Now you see me, now you don't!

Gracie

Well that was odd. At around 11.00 this morning my whole blog disappeared. I had an email from Blogger to tell me so. In fact the email said that they had removed my blog because they believed it violated their terms of service with regards to phishing.

I looked for it. All six years worth of content vanished, nothing in it's place.

I was indignant - I'm not a scammer! I'm just a humble artist posting drawings, paintings and random thoughts.

I looked for a phone number, a helpline, an email address to contact... none of the above. Just a little 'click here' type button on my blogger dashboard where my blog once stood saying 'appeal'. 

I clicked appeal. Then waited, and wondered what else I could do. Nothing.

I wondered how long I would have to wait, and would my blog come back, and would all that historic content ever come back or had it been banished into hyperspace forever?

I did the only thing any reasonable person could do in such a situation - I put a little pity post out on Facebook. Help! Nasty google! Has anybody else experienced such a thing?

I did confess that it was a first world problem, but Facebook friends are so good at making you feel supported in times of modern angst such as missing blogs, computer viruses and the like.

And then I got on with life, because I am finishing framing 36 paintings this week for my March exhibition at the Russell Gallery in Putney - exciting!

Roughly five hours after my blog disappeared I received this email from Google -

"Hello, We have received your appeal regarding your blog http://haideejo.blogspot.com/. Upon further review, we have determined that your blog was mistakenly marked as a TOS violator by our automated system and, as such, we have reinstated your blog. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused in the meantime and thank you for your patience as we completed our review process. Thank you for understanding. Your sincerely, The Blogger Team"

Hoorah! And the whole lovely blog came back, with an apology too. And so to celebrate here are a couple of sketches from this week.

Welcome back blog and welcome back lovely subscribers! Normal service can now be resumed. Whatever that is.

Oscar in the car

Roof with a view

New roof with a view

We went to Granada for a couple of days and the second day was really hazy in the afternoon - no strong sunshine or shadows to be had. We walked uphill to the Plaza San Nicolas to overlook the Alhambra palace. The previous afternoon we had painted here while enjoying a fabulous clear view of the palace and the snow topped mountains.

After the uphill walk I needed a little sandwich and recuperation time while I considered what to paint. It was then that my friend Karl Terry called out to me "I've found a great subject Haidee. You're going to love this!".

I did indeed love it! Karl had found these workers laying a new roof against the backdrop of the hills and palace. It even had cypress trees - which I love - and a tree in the foreground covered in Seville oranges. It would have been great to see some rim lighting around the men and the bits and pieces on the roof, but the hazy afternoon light had it's own charm. 

Painting next to Karl

Yellow pavilion with Mercury fountain

The yellow pavilion

I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the gardens at the Alcazar Palace in Seville. Fountains, hedges, palm trees, Seville oranges growing on trees, ornate arches, peacocks, shady corners and vibrant warm colours... and all seen in the most beautiful light imaginable. Plus, Sorolla painted here so I was walking in giant footsteps. All this made it very difficult to calm down and actually paint! This was my first attempt in the gardens, I couldn't resist that wall of yellow and it's reflection in the pool.

Evening street study, Seville

Evening street scene, Seville
Oils 8" x 12"

Talk about a rush! When you attempt a subject like this you know that time is short. Most of the street was in shadow and the warm evening light was still hitting the tops of the buildings, mainly on the left hand side but some coming across the sides of the buildings on the right too. It was one of those 'nothing to lose, just bash on with it' moments. Again I knew I had no time to be finickety with the drawing or details in those buildings - an effort to catch the light and atmosphere being order of the day.

Horse and carriage

Horse and carriage
Oils 8" x 10"

My first painting from the Seville trip was this study of a horse and carriage. I was really taken by these horses lining the streets ready for tourists to take a scenic ride. When this one arrived in front of me I noticed the light along the horse's back and around the ears. Captivating. Of course I didn't know how long I would have but decided it was worth the risk. It could have been that that five minutes later I was wiping the board down because the subject had gone, but actually I had probably forty-five minutes or more before the horse moved. I think the horse in my painting is perhaps not anatomically correct but this kind of quick study is much more about capturing an impression of the light for me. I'm pleased with the atmosphere and the palette of colours captured so am tempted to make a studio painting based on this - in which case I would be able to take more care with the drawing. The light in Seville was nothing short of marvellous, such a contrast from the winter light in the UK.

Fountain study, Seville

Fountain in Seville
Oils 8" x 10"

I've just got back from a wonderful painting trip to Seville with friends. The sunshine and laughter was such a tonic for me. I've had an email this morning from a blog subscriber who said 'Are you ok? I am missing seeing your paintings'. I had forgotten that not everybody sees my posts on Instagram (I put almost daily snaps on there) or on Facebook, which I update about once a week. So I will get to work sending you, my lovely blog subscribers, some recent images of paintings!

To start with this is a little plein air contre jour study of a beautiful fountain in Seville. There were lots of people around and I was hoping to catch a figure sitting on the wall of the fountain but I didn't get the right person in the right place. When I visit Seville again I most definitely need a model with me!