Penkhull Mystery Plays

Ten years ago, three horseheads of the apocalypse!

Up until Covid we were merrily holding Mystery Plays almost every July. We had a fallow year where we did other things, but the central play was missing. But now a group of residents are working towards a 20th anniversary performance in 2025.

So on Saturday 6th July 2024 we are holding a Titchy Theatre fundraising event to try and enthuse people to get involved for next year. The event will be in Penkhull Village Hall from 12.30 to 2.30pm.

We had fun creating props from willow withies and paper and glue. The horses were based on Picasso style ideas.

Four years ago

I had just gone through an artists block. Sometimes I can’t paint, I come to a standstill. I don’t think what I was painting was that good, but I’m sure I felt better being able to pick up a paintbrush.

Since then my painting work has been up and down. I don’t always feel up to painting, and various stuff makes it more difficult. Painting isn’t just a physical ability, it’s a mental one as well. Both of those things are affecting me. Life sometimes gets in the way of intention. But I don’t give up. I will probably carry on somehow till the day I die. Art is my imperative in life.

Added shade

I added shading to a rose painting I started a couple of weeks ago to give it more depth. It is one of those blush roses, with pink and red on the edges of the petals and some yellow further down. Roses are beautiful flowers, but the simplest of them, like wild roses, Rosa rugosa, are better for insects to pollenate and collect nectar. That is because the petals are open and the central part of the flower is easily accessible.

Unfortunately a lot of flowers are now being bred to have twice the petals (doubles). They look beautiful and interesting, but they make it hard to pollenate by insects like bees and they are frequently infertile so they don’t produce viable seeds.

Look for bee friendly plants if you are looking for flowers for your garden.

Small abstract

Small abstract swirling wave pattern I gifted to someone last year. She has it on display. I don’t remember it being so metallic but it may be the lighting she has used.

I had some modelling paste that I used to build up the surface and make an impasto effect before painting over it. I guess it could crack if it was bumped or knocked. I do love experimenting.

12 years ago

Drawn on my Wacom tablet in photoshop 12 years ago. Based on the Escher drawing.  I think I was drawn to the idea of a hand holding a reflective ball. This was a real challenge and was mainly drawn from imagination, but I looked at my hand held up in this position to draw it accurately.

The room in the reflection is based on what was in front of me but with added curves to try and recreate the spherical feeling. The room had been ‘edited’ removing some of the clutter. The view is not what would have been reflected in a globe which was a wall behind me. Only my head and shoulders were truly imagined.

Spray paint on window

With added plastic cup!

It looked like a puff of yellow steam on the window. The plastic cup was there, but not lined up so I moved it over a bit.

I guess this is a found picture. I like the yellow against the dark green behind and the taped lines on the window. The metal grid also seems to add to the effect.