Michelle Bulmer Art

Who else loves the ' Wizard of Oz' ? Such a clever film and book. Everyone wants something from the wizard. Dorothy wants to go home.the tin man wants a heart, scarecrow a brain, and the lion wants courage. All looking to the Mighty Oz to solve their problems. And how do they find him? They follow the yellow brick road. A road that can take you off your path, make one sleepy .... Easy isn't always the best route. A good metaphor for life. We live, consume, but do we really live or sleepwalk from one day to the next? ... Don't get stuck on the yellow brick road.
When they finally do meet the Wizard, he isn't quite what he seemed, he is just as lost as they are. But with guidance, they each solve their own dilemma.
So the answers are within, they usually are. Dorothy could have gone home at any time. We are more resourceful and powerful than we realise. And what is home anyway? A place, a state of mind? I think we make our own family as we progress through life.
Be thankful you are not here now. I'm in Dordogne, part way through a bottle of red, feeling philosophical 😁

This a little gouache study for no other reason than I love the movie.

Playing with gouache. Quite a tricky little medium.

Sneak peek: still a wip with lots to do on the arms, hands, glasses . And, then the final bit .....I have something up my sleeve! I bet you will barely sleep tonight after that revelation!

I have been trying and failing for some time to paint a landscape. But it was off. On reflection, the composition wasn't working. But I persevered. I kept trying to polish that turd. And then I had enough, got the hump, had a Rolling Stones epiphany and painted it black.
Today I spent a glorious day sketching and painting Thea . Lots to do but a,solid day's painting in the shade. Lovely..
The moral of the story is be a tight arse and recycle canvases! And, know when to fold and start again regardless of how much energy you have expended.

hope

Shortly before my Mother in law passed she told me she would come and visit us as a Robin. I said 'Sandra I will get you some nuts'. My husband was listening at the door with a bemused look on his face as these agreements were made.
My husband asked me to paint a Robin for his home office. I like to incorporate words I did consider the words 'love nuts' I think Sandra would have seen the funny side. But James said he didn't want to think of his Mother and nuts. Fair.

nuts

Latest canvas, sometimes the simplest ideas can work better than expected.

And the crow fe**sh continues....but should I finish Mr jazzy crow? or is he nice as he is? I could tinker with ink as well 🤔
And oh my word I got Rosemary and co watercolour brushes for my birthday; it's like going from a Ford fiesta to a ferrari! Incredible brushes.

&cobrushes

Loved painting this little cracker of a spaniel, Rusty. He looks wistful and full of thought. And a little bad sad like there is a piece of chicken just out of reach. I'm calling this one 'wistful chicken'.

He is painted in watercolour. Reach out for commissions!

Latest commission: meet Fern. I haven't quite decided whether to add more green to the background. She has the most incredible yellow eyes.
I tried something new here. Bare with me this is very very geeky. I made my own Pastel ground! I took some foam board and covered it with a textured pumice gel. It created a surface with great texture, perfect for pastel. Better than any pastel paper or pastel mat I have bought previously. Very happy!,

pumice

Rough pastel sketch, Langdales. Walking the Langdales was one of my husband's and I first dates. Archie informed us that in his opinion, that is a 'trash date'. Thanks Arch always refreshing to get alternative perspectives.

Timehop, about I year since I painted 'Hyperspace Hares' still one of my faves! This one was exhibited and sold.

Bella approves of her portrait! And now she is off to the framers!

Finished my study of Bill Murray. A lovely day's painting. Loved him from the minute I watched Ghostbusters as a kid! What do you think?

Today's study, fancied a bit of portraiture. One of my favourite actors. This is as far as I got today. Few bits to fix but broadly happy and I lost myself for the day! Bliss!
Oil on paper



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A few favourite paintings to round the year off! Have an awesome 2024 everyone.

Who is it?

Spent the day coughing my head off! Strongly suspect I have covid. So had a sofa day sketching, which did lift my mood and kept me occupied and out of trouble!

But can you tell who it is?

When I asked my brother what he wanted for his birthday he asked for a painting of Mr T.
So, I did paint Mr T (badly) I some how managed to make him look like he was wearing a lot of makeup 😅, so that got filed under B.I.N and I decided to change tack and draw him instead. We grew up playing outside, dashing in at Saturday tea time to watch the A Team. The highlight of our week.
I gingerly asked my brother what he wanted for Christmas......'Fly fishing' by JR Hartley. Phew! I am off the hook!

This one is called 'chilling in your own power'.
I think we grow into our power as we age.
Artistically, I am feeling a bit stuck. I need a wave of inspiration. I'm feeling the need to get out of my comfort zone and try a few new things. Play and create and see what happens. Maybe landscape, maybe charcoal, maybe abstract. We shall see.

Latest painting. This one is called 'raging'. I didn't plan to go quite as bold with the colours but I can't seem to help myself!
How often do you 'really lose your sh ?' I feel like I have only a handful times in my life.. And I always regret it when I have. There are more constructive ways to communicate, don't you think. But occasionally the red mist descends.

Tuesday time hop. This is one of the first paintings I did in acrylics , 2 years ago. Inspired by listening to Ella Firzgerald in a hot tub. , heaven!

As I was falling asleep last night, I asked the universe,'What is my purpose?' Hoping I would harness those theta waves and dream big! What I actually woke up thinking about was I need to sort the highlights on my Mr T painting. So there you go. Is my purpose to paint Mr T??? Hahaha, I love that! Some people have life changing quests. Me, I just have to paint Mr T. I came, I painted, I conquered. I will put my feet up for the next 50 years.

Still a work in progress. But nice to wake up early and paint but real life beckons.

Another early morning train to Glasgow and time for a sketch!

A quick sketch of Mo Gawdat on the train down to London. If you don't know Mo he has a mission to make a billion people happy. His books and his podcast (slowMo) certainly bring a smile to my face. Thank you Mo for filling a boring train ride and needless to say with my vast following your 1 billion aspiration is now in the bag! 😉

Daytime painting at the weekend. In my happy place! Just a study, practise makes perfect!

Being an artist has its moments. From weird birthday requests.....today from my brother (see the 2nd pic) ....I have no idea if he is serious but he WILL be getting a painting of Mr T and a whistle. To be fair he probably is ....my brother is quirky.
To spotting a lovely painting and being told 'nah don't buy it you can paint that". Erm, nope just want to buy it actually 😄 oh well c'est la vie 💟

I was thrilled to be chosen to exhibit at the Liverpool Art Fair. The exhibition has been running for 6 weeks, it closes on August 20th at the Liver buildings. Check it out if you are in the city, there are only a few days left!

I bloody love painting, drawing, creating. There I said it! It is a kind of magic. From nothing to something! And the process....regardless of any mood I am in art has the ability to transform, lift, heal, create flow. It is a kind of magic!
This is Klaus, isn't he a wonderful little chap. I have never done a gold background but Klaus felt regal, it could only be gold! I am always available for commissions, cats, dogs, horses, ducks, bah mitzvahs! Reach out if you want some magic! Shazaaam!

I do love to tinker. And I was a bit on the fence with the background on blue bambi. So I decided to play. I think I like it.....I also think it's a bit mad! What do you think is it bonkers in the nut, nut, nut? Or OK?

On an entirely different note I hit 500 days of meditation today too. I should be one zen m***a fu@. I am yet to reach enlightenment, better keep at it.

Have a perfectly beautiful day perfectly beautiful people! Mwaaaah!

This popped up on my timeline it's about a year since I painted it. If you are not familiar, this is a mystic / yogi called Sadhguru, and he is a cool old badger. Next week I will be taking one of his Meditation courses. I love Meditation because it's so lovely to quieten the mind down and reconnect to source. The mind is a really powerful tool it can really f@ you over or it can completely help you.

Having worked in sales in the corporate world you get to see first hand the impact of mindset. And I think also working in those very male energy environments I needed to take a brain shower at the end of the day and shake all of that energy off ; meditation is the perfect tool for that. I was recently reading about a very 'successful' woman, up at 4am to do a workout, 5am on international calls, her working day ending in the evening with a quick 'hi' to the kids. And I thought what a sh life! I think our work culture is really quite toxic and we can become very selfish when we are on the hamster wheel.

Don't spend time feeding your energy into things that are just not worth it. Which brings me onto consumerism, fuelled by social media! I'm tired of seeing people bragging about designer shoes, designer handbag, here is a picture of my meal /cocktail in a luxe hotel etc etc. Stop. Just stop. Are we really still doing this sh ? In 2023. It's all predicated on 'I'm not enough' and unwittingly making others think their lives aren't enough. Or it can if your values are out of whack. We have become so detached from what really matters. And they are absolutely not in touch with themselves. Meditation can help anyone realign back to their true inner strength and spirit.

Well that was a bit of ramble. I'm off to paint and take my socks off and stand in the wet grass because those things are worth my energy and they feel awesome. Enjoy your day and try and slow down and step off the merry go round!

🙏