Riot outside Leopard Hotel…

Still proud of this mural that I painted in the Leopard Hotel in Burslem in about 2006 or 2007. The hotel burnt down earlier this year ans all my murals were destroyed. Someone asked if the murals had been removed from the building? No they were painted directly onto the wall with emulsion paint. These were some of my favourite works and I was devastated when they went up in smoke. The root crowd included local people and staff of the Leopard Hotel plus my hubby. A lady called Margaret Moxom used an image of it for her book. The riot was in 1842 and a man was shit dead during it.

Lion

I’m in another group of artists who come u with challenges to post to every week. The pictures don’t have to be recent (thankfully). This was for #safari, I painted it about four years ago and it went to the local ‘Lions’ club which is a local charity. What else can I say? It’s acrylic on canvas, about A4 size. I don’t paint every single hair or piece of fur, but I try and get an impression of how the animal looks. I generally do cat and dog portraits but am not too bad at most animals x

It’s still growing

Hundreds of flowers. Some fruit, tomatoes, ground to fence. We go mad every year, but this year has been spectacular. We have, I must admit, been using the hose, but will have to use a watering can if they bring in the ban. The heat today was difficult to cope with. When you have humidity caused by the water it seems even hotter. The blueberries are suddenly ripening and we have had a windfall apple. Hopefully the tomatoes will ripen soon. Its crammed with plants and is my happy place in summer.

Tonight we had a visitor flying fast and silently above the yard. It was a bat catching moths and insects. I think the flowers attract them and the bat’s come to feed.

Hidden passion flower

Deep in the jungle of vegetation that is our back garden are a few passion flower plants. They were coming into bud over the last few days and at last one has flowered! It’s sitting next to a fushia plant and is on the ground. Another one is trained up the downpipe to the guttering and a third is trained along the trellis fence above the wall. The only worry is the hot weather and lack of water. We have been using a hosepipe but that is likely to be banned soon. That’s part of the reason why I hang the hanging baskets one above the other.. It drops through and waters the one below too..

Have we forgotten?

Despite all the things that are happening in Europe (drought, fires, evaporating rivers) and the rest of the World, more fire and drought. There is still a war in the East of Europe in Ukraine. The danger from their action is real. The Russians have recently been sending shells near zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. They hold the plant and the technicians there are being held by Russian troops. There is a serious risk of damage to the plant which could lead to a release of nuclear material or worse. Imagine Chernobyl only worse. The war has to end. The danger is real. Meanwhile Russia still calls this a special operation and denies it is waging an unfounded war on its neighbour…

Bright

Colourful patterns swirling round and merging. It could be alien or insect. Maybe a design for fabric or a stained glass window. I like complexity, I don’t know if something like this would be a good idea for printing onto a note card?

I have talked about doing this before but have never been organised enough to do it. I have lots of ideas but I think I need some expert advice. Which are the best sites to get things printed at? I need quality prints, but not too expensive. I found a shop that might do it but I haven’t got the money to do it yet…

Short or long sighted?

How can you tell whether someone is short or long sighted? Look into their eyes.. Short sighted peoples eyes look smaller behind their glasses. Long sighted people appear to have larger eyes than normal… If you watch a film and the star of it is wearing glasses you can tell if they need them. Sometimes they wear glasses with a flat piece of glass in them, you can see a ‘flat’ reflection if the light hits them. You can tell they are only wearing glasses for effect rather than any real need.

Seedheads

Thistles and Rosebay Willowherb. Both covered in seed heads. They were still attached to the plants because there has been little wind to distribute them despite strong sunshine to ripen the heads. When the wind does pick up I imagine it will be like looking at a flurry of snowflakes drifting through the air. The thistles look so soft despite their sharp edges. Thistle down… Fairies floating on the air…. The bees had something good to sip….