Mixture of Ponies,Snow,Mud Skiing and some FUNKY GeeGee's!

This week while the kids have been at school i have kept myself busy with a mixture of Ponies, snow, mud skiing and some . . . 

 . . . Funky GeeGee's too! 

Middle of last week we were thrown into a Christmas scene. The ponies thought it was great and they had a real SPRING in their step when i went to visit them.

The only problem is, white snow makes my horse look YELLOW!! And well every colour in between, he really is such a mucky pony, good job i don't have plans for him to be a show horse haha!! He is SUPER CUTE THOUGH, I love this pony.

Sparky pony looks fabulous in ALL SEASONS, Her black coat is striking against the snow.

It didn't last long, it was gone by the night time and it has been replaced with MUD!

Walking across the fields to check them requires skills on one's feet, mud skiing is the new walking!

So whats been happening in the studio?

Well the pencils got dancing and the sketchbook is beginning to come to life. I have lots of ideas but i'm trying to bring them together in themes. Now that we are in winter the GeeGee's are modelling their clips and rugs. Cozy scenes are starting to make it feel more like Winter as the GeeGee's brace themselves for the dark long cold nights.

This GeeGee has it sussed though . . . 

The weanlings are learning about their world and having some fun exploring and growing independantly without their mother.
This little guy is having great fun!

Some of the GeeGee's however are not having the best of times getting used to the winter routine . . .

I have been busy also creating some FESTIVE GEEGEE'S. I do this every year and i do hope you enjoy them as much as i enjoy creating them. This years theme will be Landmarks of the North east and i hope i can recreate the ideas i have wizzing through my head.

I painted this piece to get me in the mood and also because i haven't used the Acrylics in so long to paint a Funky GeeGee so i felt that need. Smurf and Sparky are the stars in this painting, HOW CUTE! They got some presents from Santa.

Christmas Gifts ~ 10" x 14" Acrylic on canvas paper. 

I will share the Landmark pictures nearer the time, I'm still working on them and hope to have them ready for a FESTIVE and FUNKY December.

Hope you are all well and having fun practicing that art of MUD SKIING . . .

 . . . Catch up soon ~ Miss Funky and the GeeGee's xxx

Lots of doodles, scribbles and notes

There have been oodles of doodles and many a colour,
The sketchbook is filling from cover to cover.
Ideas, Ideas and more rattle round,
googley eyed GeeGee's waiting to be found.

Hello, and i hope you are all well and enjoying the beautiful Autumn colours! WOW, this year the colours of the earths canvas have been magnificent. The trees stunning as they changed from green to brown or yellow or red, the contrast on some of the leaves is almost that of a masterpiece painted on canvas, each its own individual abstract painting and when in among the rest that have fallen with it, simply stunning.

The Mini Funky's have been enjoying kicking up the leaves and picking them up throwing them over their heads, we are going to try and do a photoshoot over the next couple of days and im going to try and capture the leaves as they fall over their smiley little faces. Its like magic watching these simple pleasures of nature being enjoyed by them both, they too seem to connect to it, see the beauty in each season. They have asked to go out with their cameras and take some photos of the trees. Its going to be a busy end of week! Lets hope the sun stays out and plays fair.

We had our first frost this morning, it was gone by after breakfast so i didn't get a chance to capture any photos. I cant wait for the first hard frost, hopefully with a little sunshine to make it sparkle in the photo, a little low fog maybe over the valley . . . Not too much mind, enough to look spooky, Oh and a horse or sheep or something in the foreground, and OK, Now im just being picky haha, But i really can't wait to get those photographs when the crisp frost covers the meadow. 

I did however get a one the other morning of the sheep, and some fog, AND a little sunshine . . . 

Spooky isn't it, Wooooooo ooooooooo ooooooo!!

The ponies are looking FLUFFY!!! 

Winter is ON IT'S WAY!! Dig out those thermals and layer up like an onion!

It has been the school holidays and the beginning of them it rained LOTS! Infact at times it literally poured. BUT we held tight and filled our time indoors with well STUFF. Thankfully by the back end of the week we were blessed with some sunshine, and dry days so we could FINALLY ESCAPE and do some stuff outdoors. 

The weekend came and it was time for HALLOWEEN . . . 

Party food, Mmmmm Mmmmmmm!! Gotta love a good buffet. The kids all had a fantastic time, lots of SPOOKY FUN had by everyone, and tummies FULL to the brim. Our homemade gingerbread spooky biscuits went down a treat, the kids were happy with their bakes! Bless them.

Thankfully the rain had stopped by the weekend so the GeeGee's could get out on their broomsticks! Heaven knows what they would have done if they hadn't got out and done their 'around the county race' that they do every year!!

Some of the less adventurous of the GeeGee's opted for keeping their hooves firmly on the ground, and well, they went out and done a spot of trick or treating . . .. 

Awwww don't they look AWESOME !!

This week i have spent d-spookyfying our home and i have given it a good once over, from its bombardment over the holidays. Fun can be well . . . MESSY?!! That is i suppose why it is so FUN :)

Then i have settled back to some writing and doodling, as well as enjoying some quiet time reading a new book i have just recently bought. The peace and quiet has been bliss. 

I have many new ideas of cartoons that have been rattling round upstairs and i'm trying to file them into some sort of theme or order so that i can bring them to life in the best way possible. So far i have a sketch book almost full of ideas, and nothing as yet has been brought to life.

 But i am on with one, it is a WIP, still lots to do but i have been squeezing the odd hour in here and there and slowly building up the layers to give it that FUNKY-NESS!

Hope you like it so far, it's making me giggle each time i work on it, and of course giving me EVEN MORE IDEAS!

CRIKEY, I'm going to need office staff soon upstairs in funky studio (Aka my head) to help me sort through it all, the files are building up quicker than the pencil can dance!

Well i'm going to take a leaf out of this GeeGee's book and go dig out my warm PJ's, and grab an hour with my book. Catch you all soon ~

Love ~ Miss Funky and the GeeGee's xxx

Autumn cartoons

Here we are in the depths of Autumn here in the Derwent valley. The tree's have all changed their leaves and the ground is covered in a carpet of burnt orange and yellow, truelly stunning time of the year . . .

 . . . Well in-between all the RAIN SHOWERS!!

The ponies are both layering up, they have lost that shiny gleaming coat in favour of thermals and fluffy boots. Smurf is starting to get his moustache back which he gets every winter, so cute! Mud is starting to build up in gateways and around water source and the ground is becoming slippy to walk in many places. Oh how i haven't missed all this mess haha!

It is that time of year now when i see friends horses and ponies start to be clipped out and their fluffy coats replaced with brightly coloured, sometimes very FUNKY patterned rugs. Many are coming in on a night now, all cosy in their thick fluffy beds, that smell of haylage and garlic that fills the air!
Our two ponies will live out this year, the meadow they are on is 13 acres with ample natural shelter, a fresh running water source and a nice sized herd to all huddle and keep warm. The farm will start to hay them when the grazing dies back, but for now the grass is still green and they are thriving on the grazing they have. I love these two so much, they really do make me SMILE!

As you can see, they are FLUFFY! Unlike the Funky GeeGee's, 

YES, some of them have been for their hair cuts, and OH HOW SMART!!

Don't they look smarty pants, don't worry they all got plenty of blankets to keep them warm, they were shivering like i'd robbed them of their skin! I did tell them they would thank me when they go out and do their exercises, they looked at me like exercise was a good winter plan and asked when they would be supplied their hot cocoa's and onsies. WIMPS!!

I have been painting again, i forgot how much i missed my acrylics, i tend to mainly work in watercolour pencil now but there is something special about the feeling you get pushing paint around the canvas, It's not a horse . . . But its close to one ~

Its not quite finished yet, but i'm enjoying working on it. I'm also enjoying working on a rather FUNKY halloween GeeGee and also getting the Funky GeeGee's into the Christmas spirit in preperation for our Christmas 2016 collection of pictures. Lots to come over the coming weeks.

I also had a play with colour and texture and created an abstract piece.

I hope everyone is well, and i shall catch up real soon with some 'Seasonal GeeGee's' and some more cartoons of my best friend 'SMURF'. Meanwhile HAVE FUN WITH YOUR HORSES, and enjoy their FUNKY SIDE.

Catch up soon ~ Miss Funky

When the FUNKY COGS start working . . .

When the 'FUNKY' cogs start working, 

and the pages fill with colour,
Cartoons suddenly come to life,

Bring a 'GIGGLE' to share with each other.

Hello everyone, here we are at the end of Summer and into Autumn we start to glide, suddenly long leisurely hacks are replaced with muddy boots, spiders loose their summer homes as the rugs come back out for winter, and water troughs suddenly become grubby and full of leaves.That gleaming coat you have been taking photographs of all summer suddenly looks like a raggy teddy that has been hung out on the line too long! 

I know both our ponies are looking VERY fluffy again, Smurf is starting to grow his mustache back as he does every year, he looks so funny. I love my little FUNKY ponies.

I have started this blog post with not really much of a plan of what to write, I haven't done very much 'arty' this year until this last few weeks when i have felt those funky cogs start to work again. It was nice to feel them, even if they took some getting into momentum . . . They were of course seized shut from being locked away for so long, BUT they are moving, admittedly at times rather CLUNKY and they heat up easy and i fear lost bolts, BUT moving is momentum, momentum is good. 

So then what have i done with my 'MOMENTUM' ? Well after a summer of PONIES and our second summer with Sparky pony and the inspiring collection of memories stored from days with the kids and ponies i have been sketching down ideas for future cartoons, lots of giggles, many a smile! Along with this Smurfmy little rescue foal is now all grown up and can you believe he is 3 years old! What a life we have had together so far, so many memories, we have also come through so much together and i feel this incredable bond with him i have never felt with a horse before, he really is SPECIAL. We have mainly spent our days chilling together in the field and i have been enjoying playing and running with him on the lovely summery days we have been having. The times i have with Smurf fill me with joy, and Sparky she is just such a gentle and loving character with a lot of cheeky-ness thrown in! 

Add the pair of them together and there is some serious amounts of HUMOUR! 

My cartoonwork i feel has a fresh edge to it now that i have the opportunity and privalage to have the ponies to inspire me, my work will have a more personal feel, a new edge. I always got attached to my Funky GeeGee's when i created them but now that i am creating them with all these personal memories and feelings attached to them and now with them being MY ponies i am creating for my new collections . . . 

 . . . . Well that just makes them even more personally FUNKY! :D

My newest collection of paintings are based around the ponies, the first collection is SMURF and his pre-school updates as he gets ready for 'proper' school next year.

I'd love to share with you the few i have done so far, hope they make you GIGGLE~

He really is a FUNKY little GeeGee!

I also plan to create a collection starring Sparky pony and the troubles of a first pony which i will launch later in the year. I hope to share many giggles and the ability to relate to the comical side of our GeeGee's. I as always am very thankful to all of my followers, i love to know my work is also enjoyed by others all over the globe and i feel privileged to have you all join me on my FUNKY journey, wherever that may take me.

To end this blog post i'd love to share with you a video of my cartoonwork over the last couple of years, mixed with an insight into my Funky life and the ponies. I plan to move forwards with all these new FUNKY ideas that are wizzing through my head at the moment and also plan to get back into writing and releasing all these funky ideas out onto paper, YIKES . . . Best go buy some more, oh yeh, and where did i last see that pencil sharpener? Hahaha, Hope you enjoy my video, thankyou all :)

Catch up REALLY soon ~

Love ~ Miss Funky xxx

Planning and preparing 2016

Hello from a VERY WINDY Co Durham!! The weather has warmed right up, however i have this feeling it is just toying with us ready to throw us back into a deep freeze!! I'm sitting here tonight with my pencils at the ready to get cracking with 2016 collection of Funky GeeGee's and it is WILD outside that window!! Concentration is also very tough as everytime the gate slams in the wind or a branch cracks as it is blown, well i have a quivering in fetlocks GeeGee jumping on my knee, using my chin to push down their ears!! If it carry's on much longer i'm going to have to dig out the ear muffs and put them on each of them to block out the noise. Either that or throw them out into the garden and let them desensitize to the noise!!

I have made om progress though, and the pencils have been rather busy. It would however be alot easier if i didn't have to keep stopping to comfort a nervous GeeGee who thinks the fetlock eating monster is going to burst through a window at any given time. I do feel sorry for them, the stories that they scare each other with about seemingly everything at times . . . 

 . . . Well no wonder they have themselves in such a state when the wind is above 20 mph!!

Here are some WIP (Works in progress) to share with you, Hopefully should have more to come.

I have been keeping an eye on those two GeeGee's that are planning a holiday (Sounds like very soon!) I'm still unsure where they are going but i have seen their attempts at packing a 'Going away bag' and well all i can say is I do hope where they are going is warm . . .

 . . . I don't see many turnout rugs going in there!! I DID SEE SUNGLASSES THOUGH, oh and also i caught a glimpse of what looked like a bottle of sun tan lotion. It has put my mind a little at ease as they seem to be prepared. However i reckon as soon as they get there they best ask if there is anywhere they can borrow an iron for their clothes, MY WORD YOU SHOULD SEE THE ATTEMPTS AT FOLDING!!

Well i'm off to CREATE, HOPEFULLY in peace!!

Catch up soon ~ Miss Funky xxx

It's wild and windy with a chance of Christmas trees

WOW, It has been so wet and WINDY here in the North East of England,

  We have had weeks now of wind and rain with odd bit of snow thrown into the mix. Apparently it is another storm which has a name . .

. . .  A NAME? REALLY, is there any need? Just say STORMS, not a name of a storm which makes it into some sort of celebrity to be remembered, i mean lets remember here that we are talking about peoples lives and continuous damage happening, mother nature she can be wicked and i don't feel she needs a name to be known as such. My heart truely goes out to all of those affected.

With all the stormy weather we have been having there is nothing at all we can do with the ponies except check them through all the layers of mud for injuries or ailments and have rugs drying and changed like some sort of production line!!  It is literally terrible, the mud is up to your knees, the water sitting ontop of the roads and fields, streams and rivers swollen to the brim and in places it is over flowing into the nearby fields and it sits there with nowhere to go just acting as a mirror to the sky, quite beautiful with the Autumn colours around. I've been out with my Dad, we went up to the reservoir to see how full it was and had some great fun battling the wind. I feel ALIVE when the wind is battering you in the face, howling in your ears and making your cheeks roll into funny shapes, Mother nature, the very base of existence. How small we are to the world, feel that invisible force move you, takes your breath away . . . Literally!!

There were many tree's that had fallen on our route, that is when you realise

 mother natures pure invisible POWER . . . 

The reservoir was quite choppy with what my Dad described as white horses (Confused eyes looked at him, he meant the waves . . . 
 . . . Like white horses, ah i see, YES they are, beautiful white horses)

It just feels so right for me to be out there surrounded by nothing but fields after fields, woodland and open spaces surrounded by nature,very scattered houses few and far between, just sheep, cows, horses and pheasants PERFECT, it just feels so perfect, like i belong there, i'm home. Although that isn't true as i have always lived in towns, or big villages. Well apart from the years i treasure when i worked as a groom, but i suppose even with that being placed in the countryside, the majority of my work was done around people, either on the yard or at competitions and well when you are up in the middle of nowhere you can stand and breath and i dunno it just makes me feel amazingly enriched, like i'm free.

So what has the FUNKY brain been upto?

Well i have been busy creating some Festive GeeGee's, i have traditionally done this every year since i started creating my little cartoon characters back in 2011, they hopefully have improved over the years with extra layers of FUNKYNESS!! I am so much happier with my creations since i started creating them again  in pencils rather than paint, i feel like i can freely express the FUNKY side and i'm able to get the quirky little details in that i felt i couldn't manage to do with the Acrylics. Here is an example -

2011 Christmas paintings ~ Acrylic and ink on canvas sheet

2015 ~ Christmas drawings ~ Watercolour pencils and ink

As you can see there is a massive difference in the quality and also the ability with the few years practice i have had getting used to using my tools, trial and error, learning from mistakes, growing from inspiration, and believing that I CAN DO IT, even when I am struggling. This is probably the hardest part. Trying to keep going when all the odds are against you. I try and see it as a lesson.
 We NEVER stop learning, with many things in life and i hope one day i can look back onto the 2015 cartoons and say WOW look where i am now? I certainly can with the 2011 paintings and that makes me feel proud at what i have achieved and learned along the way, 'HAPPY WITH MYSELF' which i think is a hard thing for us humans to feel. 

We are always doubting ourselves or comparing ourselves aren't we? And by doing so all we really do is in-validate and doubt our own abilities and our own talents, our own passions. We cast a shadow over everything we do everything we try, everything we succeed.

 Comparing ourselves to others is like looking in the mirror and seeing a monster right behind your shoulder-

*Picture this- MONSTER, Tall and bulky, Sharp teeth, ten claws

 and eyes that are deciding on whether to have salt or pepper to marinade. 

-The problem with that is you will not dare to turn around, you feel driven closer to the mirror, standing there so close you see every defect possible that weighs up the odds between IT and YOU.

How can you possibly survive? I mean look at it there, right behind you, driving you to look into the mirror of your own reflection! The comparisons mean the odds are against you with such a monster right behind you shadowing every movement, every thought, every feeling. How can you move let alone breathe?

CHOICES ~ You can either look closely in that mirror or close your eyes and avoid it.
Or maybe you are ready to turn around and stare that Monster straight in the face and know
'YOU CAN DO THIS'. . .
    . . . .  And no amount of doubt will stand in your way!!

See if we overcome our fear, if we look into that mirror and smile at what is facing us, if we turn around and look at that monster straight in the face, snots, bloody teeth, claws and all. Maybe we will find that actually that monster is our best teacher yet,?

Ask yourself this . . .

"What is it actually i fear?"

Let us look at 'FEAR' for a moment, Using the Monster as example.

THE MONSTER ~ It is right behind me? Is it on my shoulder? . . .   

 . . .Is it pushing and holding me physically or mentally? ~

THE MONSTER ~ What makes it look scary? What makes me fear it? Why do i feel pushed into the mirror to look at myself so closely with such intense scrutiny and compare myself so painfully?

IS IT . . .My  PERCEPTION? AWARENESS? PRE-CONCEPTION? STORIES? IMAGINATION? PAST EXPERIENCE? FEARS? EXPECTATION? SELF CONSCIOUS PREDICTIONS? 

THE MONSTER ~ What makes me look at it and stare at it? What stops me from closing my eyes and avoiding it? What makes me count up all the possibilities? What stops me from facing it and proving my own self worth, my own beliefs? What makes me doubt my own ability so much?
            

'ME'
It is Me who creates the 
perception of this moment.
It is Me who is in control of my reality.
And there is ONLY ME who can overcome this fear.

Say that to yourself. 

Don't close your eyes and avoid it,
Turn around, FACE IT, and learn from it,
and then brush yourself off,
 stand tall,
 do what you LOVE
 and believe in it!

MOST OF ALL

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

 By comparing ourselves to ONLY ourselves, without any comparison to others, then what we find is we GROW, we get better at our passion,skills and beliefs. We enjoy it, learn from it, grow from it.

This runs not only in our hobbies but also in our professional and everyday lives. 

At times when we need to ground ourselves and avoid these wicked and soul destroying comparisons, 

I mean-

-COME ON- Is anyone really PERFECT? 

 We all have our chance to shine if we are willing to learn, expand, accept limitations but express determination.
 SHINE and through shining we grow, always grow, we can only grow. 
The 'being' and 'spirit' that we ALL are is made to grow and glow.

 For when we shine, others too shine-

-And TOGETHER we can make the WORLD shine too.

Creativity and INDIVIDUALITY
 It is in us all, we are all born with an internal 
need to make our own mark . . .

 . . . What mark will you make??

Here is a poem i wrote a while ago, but it is still a one i re-read many times when needed. 

(Click on image to enlarge)

Now that i have got that off my chest i suppose you would like to know what the Funky GeeGee;'s have been upto? 

WELL, You wouldn't believe it if i told you . . . 

 I was walking with Mr Funky on our way to do a little shopping,when i couldn't believe my eyes as there was a lovely little pony trotting in front of us, if that was not strange enough to us we also noticed that this pony was wearing a Christmas jumper . . . Now that was strange!! We stood and watched as she trotted over the road to the post box and posted what looked like a Christmas card, HOW SWEET, I do hope that she remembered to write the postcode clear enough and has remembered to pop on a stamp. A very lucky Funky GeeGee shall be receiving a lovely card very soon by the looks of it, and judging by her fashion she is a very FUNKY GeeGee indeed!!

Later on as we were settling for the night, warm and cosy in our PJ's there was a tap on the door. I sent Mr Funky as it was freezing out there, when he opened the door he could not believe his eyes when there in front of him was the same little pony just Minus the Christmas jumper. Did he let her in i here you all ask? . . . .

 . . . OF COURSE HE DID, SOFTY! We also felt rather sorry for her so we let her wear Mr Funkys socks to warm her cold hooves up from the snow. All she wanted was to borrow a pencil and a piece of paper so that she could write her Christmas list and send it to Santa, 

Awwwwwwwwwww how cute!!

She stayed for a hot chocolate and we let her watch a movie with the Mini Funky's until their bedtime, after that she was ready to get back to her FUNKY friends and her warm straw filled stable where may i quote she commented -

"Where i don't need to learn to push a handle to cover up my droppings,

 or wrestle with a toilet seat so that i can sit down."

It was nice to have her round for a while, and we managed to get her list all written up and ready, all i will say is i hope Santa has an extra big sleigh to fit what this pony is asking for in all of his sacks!

Well i'm off to find my warm quilt and pillow filled stable ready for another no doubt wet and windy day. I have quite a bit to do this week with Christmas preperations and OH YEAH that small matter of putting up the Christmas tree which i have been asked to do for over a fortnight now off the Mini Funky's (Bless them) I have promised it will be going up on Friday when i get it all out from storage and say "Here we go again" as i realise yup, indeed, here we go again.

Next week is a busy one with end of term and Christmas school stuff, so i probably wont get much time to do my cartoning, but i will make time to create a few more festive ones so pop back to see them, or follow my facebook page.

Facebook.com/missfunkyandthegeegees 

Catch up soon <3 Miss Funky