleries, that would be icing on the cake. But in the real world i’ll just be content with painting for me.

January has found me back in front of my easel and i can’t think why its taken me so long to get back to my happy place. Well obviously if you’ve read my last journal post we all know why!!

The inspiration i needed was a email from The Brick Lane Gallery, London just before Christmas, inviting me to rent space for their Contemporary Painting Exhibition in march. It is a group exhibition showcasing emerging artists from all over the world and they though my work would fit in perfectly, praise indeed!. 

I can’t begin to tell you how much i have missed painting, it's  so therapeutic i can lose myself for hours. Painting and yoga are a great combination for the mind and soul.

Well it’s been a while since I last posted to my journal.

The last few years have been a roller coaster for us all, Brexit, Covid, Cost of living etc etc etc 

I’ve been battling my own problems this last two years also.

In spring 2021 i was very lucky not to loose my sight in a gardening accident, I was left with a detached retina in my left eye and three retinal tears in my right eye. 

One gas bubble inserted to keep my retina in place, three blasts of laser treatment to repair the tears and cataract replacement in both eyes saved the day. It took a few months to recover but fingers crossed my sight is ok at the moment thank goodness. 

Next came probably the biggest challenge to date to my health in early December 2021.

I was supposed to have been having treat day (hair cut, manicure and pedicure the works) but instead of that I ended up having major surgery!!! 

My grandchildren’s pony became very poorly in the morning of that day and we brought him in from the fields to care for him, but by afternoon he got worse, even with the vets intervention. Unfortunately he collapsed on me trapping me between him and the wall …..ouch …..ouch ….ouch. 

Long story short, I ended up with a Tibial Plateau Fracture to my left leg that needed plated and 8 screws. 12 weeks in a wheelchair totally none weight bearing, then weeks of gaining confidence to walk again …what a nightmare time, something I’d never wish on anyone. 

So nearly one year on and constant knee pain and problems, I decided to give myself a good kick up the backside and just be happy I’m still alive to write my Journal.

I am very excited about being featured in this months Coast Magazine, my friend and PR guru Claire Thorburn has been working very hard to try and get me a feature in my favourite coastal mag. for quite some time. She has hit the jackpot this time, thank you Claire 

www.coastmagazine.co.uk/content/coast-character-julie-gregory

I’ve been dreaming of featuring in Coast magazine from the day i picked up its very first issue.

Drooling over the beautiful pictures of the amazing coastline surrounding our island of the United Kingdom,…. Kingdom doesn’t that sound just grand!! 

Hip Hip Hurrah I've made it !!

Check out the September issue, I’m in the “Ten thing too do this month” section 

Art Holidays.. now there’s another thing I’ve been dreaming of for a long time.

Art has always been a passion of mine since i was a little girl, its now becoming a bit of an obsession. Thats not a bad thing is it? Calming, therapeutic just me and a paint brush, what’s not to like?

Having participated in one or two art holidays myself i decided  this was something i could offer alongside my existing holiday

accommodation business.

Living on the beautiful North Northumberland Coast made the decision easy, along with Instagram  through which i have been able to secure some great Tutors offering a variety of workshops 

Heres to a great Arty year and many more to come  

Last weekend i exhibited some of my work out in the open in a very lovely garden in Scotland. It was one of the Scotlands open garden scheme charity days, set in two and a half acres of “garden rooms” Beautiful manicured lawns clipped hedges, cottage style vegetable garden and an orchard playing host to hens and ducks.

This orchard room was where i set up my art, using recycled traffic signs as easels. It was a super day, the sun shone and people filtered through all daylong, i even sold three paintings! 

It just goes to show you don’t need to have a roof and walls to exhibit your work, it dose help having the weather on your side for the day though.

Well here I am at Portsmouth waiting to board  a ferry bound for France 

In my car are some of my paintings just ready to adorn a lucky collectors home 

Come back for the instalment photos next week

Today is the day we go live. 

It’s such an exciting day for me, a line in the sand when my art - which has been my lifelong passion since childhood -  has now become official with the launch of my website - Julie Gregory Art. 

This website is a platform for my artwork - where people can just browse or purchase my paintings - it is a culmination of a journey of discovery, charting the progress of my work, a reflection of where I live and my inspiration 

My aim is to use the site as a vehicle of communication where i can share the development of my skills and techniques - the movements from realism to expressionism thought to abstract 

Positive feedback from Instagram has been a great boost of confidence, helping me realise my art was worthy of its own place in cyber space - a new website is born 

In my Bio i say - Art is a representation of my thoughts - i can express myself freely through brushes, paint and different mediums, I can story tell, recount, whereas writing these words you’re reading now is a struggle 

Art is my escape, a road to well being and an aid to recover

It just goes to show, if you have a passion and love for something, follow your dream

Julie

Busy times...my new website is under constrution..