Well OK here we go....the start of my adventure. I was born to paint.  During our days together im hoping to take you on my artistic journey along the way sharing lots of my arts and crafts with you. I hope we will have plenty of laughs and fun, but if you cant wait to see my work join me and my other friends in our little art group that runs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening on tiktok live, the address to put in is ..wendybaughn595....check out my videos there to see lots of my crafts, also my facebook page ..wendy b's floating art gallery my photo albums on there will show you so much more.

Anyway back to business..in a week's time I will be on the high seas, and at the moment, very rough seas, believe me I live next to the north sea, on my way to Norway on a cruise that will be taking us across the arctic circle. I intend to blog every part of that cruise for you to enjoy as well, I'll also be posting videos of it on my tiktok site so if you follow me along there youll get to see them....now where was I.  OK tomorrow ill tell you how it all began and give you a brief history.

Ill ramble a lot, but then at 73 im aloud, lol. Im a grandma and great grandma and live by the sea in Yorkshire with my  hubby of 54 years. I've painted all my life, my art work hangs all around the world and I could not exist without being able to create or make something.  I intend to make this blog a story of discovery for us all with a few laughs a lot of history and a lot of creativity. Tomorrow we will begin, at the beginning, see you then.

DAY 2

Well 5 more days till I go on my cruise the excitement is really mounting now in the Baughn household. However a promise is a promise and until I have lots more to show you, I'll begin at the beginning .

I was born in London to older parents on the 6th january 1953, I.lived in Southall, ahh the 50's what memories i have of those, but they can wait for another day   for now I'll take you on my artistic journey.

I suppose I was born this way its very much in my dna, my mum was one of 5 sisters she was born in 1918 and lived in a 2 up 2 down terraced house in Acton, again lots more stories to tell another day, her eldest sister was incredibly gifted and went to art college in London.we had a few of her art pieces  I never met her she died of heart trouble when I was 6 months old, but she passed her.abilities on to me.

I suppose my awakening to art and my earliest recollection was when I was about 3 years old, phew 70 years ago,oh my, yes my mum had visitors around for tea and they were chatting in the lounge, I was behind the sofa, in my little den,drawing on paper dad had brought home from work, I remember it was a horse, I was so.pleased with it I slunk out from behind the sofa to show my mum, she waved me off and told me not to interfere, however the visitors asked to see it, they were exstatic about my scribbled drawing, and told my mum that she should encourage it, from that day on, I seem to remember getting little presents when the house keeping allowed paper crayons etc. From that day on I was never without a pencil or paintbrush in my hand. 

Time moved on I grew and my goodness I grew quickly, when I started Infants school I was head and shoulders above the others.  

I suppose I was about 6 when my passion and need to creat, its like a drug, grew so strong, it was noticeable, I started with simple colouring books and poster paints, but soon realised I needed more, then they started selling more adult colouring books with complicated outline drawing on one page and on opposite page a print of the coloured image. I spent hours copying this Image into the outline drawing all the time learning how to mix colours and blend them. Yes I did paint by numbers but they didn't satisfy me and my passion grew.  Acrylic paints weren't really a thing in those days  let's face it plastic was a new thing, but I knew about oil paints from my paint by number experience. I nagged and nagged my parents for an oil paint set, and yes when I was about 10 one christmas morning, I woke up to the present of my first set of oil paints , pallet and brushes. I had that metal box until it fell apart in my 50s.  From now on I blossomed . I never needed teaching it was just, in me, craving to come out.  I found my inspirations in magazines always cutting out potential paintings or postcards of exotic places. I was right from the beginning a landscape artist. My love of nature and trees developed from a young age. My mum used to buy my canvas on a roll .no pre made canvas boards in those days. Sometimes ide get a piece of hardboard and painted the reverse side with white emulsion and that became my canvas. As I grew older so did my abilities. Then I started senior school where I achieved my dreams. Ever second I would spend it in the art room ,my art teacher was a typical 60s pop artist and as hard as she tried to get me to paint abstract she never succeeded. I have always been an artist who.paints what she sees, in my teachers own words...chocolate box  images. I left school with my o level a level an cse grade 1 art. I was going to go to art college to become a teacher but I met my husband at 15 years old and my life changed.  I have never ever lost my artistic passion and even when my children were small I would have a painting somewhere on the go. I must have produced hundreds in my life time but there scattered to the winds A lot were given away.   It wasnt till about 15 years ago that people started buying them. I was too shy to try.Luckily my mum saw the start of it, and I think she was very proud. 

I started small with a couple of craft shows the response was phenomenal and boosted my confidence I lost my mum and suddenly my days were my own. We were living on our narrowboat by then travelling the canals,  I used to sit out the front painting, and then one day I had an epiphany,. We were just outside Stratford on Avon on a warm summers day there were a few people strolling by on the towpath enjoying the warm autumn sun and colours. I first of all felt her watching then I saw her , I looked up from the piece I was painting, our eyes locked, she said quietly, that is so very very good. Do you sell your work, I explained , the odd piece , then she said well you should do, and immediately offered to buy the one I was working on. I was thrilled, and from that day vowed to make a go of it I was 58 but your never too old. I became a Canal trader and we followed the floating markets and set my gallery up along the side of my 65ft narrowboat with my paintings an by then crafts as well. I have  so many stories of my days doing that but that can come later. We had many years and a wonderful life I grew in confidence with my art. I became known as the bottle lady on the canal because of my hand painted bottles and glasses. My paintngs are all over the world. I have done many many pet portraits and yes landscapes. I still dont do abstracts, or human portraits, I've been true to my passion. Im 73 now but have so much more to give. I still paint in acrylics but I also use my virtual reality headset where i have an artist studio and an oil painting simulator program and when I'm finished I print the pieces off into canvas paper. A far cry from the metal box I was given on my 10th birthday.

I am an artist! I shout it from the tree tops now, I was given a true gift that I love to share with other people. Ill never be financially rich, the big galleries never find the likes if me, but maybe after im long gone the antiques road show will say   she wasn't well known but had a good eye.  As long as I have given ordinary folk joy in the colours and shapes on my canvases im happy just like the joy I gave that visitor that day when I was very wee and showed her that scribbled horse,  thrn im happy.

OK enough of memory lane more to come.  Today i have done very little , except the washing. The suitcases have gone now picked up by the baggage company so my mind is racing towards our Great adventure when it begins on Thursday  it going to be a feast for a landscape artists eyes just think of all those wonderful paintings waiting to be done....

DAY  3

Well hi all I know I missed yesterday but its the third day of my blog. OK what shall I talk about today?  Im sooo.. busy, getting ready for my holiday. I've got everything everywhere you know what its like before you go away, little piles everywhere. Piles of pills and potions piles of makeup and bathroom things , paper work, musnt forget the passports and tickets , jewellery , books just about anything and everything.  I thought ide get it all into my overnight bag, fat chance of that we may even have to get the bigger suitcase out yet the way it's going. I know were allowed 90kg but never thought wede get near that 2 x 20kg, they've already left on their hols my small case about 15 kg and now the decider possibly a 25kg making 80 kg between us..    oh my perhaps im secretly hoping my cruise will turn into a world cruise.

Yesterday I spent all day cleaning  oh my goodness thats something I hate.   Why do we do this, whilst were away the dust will only accumulate again. Do you think its an obsession of if i dont make it home, at least my house is clean  like , for goodness sake, will it matter to you when your no longer with the world. Or is it a case of I want it clean when I get home. Oh now come on!! You get home dump the suitcases on the bed empty them everywhere.shoes clothes bits and bobs, and it soon looks like a war zone, then it takes all day to.put it away personally I think we should save the cleaning till after we get home and clean when the unpacking is done,  but hey ho I've done it now.  Tomorrow I go into town to get last minuit things then thats it......

At the moment were both chilling getting ready for the fun, weathers gloomy and cold but our spirits are high. I keep looking at the app on my phone that tells me exactly where our ship ,the balmorall, is, she's in norway but very soon i hope she'll be on her way back to southampton.  OK thats ut for today but hopefully very soon I'll have a lot more exciting stuff than this to talk about it hey ho, dust uf you must .....

DAY 4

Well were almost there tomorrow were off on holiday. Oh my how this week has dragged. We had a bit of bad news last night from the cruise company . We were going to board the ship at 2.30pm now we cant board till 6.30pm . There has been a bout of gastroenteritis on the ship so once she's docked the whole boat has to be deep cleaned do all boarding has been put back by 4 hours. At least were on the late dinner sitting so shouldn't miss that but we won't have long to get ready for it, but hey-ho ide rather that than have the bug with us. The biggest problem is the hotel cant give us a late checkout so we've hot from 11 till 6.30 to lose oh my. Guess were going shopping. Were allowed to keep our suitcases in the hotel luggage room, so at least we will have our hands free.  This is typical o my luck the accuses etc  won't be usable for a couple of days whilst they give it all a deep clean, mind you I didn't see me going in the pool whilst in the middle of the north sea....brrrrr... Grahams over the allotment now tucking up his plants in the greenhouse making sure they've got enough water,   bless thrm. When we get back its going yo be all systems go over there trees to plant, seeds to show, and do the new year begins. Think were going to have to get a bigger freezer this year hopefully to put our home grown veggies in lol. Oh well just a short one today as im like a headless chicken waiting for tomorrow. And o the fun begins, lots of photos and stories of our adventure to follow