NO PEEKING...NOT YET!

This week I finished one of the two commissioned paintings which have been taking up most of my easel-time for the last month or so. I hope to complete the other one tomorrow. I'm sorry that I can't put them on display yet, as their prospective owners will have to get first peek!

There are no further commissions in the immediate offing, so I plan to get back to my stock/exhibition works this week. I received new ready-to-use canvases from Jackson's yesterday, with this in mind - I hope to transform them into attractive works of art soon. My supply of off-the-wall paintings is getting rather low, as sales have been surprisingly good in the last few months, considering the financial climate. There are no exhibition dates to tell you about yet - I tried to get in touch with someone about this yesterday, but he was off to Edinburgh for the Scotland-England rugby match. I hope he wasn't disappointed with what he witnessed - maybe I'm biased, but I thought Scotland should have won that game.

I have completed the product database for the website e-commerce upgrade, which should be evident on http://www.tait-gallery.co.uk/ soon. My web designer is now going to help me with the presentation of this. Meanwhile, I have a couple of archive pages to construct, one of past commissioned works and one of other "sold" paintings. These pages might be subdivided, and what format they take will soon become clear, I hope, as I start producing it. The Octeportal system, which supports my website, has its idiosyncracies which can ensnare inexperienced users like me. I've made some dreadful mistakes in the past - fortunately I can contact my web host or designer to dig me out of it whenever that happens. It's a steep learning curve for a 61-year-old online newbie!

Spring is in the air - the crocuses are out here, having emerged heroically from under the retreating snow, and the daffodils will soon follow. The snow has nearly all gone - just a few patches left in the deeper hill-hollows. I celebrated my vernal mood by getting a much-needed haircut on Wednesday, and it's nice to be able to get out for walks again.

I hope there's a spring in your step this week!