New paintings and regular art updates.
It’s Valentines day here and a friend put a card through our letterbox wishing me and my hubby a happy Valentines day. I think it’s really sweet of her. I think it’s a nice idea to share love between friends as well as couples. Why not? A token of friendship and care and love? The idea of a more inclusive world where everyone gets something from it. After all not everyone wants to be in a relationship. They are normal people, they shouldn’t be deminished because of their choice. X
When I used to paint murals I did a series of cartoon characters for a friends son. This was Fun to do! This was done about twelve years ago. I enjoyed painting it. I remember using acrylic on the walls, with a matt varnish on top.
I saw the sky this evening
Turned bloody orange
As if on fire
Light streaming through
Branches and trees
Illuminating a landscape
Still dry from lack of rain.
The hedge behind us
Was split by the light
A shaft of red and gold
For telling bright weather
And clear skies
And stars
For the night ahead…..
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was grapes. Imagining a bunch of grapes and trying to draw them is hard! But I tried x it’s a pencil crayon drawing and so I added the pencil as part of the sketch.
Afternoon tea, a couple of cheese ant tomato Staffordshire oatcakes with a dab of brown sauce and a hot chocolate with squirty cream, marshmallows and a tiny jammy dodger biscuit with a ram heart at its centre, presumably for valentines day? (which I have hubby). We had this at Westport Lake visitors centre. We sat on the balcony in a slightly chilly breeze, overlooking the lake. The geese were calling, I think they wanted bird food. But we couldn’t feed them because there us bird flu in the area and feeding a flock can help spread it. The latest news is that it has jumped species to small mammals which is very worrying. Anyway, sorry to put a downer on this post!
Trees on our walk today. (somehow I seem to have posted the same thing twice so I’m editing this into a new post). Anyway this was at the far end of the big Westport Lake where a large plot of land has had tons of hardcore rubble placed on it I don’t know if its an industrial site or housing, but they have builf a huge bund (piled up slope) hopefully to hide it from the lake. Previously it was a muddy rocky mess adjacent to the nature reserve and the main train line that runs to one side of the reserve. I’m glad these trees have been left to screen off the area.
Two lakes, the smaller in front. One is a quarter of a mile to walk round, the other a mile. Its at Westport in Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire. A bit of a haven for water birds. It’s also a reservoir for the Trent and Mersey canal I think. It’s a flooded area of old coal workings or marl pits I think? Sorry not to have better information, I shall have to check. Its run by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. There’s a cafe there and wildlife csntre. The only thing is the local council have bought in car parking charges (it used to be free). Its sad because in this day and age people might be put off coming because of the cost of living crisis.
On our walk today round Westport Lake we incorporated a bit of the Trent and Mersey canal. We saw a few canal barges as we walked along the towpath. It made me think of a song we sing at choir which goes ‘fifteen miles on the Erie canal’. Most of the boats were painted dull blues and greys but there was a more traditionally painted cafe boat in primarily green and red but with yellow and white details too. It made me smile to see it.
Yes, we have three cats
Hungry, playful, cheeky
Are not their names
Sometimes together
Sometimes apart
Chasing each other
Loving toys
Liking treats
Eating catnip.
Hiding in, under, on.
Jumping, climbing, causing
Fun and trouble
Things, found, battled
Played with.
Equipped with claws and teeth
And purrs and growls
Formidable felines!
Nine lives!
Sometimes I just have to create something different. I don’t do many paintings of abstracts, I find them difficult to do. I don’t want to have to write a long explanation of what the painting means. I love all sorts of art, but it’s hard to pin down what would be my favorite. This autumn /spring painting is acrylic on canvas. With colours that represent the seasons. The shapes are meant to represent middle age, complexity, confusion, a city scape, and the spring is simple nature. See I said I hate describing what I’m doing, and yet that’s exactly what I’ve just done! Maybe I should do a Winter/summer one?
Mallaband-Brown