I hate people who ask for discounts on original art.

So, yeh. Do I look like Camden Market? Your local carboot sale? For sure, I may be a little shabby around the edges, but I do have a certain sense of dignity, people.

Everytime somebody comes into an art exhibition (which I have to pay to have by the way) and they look at my paintings (which are all original pieces of art I have spent hours slaving over to create in the first place) and ask if they can have a discount, a little piece of me dies inside.

It sounds totally lame but when you paint a picture you literally pour everything of yourself into it. Maybe other artists know what I mean?

Anyway, imagine you do this- you create something which contains a little bit of you, an essence of what you are. Then you offer it for sale at a price which is already a steal- but we all have to be realistic, I accept that. And I am trying to build a business here. And after all that malarky, someone moans that £90 is too much and can they have a discount?!

URG. As a young struggling artist with very few beans in my purse, you often feel like you have to go along with it, simply to try and make some sales. And trust me, that money doesn't go into fancy shoes or pints of beers- it goes on canvases and towards paying for the next exhibition hall rent.

So if you want a discount, bugger off to the carboot. Or just stop being so bloody tight!

So, my new boyfriends ex-girlfriend is a bit of a nutter...

Good grief.

It is a little frightening to see how much bitterness can eat somebody up. In my 8 years of (often bizzare) experiences since my very first boyfriend (ahh Pete, braces and dates in McDonalds) I have never encountered someone so very manipulative and downright pathetic. Everyone does have their problems with ex's it's true, and I am no exception. But whether you are the new girl or the old one, nothing excuses being such an arse.

I am far to stuck up and have too much pride to say anything about an old boyfriends new piece of ass. I may think it of course- "She is quite hot but I am well cooler and have much better hair, plus Trev told me she did it with Dan on a bus while she was dating Tom, what a skank..." etc etc. But these words would not leave my lips while in conversation with my old boyfriend. Because a) it's mean b) spiteful and c) often total bollocks.

However, my new boyfriend seems to have an ex who is, in fact, looney. Considering she ended the relationship herself due to unfaithfulness, you would think perhaps she may be a little more humble, especially as my man still helped her get work and offered her accomodation with a family member as she is from Australia. Nice, mais oui? Not enough apparently.

In the grand scheme of life one does not slag off your mum, your best mate and your girlfriend. But she managed all three in a recent conversation with my him in the space of roughly 5 minutes. Nice work love! Apparently I'm ugly, definately not as pretty as all his other ex-girlfriends.

How charming.

My feelings were actually a little hurt by this. Why would she say such a thing and be unecessarily obnoxious? I admit I am no ravishing long haired, tight butted goddess, but I'm alroit I reckon. As does my boyfriend.

Oh dear, bit sad really. But meh, I know I'm not a minger and I am also not a loser. I am dating a nice boy, and I draw pretty cool pictures (according to some, naturally I only listen to them as they clearly have excellent taste) and I have lavely mates. What else do you need ey?

So it's June, so obviously it's raining....

...how vastly irritating. Murphy's Law does, I'm convinced, follow me where ever I go. I managed to get myself a part time job afew weeks ago (as, shockingly, being an artist makes you bugger all money, unless you're at ease covering a dirty bed with used condoms or cutting mammals in half) and somehow I ended up working every day last week. And so I stood indoors, gazing out at the sunshine.

This week I have one shift. And it pisses with rain.

Typical.

Mind you, I have felt oddly musey this week. I have been busy doodling away at my cartoons and begun some new paintings.

Is it disturbing that I will sometimes take out old Wuss 'n Boots cartoons and begin laughing hysterically at the jokes. Jokes which I myself came up with. Jokes I know, and have read over and over. Yet still members of my family may bumble into my room and find me giggling ridiculously clutching one of my own drawings.

How odd.

One of these particular cartoons included one based on my childhood. Up until the age of about 9 I genuinely believed dinsaurs were extint because (and I am quoting my father here) they all farted at the same time and poisoned each other. People must have thought I was an idiot child....

Art shows and tha'

So this year I have managed to crank up four exhibitions so far....(exclaimations of excitement please!!)
I am currently exhibiting in a joint art show in Fabrika Gallery in Leicester, and in July I will be exhibiting along with other artists from all over the world in the Drawgasmic Show in The Mad Art Gallery, St Louis, USA. Sounds sexy non?! View my page here http://www.drawgasmic.com/artistpage.php?a=1121and click the link below to visit the Drawgasmic site, and if you're a native US of A-er yourself, and St Louis is not too far, go and see the show! (The date is yet to be confirmed, so I expect you to sit waiting avidly for an update. You may have toilet brakes.)


Big love,

Ru

In the beginnning...

In the beginning there was nothing. And then there was....the internet. And we saw that it was good (well, mostly).

And so the arteest (proper pronunciation) has arrived at blogs. She has grappled with pencils, paints, websites and irrational customers, so why not blogs.

A blog seemed to be the most sensible way to keep my multitue of fans (I believe I am up to at least three, not including the dog) up to date on my location and artistic scrabblings. For yes dear people, this artist is fed up, shockingly, of Melton Mowbray. I am off to Australia on 2nd March to travel around, inflict myself upon the Aussies and generally see what happens. For christmas I recieved a new A4 hard-backed pad and a travel pack for paint brushes. It did leave me feeling about 5 once again, but of course it means I can easily continue doodling my way across the world with ease, and I hope some of you may like to check back every now and then as to what I'm doing.

Now all I need to do is get through these next 7 and a bit weeks without;
a) inadvertantly spending all my savings
b) suffering attacks of panic because 'oh my lord everyone there will think I'm a nutter'
c) worrying that when I remove a relationship status from the ever present and omipotent 'Facebook', a number of people will write upon my wall or comment upon this action with helpful phrases such as "OMG!!!!111 What happened babe??"

Legitimate worries I feel.

As well as all of this, I must continue drawing, and hope for the best.