Jacqui Sieger

TODAY HAS BEEN THE FIRST SUNNY SPRING LIKE DAY IN DORSET, UK. My garden is just starting to show the spring flowers in the borders, so i was not too sure whether I should be using the good light to finish my Dartmoor painting or tidy up the leaves and let the wet ground breath and soak in the new sunlight!  Your right, I tidied the garden and will finish the painting tomorrow!  My greeting cards and small prints have proved to be a success and quite a few shops are now stocking my work, so now is the time to get some help in selling my stock around the country side.  MR John Baines will be starting soon  to sell  into shops and Garden centres etc. This will give me the opportunatley to do a collection of paintings this year and do some shows for next year, one of which  will be in New York next March. More info on the shows to follow.

The 21st of November  I will be having a few of my originals and prints on show at the Moontre Gallery.
Address:- 16.Sea Road, Boscombe. Dorset.BH5 1DB  or telephone 01202394949.The showroom is down stairs, where there is always a warm welcome for you, also if you are interested there is a Holistic Health Centre for you to enquire about. Hope to see some of you there!

“The Marsh Man”, is a dark, Gothic tale of the folly of exploitation and over ambition. A series of plot threats become entangled around the self- styled cult leader. ` Percival Nudd` who is back in Bedlam again at the end of the 19 th century. A colourful cluster of characters gravitate towards Percival with their own agendas, whilst the lives of some escape unscathed, others begin to unravel.   There is a visit to the lonely and eerie night time Breton salt marsh of France`s Vendee region. Part historic detective story, and part psychological thriller.  A good Fireside read this winter!  Published by Olmpyia Publishers, you can order the book from `Amazon,  the book should be out from the middle of November. I will let you have more details nearer the time.

During the early spring this year, I had a phone call from a local writer who wanted me to paint  a book cover for his new book. The Book name is ” The Marsh Man”, the Author being Mark Vivien. The writer was asking me to paint a lightening Fire ball! His voice was soft and as he went on to unfold his story, he asked me I had ever seen a fire Ball! At this point it was his turn to be surspised, as I explained that indeed, during my time farming in North Yorkshire, I had seen one!  It was one afternoon in September, the air was very warm and still but  in the south west direction, the clouds had turned nearly mauve! Going around the farm to check the stock, the horses were galloping around the field and looked nervous, the cows were going under some trees , while the geese started to gather in their hut. I had the sense to bring the horses in first, just as I closed the last stable door, there was a tremendous thunder clap!  I rushed in doors, as the lightening struck the outside building. The 17 century farm house shook, the telephone blew off the wall while the electric sockets had blue sparks coming from them.

I stood in the bedroom over looking our fold yard, it was here I saw the most unusual sight! Glowing and spinning across the tiles was a lightening fireball!   It was only my daughter and I on the farm that afternoon, we were both frightened!    Praying the lightening would not kill our stock under the trees and how the chicken were fairing out in the paddock,  I noticed the  fireball spin across the large exspance of roof towards the dairy parlour.   I knew metal would attract the Fireball, sure enough that was where the fireball was heading , straight to the milk tank!    The bang was deafening!    leaving my daughter and I too scared to venture  out for nearly two hours!     It was then that I discovered the milking parlor had all the electrics burnt out and all the  free range chickens that had gone back into their chicken houses  and suffocated themselves in one corner of each house, or had been electrocuted?   Walking around the rest of the farm that early evening , I was glad to report the cows where all alive and the horses were safe and sound in their stables.  the only problem was milking 60 cows by hand that night!  Fortunately, some farmers came up to help!  So, yes I knew what a fire ball looked like! Look up Mark Vivien and the book The Marsh Man,  to read about his new book  and when it will be out, it would make a great christmas present and  it will be a good read!

Having run my own busineses in North Yorkshire manufacturing Horse Clothing and Leather arm bands for the dog Handlers for over 20 years. I now find myself retired back in my home town of Poole Dorset, painting as a hobby. Somehow though my hobby always turns into a business and here I am as a self publishing artist and traveling around the world with my art! This year has been no different with the request from a very big firm in Dijon asking me to paint famous places as the old masters have done, thus putting my own interpretations onto the scene of the painting. This has been a very exciting request and I am waiting for the new year to start working for this firm, selling my work on a Royalty agreement. At the moment I am working on local scenes for my website, as over the yaers I have clients buying my work of the Jurasic coast. I have just finished one painting of the ” Old Harry Rocks”, and sold the first print on Canvas 21×30″ as soon as the painting was finished. I am off to the new Forest this weekend to get some ideas for some Autumn scenes, so please keep in contact with my Blog and see my new paintings.