Right I think my feet are firmly back on terra firma after buzzing around these last couple of days like a bee on Prozac. It’s been really exciting and not that I wish myself ill but my lofty 51 year old body can only take so much buzz before it starts to show signs of physical strain.                   

(c) Anne Blankson-Hemans, inspiration for the Elmina paintings

So now that I am back down to earth, I am ready to deal with the practicalities of what’s required for my face to face meeting with the production team in Birmingham on Thursday. They need me to bring my passport so I can identify myself and prove that I am UK resident; that’s all ok but they also require me to prove I am the author of the aforementioned painting which although understandable is proving slightly more challenging. I don’t think at any time in my studio whilst painting I’d be required to prove authorship of my work and so haven’t really kept an audit trail of me sketching, drawing painting etc. I mean how was I supposed to know I might nearly become famous one day?

However, it’s a reasonable request. I have a very imaginative mind and one of my imaginations albeit fleetingly (these thoughts are not allowed to dwell for too long) was of someone turning up with an exquisite forgery formed in China claiming also to be the author of my work.

So when my feet finally hit the ground last night, I was hit by the sobering thought that I really ought to try and prove my authorship and started to search frantically through a number of computers (yes I do have more computers here than PC World -long story) and portable hard disk drives for any photographs I had taken during my trip to Ghana over the the Christmas break of 2005/2006.

Through a cruel twist of fate none of this material was readily available. Here is how it happened: Lorraine had come along with us to Ghana for that memorable trip. (us being me and the kids). She had brought her camera with which the pictures were taken and her laptop onto which the pictures were stored. With me so far? When we returned to England as a further precautionary backup I transferred the images both to my own laptop and a personal data stick. You can’t back up more than that can you? Now listen to what happened and see if any judge would believe it easily.  Both my  laptop and Lorraine’s laptop failed within days of each other. Not to worry, the data stick was still available so I took it into work and asked Alix (an employee at the time) to transfer the images onto one of the computers in the office which he happily agreed to do. So he plugged the stick into the USB port and at that moment his mobile phone went off. So (listen to this carefully and visualise it in slow motion if you can), he stood up instinctively, pushed his chair back and then nightmare of all nightmares, the datastick flew out of the USB port with such a force the protective case snapped right open and out flew the little green motherboard. The ribbon on the stick had tangled itself round his chair and there it was, my data stick in pieces!

So there we are m’lud, the case of the missing evidential data.

This tale has a happy ending. During my frantic search I came across yet another external drive labelled January 2008 and with pounding heart I plugged it in. My obssession with backing up data (albeit in a haphazzard way) had finally paid off! There in a folder named ‘Pics’ were my beloved photos, and amongst them the photo of the scene at the harbour at Elmina that had inspired Harbour Markets Elmina I and II.

I guess in order to explode the myth of the starving artist I must at least live the life of a starving artist musn’t I? Not sure this is necessarily true but is true in my case as I continue my metamorphic transformation towards my life as a full time artist. Perhaps I should have been more specific in my prayer… “Dear God, I want to be a successful full time artist…”

Anyway in the absence of apparent success particularly in the all important area of sales, I am having to deal creatively with a little problem I have with my boiler which has in it’s very typical way chosen to pack up at a time when I need it most and taken all sources of gas heating with it.

So here I am early this morning waking up fully clad, bauble hat and even my specs… Don’t ask me why –

My success story I hope will soon be complete with another view of me in the Bahamas aka my toasty warm bedroom, complete with the sound of the sea as it breaks quietly against the rocks in rhythmic accompaniment to the gentle tones of the steel band… aahh!

I’ve spent the last two days weeping quietly in my heart over someting I considered to be close to an ultimate act of betrayal and wondering how best I can come to terms with living in this dog eat dog world whilst maintaining my own values; wondering whether it is ever necessary to change those values to adapt just to survive.

This was until this morning when I listened to Steve Jobs’ famous Stanford Commencement speech and remembered the values my mother instilled in me as a very young child…

…be true to yourself. Hold the things you value close to your heart and don’t lose faith…

This morning  I listened repeatedly and with rapt attention to Jobs’ speech and boy did it resonate with me and lift my soul as it has no doubt done with millions who have listened to it.  Steve Jobs has achieved more than many of us will ever achieve in our life time and is arguably one of the most successful men than ever lived and he managed to do this whilst sticking to his values despite apparent failure, public humiliation and loss.

I believe whatever happens in our lives happens for a reason and we don’t always see this immediately but it is always useful to ‘connect the dots’.  We can’t do this looking forward but can see it clearly looking backwards. It can be awful tasting medicine but useful for the patient.

I am really inspired to learn Steve survived all this and learned to live with disloyalty and betrayal in the corporate world and still remain true to his values. He exhorts us to follow our hearts, to trust in something and to love what we do. Above all to remember what a limited amount of time we have on this earth and more importantly to have the courage to follow our heart.

What a fantastic man! If you haven’t already heard it – here it is.

As for me, I am already on my heart’s path…

Have a truly blessed day.

I was up with the larks and so eager to start my day I gobbled up my spiritual breakfast with the impatience of a puppy eager to get off it’s lead to run round the park my tail wagging with equal vigour.

I am not sure I have felt such alliterative energy, eagerness, enthusiasm and excitement in such a long time. If there is any doubt about my journey foward, they were dispelled with a mighty wind of euphoria.

So out came my note pad and on it a list of to-do’s; nitty gritty details to resolve with Richard, customers to phone, orders to sort out and finally time to dedicate to my new life…. ahh bliss.!

My prayed-about inspiration today was to create a website for my paintings. I do have a website but part of my transition was to rebrand myself in a manner of speaking plus I need a website which is easily updateable and WordPress is proving to be just the ticket.

So this evening I am sitting almost cross eyed from the strain of working at the computer. I have created the banner (sorry header) for the site. I hope you all like it.

Tomorrow – I have a few more admin tasks, databases to tidy up, email marketing and some letters to write and then whohooooo – it’s studiotime!

Hope you have all had a cracking day!!

Well, here we are… fanfare, drumroll and trumpets sound as I enter with a flourish the last day of my countdown to my artistic independence. My friend Seiwa tells me I had elasticated the boundaries a little as I approached D-day as I had no real vision of what exactly I would do once I got here. Artistic license?

However 30 days ago all I had in lieu of a self directed plan was a Divine, sort of organic, sort of loosely prayed about idea with a generous helping of believing boldness as I prepared myself to take the great leap of faith in a bid to shatter to smithereens the myth of the starving artist.

By God’s grace, I am delighted to say I have arrived and cannot feel more certain that the path to being a successful artist is right here at my feet. Faith I believe is the key to Devine dependence as I diligently pursue my goal with ever increasing courage and conviction.

Today is particularly significant; you see it is day 0 and I have just come away from a meeting with my friends Chris, Richard and Marian Masters of Northamptonshire based VelllumArt. We have made signficant progress in ensuring all my existing customers’ needs are adequately met in a way that they have not had for a while. I know this is something of a confession but fulfillment was never my forte however high quality products were.

Anyway I see this as a win-win situation for all involved. My customers will continue to receive an undisrupted quality range of products, VellumArt gets the opportunity to grow its business and I get to take the first step in my journey as a full time artist starting tomorrow.

God has answered my prayers in a way I had not imagined.

I can’t find a picture of me in the studio but here is one I am rather fond of; I am standing with HRH Princess Michael of Kent and Barbara Penketh-Simpson President of the prestigious Society of Women Artists at their 149th annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. Not only did I sell some paintings that day but I also recieved the award for the most orighginal oil painting (Harbour Market at Elmina II). It was around this time I received inspiration to pursue a life as an artist and make a decent living out of it.