Whirlpool

My digital drawing of the whirlpool galaxy. Visible through powerful telescopes, wouldn’t it be amazing if it was visible to the naked eye?

Why is our galaxy, the Milky Way, so faint? Partly because of light pollution which drowns out the hundreds of thousands of stars visible in a dark sky area, and partly because there are dust lanes n the way of the view to the centre of the galaxy. Plus if you live in the Northern Hemisphere your view is out of the galaxy. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere your view is towards the centre of the galaxy, plus the small and large Magellanic clouds.

Baker St Park, with flying dog!

A cloudy sky (with an odd dog shape- I’m not changing it) flys above a park. The grass is shaded by the long shadows of trees. The sun is bright, but starting to set. I used various techniques taught to us by Jo Watson, an artist who comes out and teaches charcoal workshops.

Most of the group used images supplied by Jo, but a few of us chose our own images. This drawing was based on a photo of Baker Street Park in Penkhull, Stoke-on-Trent.

I really loved learning about charcoal, I’ve used it before, but not been in control of it! ❤️

Flying dog?

As I was finishing my charcoal drawing I saw a creature in the sky. A flying beagle type dog with a white muzzle floppy mouth and long floppy ears (alternatively it could be a loping hare). I don’t know how I managed it, but I didn’t alter it, I just chuckled! I’ll post a photo of the finished drawing later…

Charcoal WIP

I went to the Orme Art Group charcoal workshop today. It was run by an artist called Jo Watson and she taught us various techniques. Here I used brushed on charcoal powder smudged with a rubber tipped tool. Then I used willow charcoal sticks which you put on in a random way, then smudge again to lighten the charcoal. Finally you add darker layers to add contrast but you can tone these back to the paper colour, either by using a putty rubber you can shape, to lift off a layer of charcoal, or you can use a mechanical eraser thar rubs off patches to make the drawing lighter.

Falcon Works

Old bottle oven at the falcon works in Stoke. Bushes are growing out of it and the old pottery factory next to it was damaged by fire last year. Its terrible that the industrial heritage of Stoke-on-Trent is gradually crumbling. It should be renovated and reused, but it will probably be allowed to fall down. But there is no money, there is no support, there is no hope for these buildings I think. A few years ago it was suggested it could be a museum but I think the local residents opposed it because there would be traffic issues. I wish there was a chance that the dereliction could be stopped!

Katkins

I walked under a tree today and noticed little katkins had opened up under it. The sky was blue but the clouds behind me were dark grey and angry looking. The rain had stopped about half an hour before and I liked the dark blue reflection on the road surface. This was in the centre of Stoke, where I was taking a flat walk because my feet are aching. It was good to get out of the house again, I’m hoping it helps me relax more. X

Don’t take my Stats!

Why? I pay for WordPress. Not just the blog page, but as far as I’m concerned Stats, Reader and Notifications! I don’t have enough memory on my phone for a new app…. So how will I keep up with what people are writing and doing? Does Jetpack take up much memory? Can I get it to work? First it was blocks. Now it’s this? Do site owners care about their customers? Please let me know if you have information. When I asked before someone told me you would not have to use Jetpack if you didn’t want to. That seems now to be an untruth.

Oh my toes!

I’ve noticed my big toes are hurting again. They really are sore and when I try and sleep at night I have to pull the covers off them because the pressure of the duvet on them hurts and keeps me awake. Then I have to try and cover them up a bit because they get cold!

I was diagnosed with gout in my feet, then thumb a couple of years ago but I forgot. I’ve got quite a few things wrong with me and I don’t always remember all of them. I just keep taking the tablets. I hope I don’t moan about things too much, but sometimes things are maddening. But insomnia is debilitating, anything that can help me get to sleep and stay asleep would be good. Sometimes meditation takes my mind off things, perhaps I will try that tonight…