Quackers

Hello Duck, hello Chick, Deary, Sweet pea, Luv, my Dear, so many ways to greet each other depending on where you live in the UK, (and probably around the world).

Duck used to make me laugh. When I first came to Stoke I literally used to duck! I thought someone was going to throw something at me!

So I’ve drawn a little friendly duck to cheer me up and remind me that misunderstanding can be funny as well as annoying!

War of the worlds

What’s your all-time favorite album?

‘The chances of anyone coming from Mars are 100 to 1 they say’. I think that’s how one of the pieces of music starts.

I’m not good at remembering music, but I really enjoyed this album. It was songs interspersed with narration by Richard Burton. It was very atmospheric, the voice of Burton was really extraordinarily in telling the tale of the invasion of Earth by Martians. The songs include Forever Autumn sung by Justin Hayward in 1978. I think that is my favourite song on the album.

I have to admit looking it up on YouTube because I couldn’t remember the title. But hearing it took me back to the student flat where I sat with a cup of tea going cold as I listened to my friend playing the album on a cassette player that they had copied it to.

Hearing it again gave me goosebumps. I’m glad this prompt came up and reminded me of good memories.

Train

Trains

Thursdays #bandofsketchers prompt was train. Train design, didn’t look at an image, just channelling a screen print idea. The Green light is on the front of an American style train with a snow plow sort of thing. Obviously based on steam trains. Maybe in a transport museum? Artrage app drawing.

Friendship paw

Morning all, I just woke up and my cat decided to say hello. He puts his paw out to greet me and I stroke it, he is very sweet, it’s almost turned into a ritual as I’m still sleeping on the settee which I think he sees as his territory. I might go back to sleep, I woke up cold and shivering in the night, the temperature is definitely becoming autumnal.

Ancient civilizations

Which topics would you like to be more informed about?

I recently did a course in illustration and one of the modules was to do in depth research into a subject of our choice. I chose dragons.

I was aware of Chinese imperial dragons, and Japanese dragons, as well as western European ones. But I had no idea about the complexity of the subject. For instance how many wings they had (if at all), how many legs or toes? Whether they were good or evil. So much to know.

Then I found out about other civilizations, Australia, various African countries, ancient Greece and Rome, North and South America, each had versions of dragons (also called great snakes), The Australian one for instance was a snake that seemed to link rivers and water holes. The American ones might have been linked to dinosaur bones. How would they know they were fossils and not recently deceased? It was fascinating.

But that’s when I realised I know only very little about ancient civilizations. And watching I Claudius on television recently, I understand I know virtually nothing about the Romans, let alone the Celts, ancient Chinese, Vikings, and so many peoples from across the whole world.

I know I cannot gain an encyclopedic knowledge, but I want to learn more. I’m interested in finding out.

Quizzical

What’s happening? She thought. A noise murmured in the night, voices whispering, almost below the level of hearing. Then… A tapping noise, but quietly, hidden.

In the morning, on the little footstool, a small pair of red shoes, deftly tacked together, leather and small nails and stitching. Where had they come from…?

That night she tried to stay awake, ears straining. She let her eyes get used to the dark. She saw, a tiny old man, an elf? sitting on the footstool. There was a shoe last in front of him. He was expertly turning blue leather around the last. In a few minutes a new left shoe was finished. It shone like sky blue. He laid it down and created a second shoe, righthanded, crystal blue as was the first.

The girl sat back, she was entranced, impressed by the skill of the tiny fairie. She fell asleep in wonderment and amazement. In the morning the blue shoes sat proudly on the footstool, a label pinned to them. ‘for Lucy, with love, we shall not visit again’. She never wore the shoes.

Mug design

Badly drawn mug with a photo superimposed on it. I was just trying out the idea of what would work on a mug. I’m sure there are templates so you can see how things would work, but I don’t know which application is the best to choose? I think spoonflower and red bubble have them but I don’t know of there is a charge to use them. The pattern is a collage of a photo of my crocheted blanket, it was square so I had to draw curves so the top and bottom fitted into the shape. It might work?