A painting from a few years ago, a bit burry with camera shake. It’s one of four I did to represent Earth, Air, Fire and Water. It was a series I really enjoyed. Working with the flow of paint, allowing my imagination free rein. It’s acrylic on canvas. Two of the set had already been sold and I was thinking of painting replacement images. I wish I had, I’m not sure I ever will. X
I was with a friend on a training course once. We were in a hall with a piano and she decided to play. I started singing along, ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’.
Part way through another friend came in and complimented my friend for her singing, assuming that it had been her voice not mine. She pointed out it was me. He said something like, ‘oh I didn’t realise you could sing like that!’ and ‘you were very good!’. I wasn’t sure how to take it. Should singers look a certain way? But I think it was the best compliment because he judged it on my voice, not my appearance.
You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?
Hopefully I could share the trip with a friend as I don’t drive far these days. Cross Country would be a limited journey, probably into Wales, the Peak District or a bit further afield to Devon or the Lake District.
We are very lucky to have beautiful countryside in the UK, I guess because it rains so much it keeps the plants watered most of the time. But things have got a bit worse over recent years with droughts and flooding.
The UK is about the same size as the American state of Texas, but the geology here is very varied, so you can enjoy all sorts of interesting and also historic places on this hypothetical cross country trip. From ancient monuments like Stonehenge, to Scottish battlefields and great mountains. I’d also recommend places like the Welsh village of Portmeirion, an Italianate style village on the coast near Snowdonia. It was built by an eccentric architect and appears in the 1960’s adventure series “The Prisoner” which is equally eccentric.
I would not use a plane, train or bus to travel, I prefer to stop when and where I want, so it can take a long time for me to get from A to B, (probably taking in C D and E at the same time). But these days I keep my carbon footprint low, so it’s not going to be a frequent thing. If I was young and healthy it would be by bike. I have fond memories of cycling through the English countryside, but that’s another story.
I just had to have work on my car. It had lots of problems with corroded brakes and break pipes, plus my old mechanic has retired. So I don’t think I got as much support as we have had for the last twenty years or so. My car is pre 2000 so parts are hard to get.
It’s worrying because I don’t think I will be able to afford to have it fixed again next year
It also has several advisories that show that there will be similar problems or worse next year. I will have to think outside the box. Really I think I need an automatic, I want to stay safe on the road.
Have a happy Pi day. 22 over 7. Or 3.141592…. ? I’m not sure. An important mathematical concept that most people represent with a slice of Pie. Pi is the 16th letter of the Greek Alphabet. Pi is an infinite and irrational number I think? One episode of Star Trek had an out of control computer set to calculate the figure and was defeated because it was an impossible task. I just did a doodle based on the letter. Not exactly exciting sorry x
Koi carp painted a few years ago. I love all sorts of art. It engages my mind as I create. The world and time just seems to disappear.
I might start painting or drawing in the afternoon, then suddenly realise I’m hungry or thirsty and find it’s 3am and I’ve lost half a day….
It’s just hand eye coordination, and often putting liquids onto a surface, or shading with pencils or pastels, but something grips me and I am embedded into art.
I love visual art, taking photos, and sometimes I even attempt 3d art in ceramics. I have only ever tried to carve stone a couple of times but didn’t have the strength.
Art encourages creative thoughts. I’d recommend it to anyone. Try it, you might enjoy it. X
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
I couldn’t find a photo of Mr Spock from the original Star Trek series. He was my favourite character when I first saw the series as a child. I liked his logical brain and was always shocked if he smiled or laughed.
There were not many series of the show but I watch them as often as I can. I love the tribble episode and the way they reacted when faced with a klingon spy. There were surreal moments with the crew transported to the OK Corral. Or to a modern day version of Rome, or Greek mythology.
I just keep going back to its strong feelings about equality of women and different races and the feeling of humanity and empathy that was embedded deep within the stories. I went on to watch the movies, then the Next Generation series, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Star Trek Enterprise. To be honest I’ve watched all of them repeatedly. They cheer me up! And I’ve watched the newer films too. I can’t see some of the newer series because I don’t have pay per view, but if they come into freeview I will definitely watch them!
The bottom of the stairs at the studios at Spode. The windows have been revealed after boards have been taken off them. Unfortunately my hands shake and I should have tried leaning on something to support the camera. But you get the idea of how the history of the place is there, sadly likely to disappear in the chaotic entropy of decaying historical buildings. I might well paint this. I love the peeling paint!