What a blessing.

It’s funny I should use that word as it was a blessing in so many ways. Firstly, because a very dear friend got married while we were there which was as beautiful as you would imagine and secondly, I was true to myself and made time for my art which in turn released me to enjoy every moment.

My life has changed to the point where if I am not messing about with paints for some days, I feel grumpy and start to begrudge the time whatever I’m doing is taking! So, after waking at about 5am on our first morning in Antigua because of the time difference, then watching the sun rise whilst swimming in the warm sea I was hooked and decided to do it again and again. The few hours spent every morning quietly painting started my day off so perfectly I was ready to do whatever was on the agenda for that day. You could say it was my meditation or mindfulness session for the day.

2018 was also our 25^th Wedding anniversary and so we treated ourselves to a room actually on the beach, now there is no going back we have to do that again! Giving myself that time allowed me to paint a card for the happy couple and to also write a poem as a meaningful gift. I hope it’s a nice keepsake in their wedding memorabilia. It certainly felt good at the time and that’s what memories are made of those special surprise moments. It was such an intimate wedding that everyone played a role in making it special. We had a song; poem; speeches and even some magic!

The Art found in the English harbour were lovely with their bright seascapes; bold skies; colourful people and creative jewellery, my favourite Gallery had to be Fig Tree Studio in the Antiguan rainforest. It confirmed for me that I was going in the right direction artistically, so the whole trip delivered more than I expected.