I'm back!

It's been a while since I have updated my blog and social media accounts, although I have been working on commissioned pieces, I took a bit of a break from actively promoting my work towards the end of what was a bit of a difficult year for various reasons.  However, I'm pleased to say that after a restful Christmas and New Year, then a very positive January helping out with the Veganuary campaign, I'm back and ready to go full steam ahead!

So, to kick things off, I'm going to do my first giveaway in a little while.  Rather than the usual A4 print, I'm going to offer a an A3 print, and include shipping anywhere in the world.  

You can choose any design from my portfolio that you like, here's one of the most popular ones below.  There are lots of different ways to enter, and you can do as many of them as you like to increase your chances.  Scroll to the bottom of the page to get started!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Catching up

Well it's been quite an eventful few months but I'm finally getting back on top of things.  First of all I had a couple of big deadlines for my uni work, I was in a car accident, and then my cat had to have surgery and required quite a lot of care afterwards.  Now finally uni is done for the summer - hooray!  I didn't break anything in the car accident but it left me too sore to paint for a couple of months.  My cat seems to be on the mend too so all's well that ends well!

I've spent the last couple of weeks preparing for the local Reading Art's Week exhibition.  I was interviewed for the local paper to help promote the event which was nice.  Here you can see one my works that's in the exhibition and the newspaper article.

Having some time out was good in a way, I've had some time to think about new and different ideas for works I'd like to do.  Don't worry, I'll still be painting my most popular abstract styles but it is nice to mix things up a bit.  For example, here's a mixed-media piece I'm currently working on called, 'Sad Robot'.  

Right, so that's me up to date now, looking forward to sharing some new works with you!  :)

A little January pick-me-up - win an A4 print!

Seeing as January can leave you feeling a bit blue after the holidays, I'm doing another giveaway!  You can win an A4 print - just enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

November Giveaway - Win an A4 giclee print!

It's giveaway time again!  Simply choose one or more of the options below to enter before midnight UK time on Thursday 7 November 2013.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Customer Photo: Sam in Wiltshire

Thank you very much to Sam in Wiltshire for sharing this photo with me! :)

Customer Photo - Nicole in Victoria, Australia

Here's one of the latest customer photos from Nicole in Victoria, Austalia.  Thanks for sharing Nicole.  I love your decor scheme, cute pillows!

Giveaway time!

Gosh what a busy couple of months I've had. I've had a raft of custom orders to complete, a few events & exhibitions to prepare for an exams. I've finally gotten around to doing another giveaway which you can enter below up until 30 June 2013.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Customer Photo - Christine in Devon

Here's a commissioned painting I completed for Christine in Devon.  I'm quite pleased with the colour match in this one.  Thanks for letting me share Christine!

New Paintings

I'm almost on top of my custom orders now which has given me time to finish a number of new paintings.  Here they are below.

Purple, red, teal, turquoise, & silver Abstract Silver Birch Painting/Aspen Tree Painting, 30" x 20" on canvas

Green, blue, teal, turquoise, red, orange, gold, white, and pink abstract tree painting, 30" x 20" on canvas

Purple, teal, turquoise, red, & copper abstract tree painting, 30" x 20" on canvas

Red, turquoise, gold, & copper abstract tree painting, 30" x 20" on canvas

Where does the time go?

First thing's first, Happy New Year!  I'm a little late, I know but it's been so busy.  So much for things slowing down in the New Year.  I'm certainly not complaining mind you!

So what news do I have to share?  Well, first of all there's this lovely customer photo from Neil in Hampshire of his commissioned painting hanging in its new home.  I love the wallpaper!

Next there's the winner of the last print give-away - Sandra from The Feminine Touch.

Third of all is to say that I'm working on some new pieces but they've had to take a little bit of a back seat whilst I get on with the queue of commissioned works that I currently have.

Christmas was good, we didn't get up to much but it was great just to have a few days of down-time.

Finally, I'm in the process of planning my first school workshop which I'm really looking forward to.  I'm going to be visiting a primary school and working with a class to create a giant tree painting.  I'm really excited about it.

Next post will be a new print give-away so watch this space!

Large Prints Are Finally Here!

It's been such a busy December I managed to invest in a beautiful new A3 printer meaning that I can now offer prints up to A3+ in size.  You can see a photo of the little beauty left!

As always, my prints will be on heavy archival fine art paper and I will continue to use Canon ChromaLife 100+ inks to ensure the prints have a long life on your wall.

So far I've optimised and added the most popular designs for sale - you can see them here but do get in touch if there's a design you can't see but would like me to print for you.

It's Give-Away Time!

Seeing as the last one was so much fun, I'm doing another give-away!  Seeing as Christmas is coming you can choose:

1. A free signed print of your choice 
2. £15 off any original painting 

You have a number of ways to enter & you can do all of them if you'd like to increase your chances of winning.  You can:

• Like my Facebook page
• Follow me on Twitter
• RT one of my tweets about the give-away
• Post your own tweet to tell people about the give-away
• Post a comment on my blog 

It's open to people who already follow me on Twitter or who already like my Facebook page - simply click below to show you already do and confirm your entry!

Let me know if you have any questions! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Customer Photo - Natalie in Adelaide

It's customer photo time again!  This time a glimpse into the office of Natalie in Adelaide.  I love the cute little floral paintings on the other wall - so sweet!  Thanks Natalie for sharing! :) 

Customer Photo - Emma from Tyne & Wear

Another beautiful customer photo from Emma in Tyne & Wear!  I love the wallpaper - it's such a delicious colour and the paisley is so pretty!  The lovebirds painting was a commissioned piece to fit with the colours Emma had chosen for the room.

November Giveaway: Win a Free Signed Print

I'm pleased to announce my first giveaway promotion for which I'm offering a free signed print worth £12.50 + shipping.  You can choose which print design you want and you can view all the available prints here.  The giveaway is open to everyone including people outside of the UK.

All you need to do is sign-in below using your Facebook account or email address and then choose to follow me on Twitter, Like my Facebook page, comment on my blog post, or tell your friends by tweeting about it.  You can increase your chances of winning by doing all four.  You can also increase your chances of winning by tweeting about it again on different days.

Don't worry if you've already liked my Facebook page or have already followed, simply click to show you're already a follower and you'll be entered.  You can also increase your chances of winning by tweeting about it again on different days.

Hopefully that's all clear!  If not then let me know and I'll do my best to answer your questions!

Entries close on the 16th November and I'll use Rafflecopter to randomly select the winner.  Finally, your details will only be used to contact you if you win.  They won't be used for email marketing or for selling or passing on to any third parties.

Best of luck!

Louise

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Customer Photo - Teal, Turquoise, & Silver Abstract Tree Painting

Did I tell you how much I love receiving customer photos?  Because I do!  It's always a pleasure to see my work hanging in its new home.  This photo is from Caroline in Hertfordshire is just lovely.  The painting was painted to order and is a 40" x 30" teal, turquoise, and silver abstract tree painting on canvas.  Teal is definitely one of my favourite colours so it's a real pleasure to paint with it!  Don't you just love the glass sculptures sat in front of the painting?  I think they're gorgeous and work really well.

If you have a photo you'd like to share with me then feel free to send it in.  I always ask your permission before posting it on my blog.

50% off prints, 15% off paintings

I do love autumn, the colours, the smells, the changes of the scenery around us.  However, I don't know about you but talk about back down to earth with a bump!  The cooler weather is setting in, it's getting darker earlier, and the sporting excitement of the last couple of months is finally over.

So how about a little pick me up?

This week I'm offering 50% off all prints and 15% off all paintings in my Etsy shop.  That includes custom painting orders too!

To get your discount simply use the following coupon codes when you checkout
For prints: PRINTS50
For paintings: AUTUMN15

Coupons are valid until midnight Sunday 16th September. If you'd like to order a mixture of prints & paintings let me know and I'll help you with a listing to reflect the price after discount.

To start shopping go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/louisemead now!

Last Day of Reading Arts Week - Come Join Us!

Last day of Reading Arts Week 2012 – Come down and bring your art work with an easel and join us!

The Big Art Picnic

Friday 29 June, 2pm – 8pm
Caversham Court Gardens
FREE Entry!

Art stalls, outdoor art exhibition by Reading College, fashion show
and free boat trips (12-6pm)  to Caversham Lock to see the Arts Week Mural!

Performance Schedule

2pm - Street Dance by Geoffrey Field Junior School
2:30pm - Splendour of Misfortune Reading College band performs
3pm - Luke Paulo – Singer/Songwritter

3:30pm - Progress Theatre to perform a teaser from Henry IV Part One by William Shakespeare

4pm - Irish Dancing by Scoil Rince Celtus UK

4:25pm - The Mayor of Reading announces Reading Arts Week Winner 2012

4:30pm - Reading Arts Week Fashion Show by Lyndsey Clark & Adrienne Henry

4:55pm - The Mayor leaves by boat to Caversham Lock to unveil the Arts Week Mural by Helen Brady

4.55pm – 50 members of Caversham Rock Choir perform live

5:30pm - Headspace - Reading College band performs

6pm The Patient Wild performs live

7pm - 8pm – The emotive and complex Mercia returns for the second year!

Bring along a rug and a picnic and enjoy an
 afternoon and evening of local entertainment!

www.reading.gov.uk/artsweek

Reading Arts Week is nearly here!

I popped down to the Penta Hotel in Reading to drop of two of my paintings this evening for this weekend's Reading Arts Week exhibition.  It's free to get in and showcases a wide range of professional and up and coming artists from across Reading.

You can find out more on Facebook, the Reading Borough Council website, or you can follow on Twitter.

It looks like it's going to be a soggy weekend so why not pop along for something to do!

New Sale Section

I've now got a Sale Section in my Etsy shop.  This is where you can pick up paintings at a reduced price.  Take a look and you can see some of the paintings for sale!