Hi readers, wow, lurking around the 2,300 mark on FB followers now and well over 1,000 on insta. Thanks to everyone who follows me and is showing their support for my progress both with my art and my health. It means so much and gives me a big boost, so thank you!

I’ve been home getting on for 2 months now and have made a lot of progress in that time. I’m carrying on with my painting and it still gives me great headspace and enjoyment when I’m in the creative zone. To me, it’s a bit like writing, there are days when it just flows and days where I just have to take a break because it’s just not happening, deadline or not.

The Wonky Artist now also has an online shop which is attached to my blog and can be found here I’ve had quite a few direct purchases from there now, so definitely worth having. It was a bit of an experiment at first (a bit costly too!) but it has already paid for itself and people are continuing to buy from it. Some people just see something they want, go to the shop, buy it and that’s it. Some of the advantages are it’s possible to pay by card or paypal and you don’t have to be on social media to access the shop, as long as you have internet, it’s all good. Other people want to have a bit of a chat online before they buy and those who are very local sometimes want to pop in for a quick chat and collect in person which is always nice as I love meeting new people. This month, my most popular painting has been my Manchester map, closely followed by my bluebell woods painting (the original is going to live in Germany with its proud new owners).

Other paintings off to international shores, are a fish painting has gone to Canada, a Cornwall painting which is heading to Illinois and a new commission which will be off to live in sunny California before we know it. So from now on, I shall be known as Rachel Smith-The International Wonky Artist Extraordinaire! 😂 One of my paintings is appearing this very evening at a charity event at the Army Museum in London for a fab charity called Horatio’s Garden, who raise money to design and build beautiful gardens in spinal units all across the UK, to help with the rehab of newly injured people and connect them with nature as a way to improve their physical and mental well being. Huge good luck to them for tonight. So lots happening on the painting front!

In other Wonky news…I have returned to choir which I love and which is great for both my physical and mental health and we will be appearing in concert in Sale, South Manchester on the 7th June, so looking forward to that, especially as my daughter also sings in the junior choir so it will be lovely to do that together. I am also back driving now too and posted about how I actually drive today, as people were asking. 😊Also, last bank holiday (when it turned out to be absolutely freezing!) we decided to go away for the weekend to East Yorkshire, Whitby, a very beautiful part of the world but oh my God it was freezing. We stayed in a lovely wheelie friendly cottage and took our dog, Pudding, along too. There were lots of free range chickens all over the place so we had to keep a firm eye on her but it was lovely just to be away from Manchester! Amélie was in her element as there were lots of baby chicks and ducklings for her to handle & stroke and the farmers were more than happy for her to get stuck in.

Coming up in June…we are off to Center Parcs for 5 days with friends and then from 22nd-30th is my very first festival, the Didsbury Arts Festival. Excited and scared all at the same time about that one!!! It will give me a chance to show my work in person, rather than online so I am looking forward to that. Keep your eye out for new paintings plus the same painting being offered in A3+ and A4 size, along with packs of 5 greetings cards together which will hopefully be going on sale in June.

Re healing, what remains of my pressure sore is still healing. These things take so long with spinal injury, especially as we start to get a bit older. That means I’m still only allowed out of bed for 6 hours a day, split into two sessions which at times, can feel very frustrating & like I’m not really making much progress (although I know I am really!)

For those of you who are local to South Manchester, some of my older paintings can still be seen at the Bean and Brush café in Sale, a great place for food, a natter and a spot of art shopping!

Happy bank holiday weekend to all, let’s hope it’s warmer than the last, at least in the UK.

Thanks for reading and please continue to support my (accidental!!!) small business, it really means a lot to me!

Thanks for reading,

Rachel 😊♿️❤️