Wednesday 7 September 2016

Thistles and salt air and a Seaeagle

  I just love thistles, perhaps it is their colour, that gorgeous purple pink, perhaps it is their resilient nature, whatever it is, I never tire of them.
 This time of year they cover the wild landscape. This canvas was finished a few weeks back but I haven't had time to blog it, or several others I have finished recently.  I don't know if it is just me, but since relenting and setting up a facebook business page I seem to struggle keeping up with doing both a regular blog and facebook posts. I resent feeling I am spending too much time on line so I set time restraints on how much I devote to such stuff. Is this wrong? Am I the only one out there struggling to multitask social media? Blogging was always my main love as it forms a sort of visual diary. It is a journey of words, thoughts and inspiration. Do you do both? If so which works best for you.

 Below is a close up of the rich textures of paper and paint.



I made it to fill a space vacated by my sea eagle at Skyeworks which happily flew off to a lovely new home.



 Below the door frame gives you an idea of size of my new thistle painting. I like working on these letterbox shaped canvas. Gives landscapes an interesting perspective and leaves lots of space for all the textural elements I want to add.


Thistles are everywhere and I photograph them all the time... I'm not sure I need any more thistle photographs but I keep on taking them!






27 comments:

  1. I love purple thistles also. I have all but given up my blog-I do still love to read blogs because you can put more information on them then a facebook post but fb is where i post now. I have become lay. I spend a lot of time when i first get up looking at email, blogs, facebook, pinterest, instagram and news. Whew its a big responsibility keeping up with all that-lol!!

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  2. Congrats on the sale of the sea eagle and I agree with you about the thistles - I love the colours. I've really started to notice the different colours that come with each month up here - the yellow gorse and daffodils in May/June, the white bog cotton in July and then the purple fox gloves in August and then heather and thistles now. It's so lovely and you show it off perfectly with your vibrant artwork.

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  3. Oh those thistles are just gorgeous, and a favourite of mine too! Congratulations on selling your Sea Eagle, I bet this one also goes before you know it - it is stunning.
    I have a FB page but don't use it! I still prefer the blog as it feels more personal and people who visit are usually there because they have chosen to be, rather than because someone has 'liked' my page and it's gone out to everyone they know. A FB page is probably better for getting your name out there and selling I should imagine. I just know I can't do both or I'd never have time to make art!

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  4. Beautiful work Morag, and I love that longer narrow presentation too, it also works well with textile hangings. I'm like you and have both a blog and a FB page. My dilemma is that if I put the same stuff on each, my regulars and friends will get so saturated with my images, they stop looking. Then I find it difficult deciding what to put on each! Ho hum, maybe a choice of one over the other would be best.

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  5. the sides of paths here are surrounded by thistles, pretty purple and only a pain if the dog loses her ball in them :p

    you painting is lovely, very interest composition :)

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  6. Oh I immediately fell in love with your enchanting purple thistles! You did such a great job! And just to let you know I would also struggle with two social media jobs. Because of my regular day job it's even difficult to keep my blog up to date but like you I love blogging because of the visual diary character.

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  7. Oh my gosh, I love both your thistles and your eagle pieces. So full of life, and texture, and color.

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  8. purple thistles are special and I loved seeing the scale of the paintings... wow they look spectacular

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  9. I'm such a big fan and those thistles are stunning. Your ability to find beauty in simplicity is so honourable. Congratulations on selling the eagle. Love the evolution of Morag... it's been such an interesting journey to observe! Social media is important to get your name out there, there are many scouts on instagram and twitter watching for new talent. Juggling it all probably needs to be managed properly to get the largest impact! Balance is key I imagine! Beautiful art and photos!

    Hugs Giggles

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  10. Your Art is really beautiful and expressive in colours.
    Happy PPF ❤

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  11. Facebook seems to have taken a lot of regular bloggers away. As we speak my daughter is teaching me the ins and outs of Facebook as I am planning on having a page for my artwork. That said I agree with Diana I think blogs are more personal and am sorry to see my favourite artists forsaking their blogs. Congrats on your sale!

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  12. Morag, your thistle painting is so gorgeous. I love the purple colors as they vary throughout the painting. And the size, oh my goodness! That's a lot of fun work. I know what you mean about balancing FB and blog. I have similar problems.

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  13. Gorgeous art depicting the thistles!! I know this will be sold by your next post :) and congrats on the last sale-well done! Everyone says that to really put your name out there and promote your art (if you wish to sell)it is crucial to keep up with social media like FB, Pinterest, Instagram. Yet sadly it does take away a lot of time. I'm rarely on FB but I wouldn't give up blogging or blog hopping for anything as it feels so much more personal and I feel more connected. You need to do what feels right to you. Happy PPF!

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  14. First I will answer your questions. No you are not wrong to set time limits for internet. Especially with an online business. Years ago I found myself answering questions and taking orders at all hours of the day. I wouldn't work like this if I still had my brick and mortar, I would have business hours. It is possible to do both with time restrictions. Besides you have to have time to create you beautiful, bold, amazing art. Thistles are one of my favorite plants. I know people call them weeds but they are so pretty. You have truly captured them in your painting. The seagull is amazing as well. I love your style.

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  15. Love the purple thistles! The painting is beauty. xo

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  16. It may look grey in Scotland but your pictures are so full of colour and life, they dazzle the eye! Gorgeous works, I love thistles too! I don't do any Face Book stuff, already blogging is a lot, time consuming but great to meet artists like you! I think setting a time limit is a great idea, I tried that but found I didn't quite stick to it. I think I'll just limit where I link my art to.

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  17. Yes constantly posting on facebook is rather tedious but sometimes I get a commission out of it. I hope to be so successful one day that I can have a 'social media manager.' Wow your thistles are rather stunning. I don't think I have seen any thistles in USA maybe hey don't have them. Happy PPF

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  18. luv the first piece you presented, best of the lot. Happy PPF

    much love...

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  19. Wow, fantastic and congrats on your sale. xox

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  20. that close-up really shows the richness of colours. So beautiful ... Congrats on the sale, well-deserved! I'm with you on the social media thing. I cannot keep up. I try to post more on Facebook but usually I only post once a week when I do my blogpost. I've made a few sales through Facebook, maybe I should invest a bit more time on there, but it's just too much, and I'm spending too much time online as it is. Since this week I set a rule for myself: no more computer after 8pm on at least 3 days a week. It frees up a lot of time for artmaking since I don't watch TV either. But it's a struggle, I agree .... My first love is blogging too, it's much easier to connect with people that way I think.

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  21. What a spectacular piece Morag. I rarely use purple in my art but love it so much. Hmmm... I might have to change that. As for social media, I post daily on Instagram and love the community there. It is a simple and intuitive process for me. Posts from Instagram can be shared to to Facebook and I do that on occasion. I try to post several times a week on my blog. I have found different followers on each of the sites. I had to ask myself why I am on social media. Then I decidde if I wanted to devote the time to cultivating that outcome. It is very personal decision and I wish you luck! You can always test the waters. If it doesn't work, you can stop. For example I started a business page along with a personal Facebook page. I found that I received many more responses to the personal page so I kept that one and let the business page lay dormant. It could be that I started with a personal page and that is where people thought to find me.

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  22. Hi Kindred, stunning works, deeply beautiful sea eagle...and gorgeous thistle art!wowness!! I too love thistles and your pics are wonderful!
    I truly love blogging( and visiting fellow bloggers posts) and just flow with my spirit..sometimes I am online sporadic sometimes more often! I think just find your divine flow and balance!do what feels best for you!I blog for pure enjoyment and connection with fellow creatives, it is something I look froward too.
    Beautiful art my friend....shine on!!
    Victoria

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  23. I adore thistles too and your painting certainly does them justice. It's beautiful.
    I started blogging when I lived in Melbourne and my daughter was over here in Edinburgh. It was the perfect way to keep a visual diary. I love blogging but slowly over time I've ventured into Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I now feel that I'm not getting enough time for my artwork. There are only so many hours in a day after all and I want to keep my blog going, so I'll have to re-evaluate my online time.
    I wish I could visit everyone's blogs!
    Have a great weekend :D

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  24. Gorgeous , gorgeous colors! And a gorgeous land you live in. I think too much social media gets in the way of living. I agree wth you that blogging is a continuation of the creative process and a journal of sorts. I don't do Facebook.

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  25. Beautiful beautiful colors in your thistle painting, and beautiful place you live in.

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  26. The Thistles are gorgeous, you did them a beautiful justice. Blessings, Janet

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  27. I too like purple, pink thistles. Where you live in.

    Bless you.

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