3, 2, 1...hold on, not so fast!

This has been a real mix of a fortnight. I took my kite flying piece to the gallery and got a thumbs up for it. My other three hoop pieces get plenty of looks so they're staying for now. Once again I think I really ought to do some kind of painting. The gallery has limited edition prints, tiny pieces on wood, large boxed canvases and etchings in all kinds of styles and colour mixes. I'm sure if I could just figure out what kind of work I want to do they might find a space there.

Elsewhere, our dingy offices, unpainted for many years are in dire need of an overhaul. It was intended by the boss about 18 months ago but...hasn't happened. Mismatched desks with broken drawers, a ripped chair cover, a bash in a wall never fixed, the window surrounds are peeling (black paint - urgh), and that's just the front area. The entire office including shelving is all painted the same kind of washed out pinky-orange.

Anyhow, the topic came up again a couple of weeks ago and it turned out the new staff member and I have been in makeover dream mode for the whole area...so we volunteered to do it. Boss was all for it so we set to, eagerly planning the what, how and when. I'd have started that weekend but there was prep needed first.

The front office was scheduled for this Saturday. I got some light beech effect Fablon to cover my horrible scarred desk and a test pot of bronze paint to do the label holders of the cabinets and did a long painting to replace the yellowed notes in an old brown frame (yeah, that would get painted too). Since I can't show the pieces side by side...this is it, almost done; I added a few bits and bobs after e.g. the plane is missing from the end of the contrail. The ink colours of the skyline are much bolder and brighter than they look here. The textured areas are wall covering scraps and the cover from a takeaway coffee cup.

All set to transform the room into a bright, light, clean looking space. I'd just got back from the garden centre with some colourful little pots and a bit of greenery to offset the soon to be white walls and woodwork...to find an email saying that since we were 'unqualified' we weren't allowed to do the work. I can only ponder on how qualified anyone has to be to paint three walls, some skirting and window surrounds. I painted my own house about three times in the ten years I lived there. I'm sure we could manage without killing anything deader than it already is.

Anyhow, (shrugs), aint nothing going anywhere now. I see no point in bringing in colour and greenery to a space that's still going to be drab. At least I have the receipts for the plants and Fablon.

Have to say it took me aback how deeply disappointed I am about this. Makeovers are one of my most favourite things to do. Maybe I should be thinking about that. Binge watched some house reno programmes on YouTube and spent the last day or so trying to put my room at home straight as a bit of replacement activity. It's been stuck in maybe moving/maybe not stasis for a year now...representative of my life for too long. That's probably why the cancellation has felt like such a massive let down.