Getting started on the "exhibition"!

I bought an easel on Ebay! I am stupidly excited about this! I have always wanted a proper full size easel, but looking around in Hobbycraft and other places a decent one has been £150+ - not justifiable really!

So I had a look on Ebay thinking I might pick up a second hand one a bit cheaper, when I came across a lovely looking new one for £40! Only problem was it was coming from Germany - would it ever make it here?

Well, it turned up about three days after I'd bought it! AND it's just fab! So to try it out I've just painted my first painting for my little "exhibition" in July. Toby's lovely teacher bought me some flowers the other day as I'd helped out in class when OFSTED were in, so I took some photos and did this from one of them:

And then as usual, not wanting to waste leftover paint (!), I did this quickly:

Have worked out I really need to do at least one painting a week to get ready for this thing in July - eek!