artycelia.com

It is thought the winter blues or seasonal affective disorder affects around 2 million people in the UK. It can affect people of any age including children. So, as it's a gloomy start to November, cold, grey and damp, here are some tips to beat the blues. And a happy picture to remind you of more colourful days to come. As soon as you wake up, open all curtains and blinds- any light is good light. Maintain your routine- don't neglect your hobbies. Get outside- dog walkers have to do it. Ditch the sugar-  sugar feeds depression. Develop wintertime interests- become a super-chef, a knitter, a blogger, a singer, a dancer. Practice relaxation- breathing exercises, yoga, mindfulness. Watch a funny film- it is hard not to laugh. Keep warm- hot water bottles are great, hot drinks, warm socks. Keep working out- you will feel better even if it's a struggle. See friends and family- they might need cheering up too. Book a massage- a study shows massage ...

A beautiful shot of a white 'fogbow' has been captured by photographer Melvin Nicholson. Mr Nicholson was out walking on Rannoch Moor in the west of Scotland on Sunday when the stunning white rainbow appeared. A 'fogbow' is a colourless rainbow that is made up of tiny water droplets that cause fog. A windswept tree, framed by the fogbow completed his magical shot. As an artist myself, I especially love this photograph, I can imagine Melvin's delight at capturing this particular image at this particular time, not staged at all, nature doesn't do dress rehearsals or repeat performances after all. He was in the right place at the right time and was rewarded with this gift from nature, and he unwrapped his present and shared it with the world.                                                              Magical work Melvin.

This will be my 51st post. So far, the subject matter of this blog has been eclectic, a bit of glamour, quite a bit of politics, a smidgen of philosophy, a tiptoe into tarot and a lot of art. I do tend to flit from one subject to the other but that's a characteristic of the creative brain. Some people assume that artists- musicians, writers, poets, painters- are strong on the fantasy side, whereas politicians and businesspeople are realists. This may be true in terms of day-to-day routine activities. But when a person begins to work creatively, all bets are off. Artists need to combine playfulness and discipline or responsibility and irresponsibility. There is no question that a playfully light attitude is typical of creative individuals. But this playfulness doesn't go far without its antithesis, a quality of doggedness, endurance, and perseverance. When I am feeling creative, I feel like I am living life more fully and can easily become absorbed in a project for hours o...

Good morning, America. Half of the American people will have been nursing their first coffee of the day feeling sick. Think of us Brits on June 24th, we feel your pain.  A vast disillusionment would be setting in: that as of now the romantic idealisation of America is dead. As they shift uncomfortably in their chairs, they will conclude that there may not be a happy conclusion to the novel that is their homeland. Half of the American people presumed that their fellow citizens still believed in a more liberal approach to life, a bit more of a leaning toward racial harmony and sexual equality; believed them to be an open and tolerant lot, believed them to be, well, more like themselves. It comes as a horrible shock to realise that it's you in the minority. It's you who voted for the losing campaign. It's horrible to realise that you overlooked those fellow Americans, white people, living in rural areas who don't share your views on what it's like to...

Today I remember my brother who died in 2002 at the age of forty-two. He had been ill for some time so one would assume his death did not come as a shock, but it did. We had grown accustomed to his illness; he had a brain stem tumour. My sister-in-law nursed him at home and his estimated life expectancy had been a few months, yet he just kept going. He was bedridden but could recognise us and every now and then would surprise us all with bursts of conversation before silence resumed. Every now and then we were treated to glimpses of his wit and charm. I remember one particularly poignant conversation I had with him. He told me he had been out in the fields with Joe (his father-in-law who had passed away many years previously) and a few of his other mates. A quizzical look came across his face as he said to me, "But, Cee, Joe wouldn't open the gate, why wouldn't he open the gate, why wouldn't he let me go with him? I wanted to go with him." I imagined a sun kissed ...

The Ship. Oil on canvas by Celia Turner.

Palm Trees. Oil on canvas by Celia Turner. Crumbs, it is SO cold today. I am sitting here wrapped up in a vest, jumper, scarf and shawl and I'm still freezing. I spent the morning getting the garden 'ready for bed' meaning tidying it up and cutting the grass before the weather gets too bad, I've brought the geraniums into the 'conservatory', loose term as it's more like a bombed out bus shelter clinging precariously to the side of the house, that's rented accommodation for you. I can now look forward to a few months of  involuntary slimming as there's no point paying for heating as any warmth simply seeps outside through the 'original' windows, which also took a battering during WW2. This is the life of the impoverished artist. Still, all is not lost as I am going to rearrange my studio so I am surrounded by seascapes, lovely blues skies and glistening water, golden sands and lapping waves can lull me into a sense of  warm escapism as I wip...

It would seem that the kitchen staple, Marmite is to be a victim of Brexit. Who would have been able to predict the demise of such a popular product ? Perhaps more worrying however is that the same company supplies us with English Mustard. How beautiful the irony. I remain......a Remainer. (And I prefer marmalade on my toast)

Oil on card by Celia Turner Vogue magazine was 'born' in 1916 during WW1 when shipping in the US magazine became impossible. There are obviously thousands of iconic, fabulous photos taken by a myriad of amazing photographers. A quick google search will provide lots of information about the models, photographers, and clothes but for me, a much-overlooked prize to be found among the glossy pages of Vogue are the articles themselves, always written in an artistic fashion, well-researched, relevant, and thoroughly absorbing. A stand-out article for me this year would be Goodbye To All That? by Cressida Connolly Cressida reflects on an enduring love affair with the Continent, and why Brexit. more than any other political question. is an emotional issue. Published in the June issue the article serves as a poignant reminder of days gone by, although Cressida could not have known this at the time of writing. The painting above is my tribute to one hundred years of Vogue....

Post-Brexit Fashion Industry.

This is my battered old copy of 'The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron. I bought this copy in 1994 and no matter how many times I shove it into the back of a cupboard it always gets retrieved. It is my 'kick up the bum book.' It enables me to reconnect with my inner and outer artist and to get moving forward with renewed vigour. It renews my faith in myself and who I am. Describing oneself as an 'artist' can sound a bit, well, a bit poncey, pretentious, affected even but I have been painting and writing for a very long time , it's what I do. I have sold paintings at home and abroad, I have entertained children with my book, 'Mabel' and have had my research used in national newspapers and television documentaries. I have stood in freezing conditions and the pouring rain while manning my pitch at London's Greenwich Market, I have sat in many a gallery while exhibiting my work. My house is adorned with my artwork. I am an artist. Julia...

Charming: Pleasing, delightful. Using charm: Exercising magic power. A woman's secret. (Let's keep it that way)

In times of turmoil, whether that be universal or personal, art and beauty can soothe the soul. I don't want this little space of mine to be taken up with politics yet today I want to share the following quote: 'Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love." Kahlil Gibran. I wonder if our little world, and our tiny little country will ever heed these wise words.

                                                                                                                                      Oil on paper. Oil on wood.                                                          

My Glamorous Grandma, My Stylish Mum and Her Sisters and Brothers circa 1960. Grandma never left the house without applying full make-up including her trademark red lippy! I'm loving all those handbags. Elizabeth Taylor, photographed by Henry Clarke, 1967 Since the earliest movies shot their stars to fame, women have been inspired by what they've seen on screen, which by its very nature demands larger than life beauty, charisma, and style. After visiting the cinema, women gave themselves Louise Brooks haircuts (they still do) and dreamt about Garbo's otherworldly beauty. A few years later they dyed their hair platinum blonde after Jean Harlow and longed for legs like Betty Grable's or a bosom like Sophia Loren's. Nothing has promoted the idea of glamour in all its forms more than the cinema, whether we are watching Audrey Hepburn's gamine charm or Liz Taylor's more-is-more fireworks, or Marilyn Monroe's- well - Marilyn Monroe. Au...

British Vogue November 1925 You have been warned! "There are no ugly women, only lazy ones," declared Helena Rubinstein, one of the great pioneers of the cosmetic industry. Well, nothing requires more effort or precision than perfect red lips or fabulously manicured crimson talons. But then nothing has quite so great an effect on transforming the face and hands. Properly painted lips and nails, saturated with scarlet, speak volumes about the way you regard yourself in terms of the outside world. They are nothing less than a red flag for impeccable glamour. How maddening is it then when your absolute favourite lipstick is brutally discontinued? I am still mourning my Chanel Lune Rousse no:36. (92200 Neuilly) 

In my dreams I look like this...... In my mirror I look like this. Never mind. After all, I am a work in progress.                                                

Well, that's it. Children and students are back at school, college, and university. Politicians are back in Parliament and summer 2016 is ending. We are heading toward 'Leaf-Fall.' Burnt orange crispy leaves fall from the trees, the sun shines bravely but hazy, the apples turn brown on the dead yellow grass and the first phlox appears.... " It is a sad moment when the first phlox appears. It is the amber light indicating the end of the great burst of early summer and suggesting that we must now start looking forward to autumn. Not that I have any objection to autumn as a season, full of its own beauty: but I just cannot bear to see another summer, go, and I recoil from what the first hint of autumn means." Vita Sackville-West. Autumn inevitably brings chillier seas, a thought that has never really occurred to me, but it does today as I think of the hundreds of thousands of souls who will be boarding their death-boats to try living. Autumn will b...