Well, here in South Africa we still have 7 hours to go before 2012 but in Sydney Australia, 2012 is already almost 2 hours old.   Fantastic fireworks display at Sydney bridge once again - go Oz!    ....Makes you think; most people dont consider that time as we know it is purely a man made concept.  All  the hours, days, months and years that we live by, are controlled  and regulated by, actually does not exist in reality.   There is no time as we know it, in the universe.  There is only change.   
Speaking of change, the reason I have been absent from here recently is because we have been very busy sprucing up the art studio in readiness for 2012!  Yep, threw out junk,  walls painted pristine white from top to bottom, easels cleaned of the year's accumulation of paint buildup, new canvas stock stacked and ready for creative endeavours.  Its all systems go!    I have at least 10 paintings in my head at the moment - just waiting for me to find the TIME to do them! 

Back to here and now:  Happy New Year to one and all!  May 2012 bring you good health, prosperity and much happiness

...and what do I see?  My home page content has disappeared!  A small bump in the road I hope?  So bear with me while I get it sorted out please.  
 Meanwhile, the year is fast winding down and thoughts turn from artistic  endeavours to last minute gift shopping, Xmas eve menu plans [whether large events or small, we all have 'em!] and the prospect of spending relaxed time with family and good friends.    Here in the southern hemisphere coastal city where I live, December is all about endless summer sunshine, days on the beach, picnics, inland meanders and day trips to game reserves to see the big five wild life.   Or a good book, good food and good comany during those inevitable summer rainstorm days.     And time to reflect and plan for the new year.  Lets hope its a good one for us all but right now -  sorting out that home page is tugging at my mind!   Be back soon!    

Okay.  I have been tip-toeing around this idea for years - a blog - so here I go!      

It can be a daunting prospect, starting a blog, revealing the inner workings of  your mind to anyone who cares to read what you say.  Not an easy exercise if you fear being vulnerable  and I must admit that I wavered but thinking it through,  it occurred to me that I have been 'revealing' myself  for 15 years in my paintings because as someone once said, every artist paints themselves, no matter what  subject they paint.    And I paint everything and anything that stirs my emotions.  It's all very much a 'mood of the moment' thing for me; a momentary glint of sun backlighting a head of hair, the primal glint in the eye of a lion, the colors of a moody sky.  All artists will identify with those triggers.  Sometimes, the trigger is so fleeting that it is gone before you can fully grasp it and transform the image into a painting but the emotion of it lingers, like the burn of a passionate kiss, spurring you on to paint.  To keep on trying relentlessly for that one painting, that one masterpiece which will encapsulate every thing you have ever wanted to say...  

But I digress - we were talking about newbie bloggers, which is what I am.  This is primarily an art site but like my paintings, the subject of my blogs will be wide and varied.  Mood of the moment.