As folk who know me are aware, I am a lover of all things 'art and design'; whether it is appreciating or partaking. I have been painting and exhibiting my work for 20 years now (EEK!) but over the last few years I have had little time to relax and enjoy this past-time. However, having re-discovered my love of painting with oils (I have always used acrylics or watercolours and haven't painted with oil since art school!) I have somehow managed to make the time. These images show 3 paintings of Caithness scenes, completed this year; my first attempts at oil painting.

1- Caithness sky, currently on display at the Caithness Artists Exhibition.
2- Dunnet beach, sold to a collector
3- Reiss beach

When I paint I love trying to capture light, so most of my works are sky-filled or water related. I like to keep my work simple, allowing the colours to set the atmosphere, either through light, shadow or reflection. At the moment I am planning to 'supersize' my work, working on a larger scale than normal, perhaps even simplifying my work further... watch this space. Whatever happens... I cant wait to sse how it develops.

Mid 20thC BARGAINS!

As most of my friends and family know, I am a huge fan of charity shops, car boot sales and auctions and sites such as ebay and gumtree. If there is a bargain to be had, I will sniff it out! Unfortunately, my home is rather on the small side, meaning that I am having to be rather selective with what I buy. However, when I spotted this chest of drawers in a charity shop, I had to have it. Luckily, my parents house isn't quite so small, so they have fostered it for the short-term. Thank you mum and dad!

The piece itself is a mid-20th century rosewood and teak chest with brass handles, designed by Peter Hayward for Uniflex, a British brand produced and distributed by the company L Lazarus. Uniflex were seen to be amongst the pioneers of modern design of the 1950's and 60's. Generally pieces sell for around £350 - £1000. I got this bad boy for £30!!! WOOP!

Where furniture is concerned, I sometimes have to walk away. Vases, however, are a different story. Over the years I have amassed a crazy amount of them, mostly from charity shops. The blue vase on the right (see below) is my latest. Although I know it is of Scandinavian origin, I can't pinpoint the exact maker; Riihimaki/Riihimaen are very similar though.

Front left: Alsterfors Blue Glass Vase by Per Olof Strom. Bought for £2. Seen for sale at £149.99!!!!

Back and right: Riihimaki/Riihimaen vases, £2.50 and £5.00 respectively. Seen for sale £45.00-£99.00 each!!!! Will I ever sell them? mmmmmmmm...we'll see.

OH! ...and Duduk came too!

Yes, Duduk very much enjoyed his break away, and although he refused to remove his hat and clogs, still managed to catch some sun!

Inspired by Sitges

This was my third holiday to the beautiful town of Sitges, about 20 minutes south of Barcelona, and I have to say, the place just gets better with each visit. Oh how I miss the sun! (I am writing this mid-thunderstorm, back in Aberdeen. meh!) We were only there for 1 week and it flew by! Although not necessarily a holiday to gather inspiration, I couldn't help but feel inspired by the colours, sights and sounds of this old town. In particular, and I had somehow never noticed these before, were the public benches, lining the beach-front. I imagine these had been installed a few decades ago, but the use of geometric patterned tile against rather ornate cast concrete provided a contemporary yet eclectic mix, much to my taste (or lack of? lol). I already have plans for a series of screen prints, inspired by these designs.

GEOMETRY

It's amazing how many different patterns can be generated from one simple tile!

COLOUR AND TEXTURE

Isn't it amazing how a scabby door or shutter in Britain, just looks scabby, yet in the sun, looks 'rustic and homely' ?!

okay, maybe this one does need a clean!

I just love the time/sun bleached colours of these shutters. I plan to incorporate this faded style in future projects.

Zebrano veneer clock

Hey, I haven't posted in a few days, so I thought I would share another past project. This was my first attempt at veneering and I have to say I was pretty pleased. The clock itself can be wall-hung or left free-standing. I'm about to have a go at updating the design, so keep a lookout for future posts.

Zoo animals

Hi! Did everyone enjoy the sunny weekend?

I had great plans to do lots of printing and painting but everything went on hold for the sun! So, here is a project I started quite some time ago, and another example of re-using old toys to create something unique. More projects will follow shortly... weather depending!

Introducing...

my desk! Well, not really. I'm actually introducing Duduk, the little boy who stands on my desk. I spotted him in a charity shop a few weeks ago and felt sorry for him. I 'adopted' him for the pricely sum of 20p, in the hope I could give him a better life. To my surprise, however, the wee scamp has been moonlighting, performing at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest! If you don't believe me, see below;

Watch out for Duduk appearing on Ooft! in the future. He may just have developed a taste for travel!

Number 54

As I'm busy getting to grips with this blog malarkey, I thought I'd share with you an older project.

I've had this piece for a while now, turning out to be the prototype for some future projects I have planned. It is made up of old door frames, skirting and shelves from my old flat. The colour blocks were a colour which featured a lot over the years, and the number '54', was of course the flat number. I love the tones in the wood and they only get better with age.

Love/Hate

This is a project I carried out a while back but thought I'd share with you. It follows a theme of upcycling old toys; in this case, tiny toy guns. The name Love/hate came after I finished the piece. More upcycled toy art will follow in the future.

New favourite things

Kissing Horses

  Okay, so I have to admit, I've had these for a while now but I have only just teamed them together and I can't help but smile every time I look at them. My 'kissing horses' were bought in a charity shop for 50p each... they were totally separate in the shop and are not meant to be together. Pfft! Love blossoms in the strangest of places. I like to think of myself as a bit of a cupid where this pair are concerned...
  The picture behind is made up of individual hand embroidered squares whih used to come in cigarette packets back in the day (Slightly more elegant than the picture of a diseased heart you see nowadays!). These have been in my family for years but were kept in a bag in my mums sewing stool (i NEED a sewing stool!!). They now have pride of place in my sittingroom, displayed in a boot sale frame (£2 incase you wanted to know!). The perfect backdrop for the equine lovers.

So here goes, the first of what I hope to be many 'before and after' posts. I have a few more in the pipeline so watch this space...

I had been looking for a small chest like this for months (it's about the right size for a bedside table), so when I spotted this in a local charity shop, there was no question as to who was gonna be buying it! I had an exact plan for it and set about transforming it straight away.

Although I'm not a big fan of paint effects, I really wanted a slightly distressed look to the piece (I love vibrant colours on more traditional, worn looking items), so with gloss paint, gold spray (for the handles) and a foam sanding block, I set about creating the look. I LOVE the end result. Hope you do too.

I thought this was a very fitting first post for Ooft! One of my first instagram pictures and one of my favourites (okay, it was taken a month or so ago... but it still makes me smile!)