HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020

Can you believe it ... we are in 2020 already?!!! What do you have planned for the start of the new decade?

I decided to get organised with my stock so a trip to IKEA to search for a storage unit with shelves deep enough and strong enough to hold my framed original paintings and prints. That limited the choice quite a bit.

The instructions were all drawn and surprisingly we managed to construct it successfully... I guess they suited me as I learn better when I see things rather than read them. I am the only person who doesn’t do instruction manuals. There is definitely something in these training events I used to attend which identified different learning styles. It probably also explains my lifelong aversion to booklets and online training re how to work anything technological.


I much prefer someone just showing me how it works. I only survived my job as Associate Medical Director at NHS Forth Valley by having a Personal Assistant, Clinical Secretary, husband and son all helping with the technology! Answering emails was about the extent of my IT skills.

Fortunately starting my art business has reduced my need for technology and I have Philip in Belfast kindly assisting with updates to my website.

He is also involved in creative arts; in his case he is also a DJ with a Radio station called Belfast89 you can find them and him here www.belfast89.com. He even gave my business a plug on the radio ... kind free advertising.


He has been advising me about the importance of search engine optimisation and I must confess that I have started to get sales from people who have found me via online searches.

So, what does 2020 bring for Rhona Morrison Art? I guess I go with the flow a bit, exploring opportunities as they arise, unconstrained by a fixed business plan. I hope to expand commission work, as the personal satisfaction is greatest when I hear the reaction of the buyer.

I am also exploring further opportunities in my collaboration with Caroline from Simply Scottish candles and growing the range of merchandising products with my artwork.

Full steam ahead for me on my return from my forthcoming cruise adventure.

Happy new year ... to new opportunities

Party Season

With Christmas just around the corner we have hit party season and a time for catching up with friends and family. For me this has meant many meals, sometimes multiple on the same day, and limited time to be creative. It has been a time to deliver last minute orders for coasters and candles and to collect the Christmas commissions from the gallery.

One of my commissions was for a beach scene in Donegal. I had to deliver it to a colleague from BNI, so she suggested that I attend her chapter meeting on Tuesday, as a visitor, and we could do the hand over there. What I didn’t expect was for her to stand up during the meeting, walk around the large board room table, place her hand on my shoulder and read out a framed testimonial to me.

As she read it aloud, she began to cry. It was really moving to witness firsthand just how much the painting meant to her and her family.


I have included the heartfelt testimonial content here, as it sums up why painting gives me so much pleasure. I wish I could bottle the warm feeling I get from being able to do this for someone ... it makes it all so worthwhile. Here goes ....

Dear Rhona

This testimonial is from my sister and I ...

Being a typical man, trying to think of a Christmas gift for our dad isn’t easy. Over a bottle of wine a few weeks ago we thought that a painting of a special place would be a good idea. I immediately thought of Rhona to help us with this.

With only three weeks until Christmas, I wasn’t sure if we had left it too late, but Rhona assured me she would be able to complete it on time.

We sent her three photographs of Portnoo beach in Donegal and hoped she would be able to work her magic.

Four days later Rhona sent me a photograph of the finished piece....to say we were happy with the finished article is an understatement, it was absolutely stunning. The likeness to the photograph is unbelievable.!

The reason we thought of this place is because our mum’s ashes are interned in the church overlooking this beautiful beach. Portnoo beach holds a special place in all of our hearts and we know our dad is going to love it.

We know this painting will take pride of place in dad’s house and will make us smile every time we look at it.

Words can’t ever describe how thankful we are that you have created this beautiful piece for our family.

Forever grateful,

Katy


I can’t think of a better advertisement for my business moving forward... producing bespoke, commissioned gifts for someone special. 

Wishing everyone a very merry, creative Christmas


Rhona x

CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS

When you think of a Christmas stocking there may be an image of a large, plush, red velvet boot shape with a white fur trim, stuffed full of gifts wrapped in brightly coloured festive paper. Christmas stocking in the Morrison household this year was very different.


It meant stocking shops, galleries and my car boot with orders of watercolour prints, ceramic coasters and candle tins. Allium in South Queensferry needed some coasters. When I was in the shop one of the customers told me, she had been pleased to receive one of my Three Forth Bridges coasters in her secret Santa at work, which was lovely.

Next, I was off to SDX the Scottish Design Exchange in Ocean Terminal, Leith. I was restocking my greetings cards, but most importantly, I added a shelf to stock my £10 candle tins. On my way home I stopped off at the Line Gallery in Linlithgow. I was pleased to discover that two of my original paintings from the postcard exhibition had sold.

The rest of the week was spent delivering outstanding gift orders and completion of my fourth commission of the week.

Two black kittens looked cute in the photo but were more of a nightmare to paint using watercolour. The commissions were all ordered as Christmas gifts.

Black-kittens-commissioned-watercolour-painting-by-Rhona-Morrison-Art.jpg

The theme of gifting continues this weekend when I will put on my red velvet dress with white fur trim for my role as Mrs Claus at the Rotary club Santa’s grotto. I got one of the better options in terms of roles, as I dread to think of me in the striped stockings of the elf costume!

It will certainly keep the festive mood going after my two trips to the pantomime this week, which were hilarious! With the BNI Christmas night out following on from my Mrs Claus gig it will be Christmas all the way .... “oh no it won’t... oh yes it will ...” Sorry, just the post panto overload effect!

FRANTIC FESTIVE PREPARATIONS

Now that the weather has become frosty and cold, I thought it was time for my Christmas tree to appear, covered with twinkling lights and colour coordinated decorations.

With my love for painting trees I decided to buy a living potted tree so it can be planted in the garden after Christmas.... I just need to find someone willing to dig a hole for me!

Everyone else seems to have realised that Christmas is looming just around the corner too, hence the sudden rush to commission special paintings and pet portraits as unique presents.

This has meant spending quite a bit of time in the studio painting two beaches and a lovely little dog. Tomorrow two kittens are on the agenda .... lots of black fluffy fur... not the easiest subject matter! 

Fortunately, I found time to book a holiday for January ... a chance to relax on a cruise after all the madness of the festive season. There should be lots of inspiration for artwork as I travel to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand. 

This week I also had the pleasure of sharing the learning from my artistic journey with another watercolour artist who is thinking of branching out into merchandising. I surprised myself with how far I have come in such a short space of time. 

It was also my turn to deliver the ten-minute feature presentation at my business breakfast on Friday.

I focused on my personal background to help my colleagues in my new BNI group to get to know me better as a person. There were a few shocked faces when I talked about mentally disordered murderers, rapists, my stalker, someone masturbating in my office and retiral cup cakes with handcuffs and male genitals on them !

They also learned of my husband’s death and how this triggered my painting and ultimately starting my own business.

CREATIVE GENES

This week has been very creative in the Morrison household, but mostly for my son, who is the director of Cumbernauld Musical Theatre Society.

Titanic the musical performed by Cumbernauld Musical Theatre Society

Their annual show was Titanic the musical and it ran from Tuesday to Saturday this week. In addition to directing the show he also played two different parts, so I got to hear him perform too.

Managing a cast of nearly 50 people, running twice weekly rehearsals , planning lighting and sound , ordering costumes , coordinating ticket sales and designing programmes was a full time job on top of his actual full time job .

Fraser Morrison in Titanic the musical with Cumbernauld Musical Theatre Society

I like to think he gets some of his creative talent and multi-tasking skills from his mum but certainly no vocal talent has passed from my gene pool ! I was roped in as front of house staff so very little creative output from me this week.

I did however take delivery of some new coasters , which have been well received  , as they depict Ruby the felted robin, who compliments the Frosted Berry candle , and my business colleague’s dad’s garden , which will be a perfect gift for anyone who loves gardening as they are vibrant with colour . A matching Ruby robin ceramic coaster and candle would make a lovely Christmas gift. 

Today I took delivery of more candles, so can now stock my shelf in the Scottish Design Exchange. This should be good for pre-Christmas sales. Merchandise apparently sells particularly well at this time of year.

I am also meeting up with friends from my old art class this week for Christmas lunch. They have asked to see some of my work. It is quite interesting to see how many of my images are now on greetings cards, coasters, mugs and candles.

I appear to have been quite prolific in a short space of time. This week I should be adding two completed pet portraits to my list of completed work. 

MELROSE MARKET

This week I had my second delivery of candles ... quite exciting, as I sold 50 candles in the first few days of trading and needed to restock almost immediately.

Caroline from Simply Scottish Candles was full steam ahead with production, despite the challenges of UK candle tin shortages. Already I am seeing trends in sales, with one or two scents emerging as favourites with the customers.

This will inform future production and stock. The fact that the Shabby sheep all have names appears to be particularly endearing, setting the candles apart from competitors. Baa..rbara and her strawberry and rhubarb scented candle nearly sold out !

After my ‘job talk’ at Kilsyth Rotary on Thursday there were further sales to boost the already healthy figures. 

This weekend meant packing up the car with framed prints, candles and coasters and heading off to Melrose in the Scottish Borders for The Colourful Edits market in Darnick Village Hall.

My favourite online shop for trendy neckwear is The Colourful Edit, so I jumped at the chance to participate when Lauren invited me to take a stall at her market

It was highly likely that I would buy more neckwear. I bought two more, just to balance the weight in my case!!!! Well, I need to justify my spending.... I hardly need another scarf ... I could start a shop! Cerise and purple on this outing. 

I stayed at The Barn at The Courtyard B and B... I recommend it as the owners were very welcoming, the room was warm and well-appointed and the breakfast was great, including their own home-made granola which was to die for.

There was a lot of Prosecco and mince pies at The Market, but my favourite was the warm, non-alcoholic mulled wine. As well as selling framed prints, cards, coaster and candles I managed to do some Christmas shopping myself. It felt important to support talented, local artists and makers.

The market was however more focused on the lovely neckwear, colour consultation, makeup demos and jewellery. Sales fluctuate according to the venue and audience ...an interesting learning curve.

REMINISCING

This week I was invited to deliver a guest speaker presentation to the Women’s Guild about my life, career as a consultant forensic psychiatrist and my developing art business.

Talking about the influence of my elder sister’s disabilities on my career choice reminded me of why I always adopt a non-judgmental attitude in life. I didn’t judge her and valued her for who she was. That carried on in my career.

I didn’t judge the mentally disordered offenders on my caseload because of their illness or their behaviour, instead trying to see the person behind the problems and working out how to improve their well being and reduce the risk of offending.

I talked about my husband’s illness and death and the journey beyond bereavement which led me to write my memoir and take up my passion for art after a 38-year hiatus. I believe life is for living and that I should seek out positive experiences and positive people.

Developing my art business has brought me in to contact with a myriad of artists, gallery owners, shopkeepers, business people and customers. The positive buzz I get when someone purchases my art is hard to beat, especially when there is a story behind the purchase.

They may be reminded of a favourite holiday by one of my images or ask me to capture a significant moment in a new commission. That makes commissions one of my favourite things to do.

A sweet lady at the Guild asked if I could do a mug with an image of a fox ... why not? That was today’s task. I look forward to seeing it winking at me from the side of the mug.

The launch of the candle tins went well this week too, with positive responses to the designs and the scents. Caroline is going to be busy producing them for me.

I have a craft fair in Melrose next weekend, organised by The Colourful Edit, my favourite fabric necklace company, so I will be stocking up my car with candles and coasters for that.

Rhona

LOOKING BACK AND MOVING FORWARD

This week’s exhibition at the Port Gallery, Auchinstarry Marina, Kilsyth was a great success. It was heartening to be supported by friends, family, the local Rotary club, BNI business group colleagues, previous customers and friends of the gallery.

It marked the end of my first year in business and I felt a real sense of achievement seeing the fruits of my artistic labour hanging on the wall and my images even printed on to ceramic coasters, greetings cards and mugs. Dot the gallery owner is in BNI and Rotary with me.

Together we are bouncing business development ideas around and forging a true creative collaboration. In BNI we are also part of an evolving creative power team with a printer and photographer joining in on the action... no Lycra outfits involved with these superheroes though!

Next week also sees the launch of my new collaboration with Caroline from Simply Scottish Candles... with our range of 6 ‘creative flames ‘candles featuring some of my felted friends on the tins. We have the ‘Shabby sheep ‘named Baa...rbara, Baa...rry, Meh...lvin and Meh...ryl plus Snowman and Ruby the Robin. They will bring beautiful scents to homes across the country this Christmas. Which one will be your favourite?

Just to make sure I don’t weary I have also been working on commissions for some specific personalised coasters. There are going to be some parents with some very unusual stocking fillers this year. There is still time to put in your special request x

POSTCARD EXHIBITION

The launch was a busy affair and I was pleased to note that there was a red SOLD dot on one of my paintings within the first five minutes. My submissions had the theme of silhouettes: The Kelpies, Edinburgh castle, Forth Road Bridge, Three Bridges, Wallace Monument, winter trees and riverbank tree reflections.

The launch was a busy affair and I was pleased to note that there was a red SOLD dot on one of my paintings within the first five minutes. My submissions had the theme of silhouettes: The Kelpies, Edinburgh castle, Forth Road Bridge, Three Bridges, Wallace Monument, winter trees and riverbank tree reflections.

I have already made some of the images into cards and coasters ... they have made a great addition to my collection. They are now on sale at The Scottish Design Exchange, Ocean Terminal and on my website.

It is an interesting journey trying to find my artistic inspiration. Friends have started sending me photographs of trees which is an indication that I am perhaps on the right track.

There will be several original paintings as well as prints, coasters and greetings cards. Caroline from Simply Scottish Candles is working full out to get our new range of Creative Flames candles ready in time too. Watch this space.

OZZY IS IN THE BUILDING

After the sad closure of our BNI (Business Network International) chapter in Grangemouth this week we all had to find a new business breakfast group.

I visited Building Bridges chapter in South Queensferry on Friday morning with a view to transferring there.

Having been unwell with a nasty viral illness all week meant that I still had no voice. When I stood up to give my 60 second presentation about my business my voice was so husky that I sounded as if I was advertising a dodgy phone sex line!

As if that wasn’t memorable enough for my first day, they also had to contend with me being in fancy dress at 6.30 am , as I had decided to join them for their Halloween meeting .

The leadership team consisted of Morticia Addams, Deadpool and Tony the Tiger . The meeting was incredible.... well, I did meet Mr Incredible. I was Ozzy Osbourne, complete with wig, purple glasses and tattoo sleeves. If you fancy finding out more about referral networking please come along and join us one Friday morning.

Still with no voice, ten days into the viral lurgy, I attended a ‘meet the artist ‘event at the Scottish Design Exchange in Ocean Terminal. It was a good way to meet other artists and customers.

Having decided that it would be good to have a painting of a local scene for my forthcoming Port Gallery exhibition (8.11.19) I decided to start a painting of Burngreen bandstand in Kilsyth as my demo at the SDX event. I almost finished it, so it was a productive afternoon.

People often like to purchase artwork which evokes memories and emotions from their past.