Time out

I bought a new laptop a couple of months ago as my old one was definitely giving up the ghost. Sadly it developed problems so they changed it for another.... which developed problems so they changed it for another..... which developed problems so they..... yes, yes, you get the picture I'm sure. Well, every new laptop needed Orange, my dongle provider to get me online. They did this every time until the advent of the 5th (yes FIVE laptops later) they suddenly told me that my dongle doesn't work with Windows 7. It transpires that all the problems I have been having were not with the hardware but the dongle so I asked for another. In order to keep the package I have I must get it from Orange who have to get it from Japan, where of course, things are trying to return to normal. So, it is out of stock and who knows when it will come.

So, I struggle on with the old kit and hence, blogging has become a luxury. I manage to leave comments but my connection is so poor I wait ages to read blogs before I can do so. I have not been wasting my time though. I may have watched a little too much tennis in the past fortnight but I've also been painting and getting my work together for the assessment module of my abstract landscape course which ends next Tuesday. Forgive me for not showing you my work. I seem to have a reticence for displaying anything I draw or paint. I don't know why. I'm not brilliant but I am happy with what I do. Perhaps it's because with abstracts you either love it or hate it. Who knows.

I've been going to quite a few exhibitions locally to see the landscape work of other artists. I was bowled over by an exhibition of artist Roger Cecil and yesterday I got to see orginal works of John Piper up close and personal. It was a real treat. There were screenprints and lithographs of his time in Pembrokeshire and one I fell in love with was a lithograph of Llangloffan Baptist Chapel. It was £1750 , so outside of my budget but it was a place I'd never seen so we set out last night to find it. It was a fascinating building in the middle of nowhere and I feel it might be somewhere I might make my own print of. As it was a beautiful, still and warm evening we drove on a couple of miles to the coast at Abereiddy and had a walk to the Blue Pool. The place was full of reed warblers and barbecuers enjoying this glorious weekend. The sea was like a millpond and it served to remind me why so many artists find inspiration here in Pembrokeshire.

I hope to show you more of what I've been up to as the summer progresses but I need a better connection for that. Hopefully normal service will be resumed soon....... In the meantime, enjoy the views!