About Me

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Artists who paints in oil en plein aire. Member of the three member Plein Aire Cottage Artists. Members: Mary Rose Holmes, Violetta Chandler and Helen Tilston

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Lights, Camera, Action,Pose and Paint

Self portrait Helen Tilston



I am winging my way to the Gulf of Mexico with a destintation ticket to Indian Rocks Beach, Florida.
Indian Rocks Beach is part of the barrier islands linked to the mainland by a bridge.  It is a jewel nestled among palms and live oaks and still unspoiled.  The poem in a small way conveys my feelings for this little place which has a heart full of love and residents who care.
Meet me at Indian Rocks Beach original by Helen Tilston


The sea of love

Indian Rocks Beach has been blessed from above
and to our west is "the sea of love"

From day break till the stars shine bright
our beach welcomes all in her sight

and should your heart feel pain and, perhaps you are somewhat weary,
you know it is all right to get a little teary

but, please build a castle or a mermaid of sand
and soon you'll feel peace and healing from this special land

The butterfly in your tummy which is forever muttering
soon joins a flock of butterflies playfully fluttering

Playful dolphins frolic and play
while young lovers whisper, dance and sway

And this my dearest friends is our treasure trove
so let's all bathe in the sea of love.
(Poem composed by Helen Tilston March, 2011)


The Editor of a major, luxury magazine called  this week and has been following our artistic journey.  The Plein Aire Cottage Artists,  (3 Members:Mary Rose Holmes and Violetta Chandler and
Helen Tilston) are being featured in September/October issue of their magazine and the photo shoot is this Monday.

At times like this when I am nervous I hear my father's words echoing "keep your mouth shut, your ears open and look intelligent"  

Violetta, Mary Rose and Helen painting a triptych
Elegant Lady by Helen Tilston

One of my favourite spots at Indian Rocks Beach photo by Helen Tilston
Any tips on how to pose? what to wear?  

Island in the Sun, Harry Belafonte

46 comments:

  1. Hello Helen:
    This is all so very exciting and we are thrilled for you. What a wonderful destination Indian Rocks Beach sounds to be for a photo shoot and your poem conveys so well the romance and atmsophere of what clearly is a wonderfully unspoit place.

    We cannot imagine for one moment that you might possibly feel at all nervous. You ask for advice about what to wear and how to pose. All we can answer is to be yourself for if your wonderfully warm and generous personality can come through on your posts and the comments which you write, then we are certain in a situation such as this you will shine!!!

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  2. Congratulations, Helen! How exciting it is to be featured in a magazine! I am so happy for you. Your wonderful talents are certainly being recognized.

    Hope you have a great time at the beach!

    Jessie
    www.mixandchic.com

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  3. Congratulations! How exciting to be featured in a major magazine! This is most certainly well-deserved recognition of the talents of you and your fellow artists. I'm looking forward to seeing the end results (which I hope you will share with us).

    Best wishes for a great trip. Indian Rocks Beach looks lovely. Have fun and enjoy!

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  4. My dear Helen,

    congratulations. you three are so talented and deserve the recognition. I don't have any advice about posing or what to wear other than 'be' yourself.

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  5. You are so well-traveled, my dear. Absolutely lovely that inspiration abounds for someone as gifted as you!

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  6. YOUR FATHER'S advice is most definitely a wealth of wisdom that I WANT TO REMEMBER!!!! OH Helen, how WONDERFUL are your prospects!!! I WISH YOU THE BEST! Your poem is lovely for it comes from your vision and is unique and colored with what YOU SEE, only YOU...and then you bring it to the shore for US to voyage with you! THANK YOU DEAREST for your kind words about my post. How kind you are, and what a sweet community of bloggers is this. Peace and love to you on this beautiful August day, Anita

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  7. Lance & Jane, Greetings from Indian Rocks Beach, where is is extremely hot and beautiful once by the ocean.

    Thank you for your continued encouragement and support. Your comments mean very much to me. I adore your sense of humour and it never ceases to bring a smile to my face.

    Must head to the studio to re-arrange my french easel and get ready for our shoot tomorrow.

    Wishing you a wonderful week, are you in Brighton yet?

    Love
    Helen xxx

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  8. Jessie

    Thank you for your kindness and faith in my art.
    The beach is absolutely beautiful, azure colour today, similar to the colours one sees in the Caribbean.
    Wishing you a joyous week.

    Helen xx

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  9. Louise, Hello and thank you for your validation of my art and that of my art partners, Mary Rose and Violetta.
    I will certainly let you know when the magazine is released and hopefully post a link to the interview and shoot.

    Indian Rocks Beach is really beautiful and I think you would love it. There are no chain restaurants on the barrier islands and no box stores, so it has an old fashioned feel, yet we have excellent restaurants and a french bakery too.


    Wishing you a joyous week.

    Helenxx

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  10. Hello Elisa

    You are the second person to tell me to "be myself" I will take your wise suggestion. I always get afraid speaking, as I fear I will stutter.
    Many thanks for your kind wishes.

    Helen xx

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  11. Suze, my dear, so kind of your to visit.
    Your kind words mean so much and I thank you. I do love to travel and need little encouragement.

    Helenxx

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  12. Crowns Castles and Cottages

    Dearest Anita

    Such beautiful kind words from you, as always. Yes, I am grateful for a father who was wise and an absolute gentleman. I must say I do get a little nervous for fear of not finding the right word. As you know when painting one is in the left brain mode and reason is a right brain activity, so sometimes the two do not work simultaneously.
    I will cherish your kind thoughts and wishing you a week full of joy and goodness. I am looking forward to your next post already!
    Yes, we are truly blessed with such a family of bloggers who are friends too.

    Helen xx

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  13. Beautiful paintings! I went to that beach last summer! Great memories!

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  14. My dear Helen, you are so many things. Your poem is so beautiful. You are so gifted not just with the paint but also with the words.

    I recently went to see a south Korean film called Poetry. It was such a moving film and at the same time, it taught me to look at beautiful things around me.

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  15. What a lovely poem, you must also be so excited about your feature. All the best with the photo shoot.

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  16. Hi Helen! This post is a visual treat! I have to admit that I got stuck staring at little painting second from the top. It is so beautiful with its delicious colors and deft impasto technique. I love it. IRB looks and sounds fabulous. Have a wonderful time!

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  17. Indian Rocks is a slice of heaven, driving to work this morning I was just wishing to be in a place like that...I see my wish came true in part because of you. I love the self-portrait..always love the color. I love your father's saying, which I need to write down and put on my wall hee hee

    Enjoy and congratulations on the magazine feature! xoxo

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  18. Oh Helen I love your poem, especially the line " but, please build a castle or a mermaid of sand" for some reason it conjured up a business man in a suit kneeling earnestly building sand castles, I've no idea why but I love that image! Just magical just as your paintings! Warmest hugs - Glenda xxxxxxx

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  19. I was so enticed by your poem I forgot to say congratulations!!!!!!

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  20. Helen, I adore your paintings. The colour, light, subject and how you find your way into them. I am with Jane and Lance...be yourself and it will all come together. Just smile....the rest will be easy!

    Enjoy!

    Jeanne xxx

    PS..thank you Helen for all your lovely comments recently. It has been hard for me to catch but I wanted to be sure and say to you....it is very much appreciated :)

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  21. Helen, I adore your paintings. The colour, light, subject and how you find your way into them. I am with Jane and Lance...be yourself and it will all come together. Just smile....the rest will be easy!

    Enjoy!

    Jeanne xxx

    PS..thank you Helen for all your lovely comments recently. It has been hard for me to catch but I wanted to be sure and say to you....it is very much appreciated :)

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  22. Hi Helen, I am a little late in coming to this, and you have probably done your photo shoot already! Many congratulations to you, how fabulous that you are getting recognition for the wonderful work that you do for Indian Rocks Beach, and how lovely that you get to go there. I am sure that your lovely personality and charm will shine through unto the pages of that magazine. Thankyou for your many lovely comments on my post. I wish you a happy and fulfilling week, much love Linda x

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  23. Your dads words really made me smile they are so bang on - what to wear - something you feel comfortable in but you feel good in - that highlights the bits you are most keen on - for me my arms - get the photographer to talk to you so you smile naturally or an animal or child you love - something that softens you and makes you smile - well these all work for me - and lastly - welll done you - you are very talented xx

    http://fashionandfrank.blogspot.com/

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  24. I am new to your blog but congratulations! You are very talented and I'll now go on and browse through your work ;)

    A fellow artist,

    PvdH

    www.ThePvdHJournal.com

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  25. It'll be over now and I'm sure your photoshoot turned out wonderfully. But what I'm mostly here in this comment-box to say is that your self-portrait is stunning - the rich colours of the sea, the light on the umbrella, and the way you convey your oneness with the locale.

    You must let us know which magazine to watch out for!

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  26. Well hope that you are having a great time and gosh yes, that Harry Belafonte clip takes me back more than a bit, as I recall when it was first released :)

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  27. Hello Irina
    How exciting to hear that you have been to beautiful Indian Rocks Beach and that you carry the beautiful memories with you.
    Helen xx

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  28. A Super Dilettante
    Dearest ASD

    So lovely to hear from you again and thank you most sincerely for your kind words of encouragement.

    Thank you for the lead on the film Poetry, I am going to watch it, it sounds most interesting. Don't you love foreign films?
    Helen xx

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  29. Lindy LouMac in Italy

    Thank you Lindy for your compliment on my poem. The weather is superb here and all is going great.

    Thanks for stopping by

    Helen xx

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  30. Elizabeth Rose Stanton

    Thank you kindly for visiting and for your kind words on my painting. I love Indian Rocks Beach - it has a magic and presently the weather is perfect. Wishing you a great week
    Helenxx

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  31. Dear Mrs. Little Jeans

    So kind of you to stop and visit and pleased my post brought you a little joy. Thanks for your support of my art. Yes, my late father was kind, and wise and had a great sense of humour and in addition was a champion Irish dancer.
    Wishing you a week full of joy.
    Helen xx

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  32. The Peper Mulberry



    Now you have me giggling at the image of the business man, building the sandcastle with his suit and tie. Ha Ha.Speaking of sandcastles, today I saw a woman made of sand, lying face down, wearing a thong bikini made from shells. I just cracked up!
    The interview went really well.
    Thank you.

    Helen xx

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  33. Hello Jeanne

    Thanks for your kindess and words of wisdom.

    We love the people from the magazine, they were professional, and also personal and engaging. I will post the link later.

    Have a lovely weekend
    Helenxx

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  34. Flowers on My Table
    Hello Linda

    Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to write and offer your good wishes, support and wisdom. I think with all the sincere good wishes, we benefitted. The shoot went really well and so lovely to work with nice people who are also professional and fun.

    Wishing you a great week
    Helenxx

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  35. Dear Fashion and Frank

    Thank you for your professional advice.That is an excellent suggestion about chatting to the camera man and thinking of a favourite child or pet. If I were closer to you I would borrow your beautiful dog!
    The shoot went well and they were fun and professional. You photos are always so creative and professional and you model beautifully.
    Wishing you a lovely weekend.

    Helen xx

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  36. The PvdH Journal

    Welcome to my blog and thank you for your kind words. I will look forward to knowing you thorugh your blog, which I am off to visit.
    Helen xx

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  37. Hello Mise

    How kind of you to convey such compliments on my self portrait. My sincere thanks.

    The shoot went very well and we had a great crew who were entertaining and professional. I will post a link when published.
    Wishing you a great weekend
    Helen xx

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  38. Hello Mise

    How kind of you to convey such compliments on my self portrait. My sincere thanks.

    The shoot went very well and we had a great crew who were entertaining and professional. I will post a link when published.
    Wishing you a great weekend
    Helen xx

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  39. A Heron's View

    Many thanks for your kind comment.

    Yes, Belafonte is still a great singer.

    Wishing you a great week
    Helenx

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  40. Congratulations Helen!
    I love the painting you have posted here.
    What a truly gifted artist you are!
    I wish you a safe and wonderful trip!

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  41. Hello Helen,
    What an intense experience of colour, light and sunshine. It must be such a beautiful place to be, I do hope you have a wonderful time.
    I love your Father's phrase. I must remember to follow his advice!
    Jane x

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  42. How in the world did I miss this amazing post and exciting news?
    I'm thrilled for you Helen, but not surprised in the least. They found a gem in you and your compadres.
    Your poem is lovely just like you and your art and I'm thrilled that you will be introduced to even broader audience. I can't wait for the link!!
    Your trip looks wonderful. Enjoy it all my friend... it's meant to be!!
    Lots of Love,
    Terri

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  43. Your art is just gorgeous! And I'm glad everything went well! What an inspiration you are! ♥

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  44. Wonderful painting of yourself on the beach.. I am sure you are glad to be back at Indian Rocks.. it looks fabulous..
    I am still learning how to use the blog.. It takes time.
    Summer is at its peak here.. very very hot 40o..
    Today, we have a breeze ,so it cools the air.
    send regards Helen.. val Tilston

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  45. Hi Helen!

    I am so happy for you and your friends! It's so wonderful you'll be featured in a major magazine! You absolutely deserve it! Congratulations!

    xxLaura

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  46. Hi Helen,
    My name is Jane and I'm with Dwellable.
    I was looking for blog posts about Indian Rocks Beach to share on our site and I came across your post...If you're open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
    Hope to hear from you :)
    Jane

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