I'm going to be on the TV!!

Hi everyone!

Finally; I have the time to create a new blog post!

I have been very busy the last few weeks and I have some very exciting news to share with you all. 

I’m going to be on the TV with 3 of my paintings!

I’ll explain why and how now…

I was recently selected by ‘Etsy’ (A popular online market place that sells only handmade & unique items). To appear on their first ever UK advert. I had entered a casting call, really not expecting to be chosen.

To visit my Store on Etsy click the image below! :-)

When I found out I had been selected I really couldn’t believe it. I was so elated, proud and excited! (Also slightly nervous!)

^above is a screen shot of the e-mail telling me I was successful!

There were 50 other artisans that were selected for the advert also; I got to meet many of them on the day of filming - everyone was so friendly and lovely. There was such a warm atmosphere. 

The producers and directors and all the Etsy staff were just brilliant. It was quite a long day for us all but the whole day everybody was in high spirits.

We filmed the advert on Wednesday May 14^th 2014. Filming started at 10:00am and finished at approximately 9:30pm.

The film studio was in London so I stayed in a hotel overnight as I am quite a distance away! My lovely & awesome friend Gemma came with me too; it was so exciting to share the once-in-a-lifetime experience with one of my very closest friends!

We had a great time together, and we also managed to do a sneaky spot of shopping at Oxford Street! Also we both fell in love with London! (& are planning to come back soon)

*Gemma if you are reading this a huge THANK YOU for being such a brilliant friend and for helping me with my huge paintings (I know it was stressful at times but I think we both managed it so well). I'm so proud to be able to call you a friend & think the world of you!*

^a little snap shot of the paintings I took along to London

I will be creating another blog in more detail about the Etsy advert but for now I am not allowed to reveal too much about it. I don’t want to get in trouble!

So, to follow will be some photos of the set, more info about the day and lots of other details too! So stay tuned. It’s going to be brill!

P.S the advert airs in the UK this summer! ^_^ Yey!

Best wishes,

Allanah Claire

Something New!

Hey everyone,

I can't believe how fast this year seems to be going. It's already late March. How did that happen!? Anyway, on the arty side of things I have been busy drawing Brigitte Bardot.
It has been quite a tricky one; Probably due to the scale; it is A2 (42.0 by 59.4 cm) which is a pretty big piece (for a graphite drawing anyway!)
I am enjoying drawing it non the less and as usual I am making a video of me creating the piece. I will hopefully have it finished by next week.
Exciting stuff!

Also...I am hoping to create some more colourful pieces in the not too distant future as I have been focusing on my pencil drawings and techniques for quite some time now and I miss my paints! It'll be great to start some new paintings. I'm very excited about that!

Thank you for reading and take care :-)
best wishes,
Allanah Claire

Here are some questions I have answered for a lovely girl for her school project, I thought I would share them here too...
At what age did you discover your passion for art?
Since as far back as I can remember I’ve always loved painting and drawing. My mother has a photograph of me at aged 1 painting in the back garden on a wall. My mother Rachel, is an artist and has created the most beautiful enchanting watercolour paintings of animals and nature; she always encouraged me as a child and I am very grateful for that as I have kept creating through-out my life. Art has been like a life-support for me; even at the bleakest times it’s always been there for me.
How would you describe your art?
My art is quite self-reflective. I once read a quote, something along the lines of …‘every portrait is a portrait of artist and not the sitter’. I think it was from an Oscar Wilde book, possibly The Picture of Dorian Gray. I immediately connected with the quote as my feelings and emotions are always present in my artwork; each one of my paintings seems to have part of my soul in. So I guess I would describe my artwork as emotive, self-reflective and also with a slight amount of imperfect perfection… I always want to reach a certain level of flawlessness but I never seem to get there it’s like an unattainable type of beauty that I want to express.
Do you hope that your work will be recognized worldwide?
I think every artist would love for this to happen, unless it was for a bad reason of course. I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t! I love the pursuit of trying to get my art known though, it’s quite fun crawling up the ladder and if I did reach a significant level of success I fear that it might ‘cheapen’ my future works, I mean this in the sense that maybe in my head I would feel like I had become a ‘brand name’ instead of being valued for my artistic vision/ talent.
Are your family and friends supporting you?
Yes, definitely. It’s important to have support with something like art. It’s quite subjective so people aren’t always going to like what you do, I’ve had my fair share of haters, but even if just one person really connects with your work and seems to understand, it makes you more determined.
Besides the arts, you have other passions?
I really enjoy music. I love reading and also being around nature and the outside world. All of these things I’m passionate about also help inspire me with my artwork too.
If you could not have a career in the art world what you want to do?
I feel like I don’t have a choice. It’s in my blood and I really believe with all my heart an Artist is what I am destined to be. If it doesn’t work out for me I will still be painting, just very poor!
:-) hope you enjoyed. x