Here it is at last, my commission that I couldn't show you until now.  This was because it was for my niece Olivia 'Masterchef' Haslam's 21st birthday, which was on the 4th July.  So of course Olivia had to see it before all of you did.

It was a really enjoyable commission to do, especially as my brief was to create a painting for Olivia's 21st birthday, my choice of what it was about.

I spent a week taking my sketchbook out and about with me, jotting down ideas, reviewing sketches, and boring Mr Copper every time we went out for a drink (which we always do responsibly) by producing my sketch book and saying 'What do you think…..?'

So this painting is all about being in a sunny cafe in Hunstanton, with a plate of meaningful cakes.  From Chinese chews on the bottom layer, owl-eye biscuits on the middle layer, and topped by an individual avocado cheesecake, a dessert created by Olivia, when she was on Masterchef.

My current commission is proceeding well, the design has been approved, and materials ordered, for the creation of the crucifixion image.
Last year I made a fluttery silk flag for a friend, another fun commission, and one which also gave me a real boost in the technical know how, something which I am using again for the crucifixion commission.  Here is the fluttery flag I made for friend John.

Son Sam is on 2 weeks holiday, and is spending some time with us, which is lovely.  Son John is not on holiday, and is making a model steam engine from scratch, in his spare time.

We decided to have a barbecue on the Saturday night, and Sam requested a fish barbecue. 

 'Don't worry about getting the fish, I will do all that', he said, and went on to talk about lobster, turbot and scallops.  Mr Cooper wondered whether to get sausages too, but I convinced him that we were in for a glorious, plentiful, fishy feast.

On Thursday I asked Sam if he had ordered it all, and he said not to worry, as he was going out on Saturday to buy it.

I had to work at the sinks on Saturday, so I saw Sam that morning, and asked if he had the fish.  Not yet, was the answer.  Later on he rang me to ask if he was getting the fish for everyone, or just himself. When told that the original idea had been for everyone (all three of us) he asked if we liked mackerel, as he was thinking of buying 4, one each and one for second helpings!

We did end up having a lovely barbecue, with a mackerel each and some chicken in Sam's special marinade and of course I had made lots of salads.  The sun shone, we drank beer (Mr Cooper) rose wine (me) and rum with pineapple tropicana (Sam, of course) and took it in turns to choose our favourite tracks.  Bliss.

Last week saw the completion of summer dress number two.  I really love the fabric for this one.

Last week also saw me complete the entry for the National Open Art Competition, as the deadline for that was the 5th July.  Although it is an online entry, so work does not have to be delivered, it still takes a big chunk of time to add your CV, write about the work, photo, measure and price it all.  So that was on Friday, when 2 of my ink drawings sped through the ether, at a cost of £20 each, to join all the other entries.  The ones I entered are shown below.

'Awakening Conscience…..'

and 'Deepening Conscience…..'

Seeing them again has made me think of ideas for a third in the series, I will show you when these ideas become visual.

Last week was really good on the reading front.  I got a detective novel from the library that was so good that I actually rationed my reading of it, to make it last longer!  Here it is.

If you enjoy reading crime, I thoroughly recommend you read the Tony Hill novels, as well as everything else by Val McDermid.

And after working on Saturday, I had the urge to make Sunday extra special.  Roast chicken to please Mr Cooper, and the two items below to please me.

Thanks Dan (fellow K.P from 'The Travs') for giving me the chocolate as a short-lived present!

Well, another week ending, another one beginning.  As always, I aim to, in the words of Sir Winston Churchill, 'keep buggering on'. Or KBO, for short.
Or, put another way, just  'keep flying the flag.'

Whichever you choose to do, I look forward to being with you again, next week.  Have a good one!