AI thoughts

Posted on September 1, 2026 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, UncategorizedTagged AI, algorithms, Art, computer learning, Learning, Opinion, plagiarism, real, Thinking, uncanny valleyLeave a comment

The question of AI came up in an art group I am part of. I wrote this as a suggestion :

When you think People using photoshop and other illustrative tools to create cartoons and images these tools are quite recent. If AI is used for that purpose then it’s probably OK. Artists also change original art, for example surreal changes to the Mona Lisa by Salvador Dali. What I am concerned about is people taking art and altering it and passing it off as their own. Plagiarism is not OK. As long as that doesn’t happen I can see a place for it. Thinking about the shock of the new book I can see we could be on the edge of a revolution like the impressionists and the changes they unleashed
I think things like extra fingers and and anatomically incorrect bodies take us into the so called uncanny valley. But perhaps artists can use this to our advantage. Creativity boosting AI imagery if we are lucky?

A neighbours cat

Posted on August 30, 2026August 30, 2026 Posted in Cat, Memories, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, Cheeky, dislike, Ginger, My cat, Neighbours, orange cat, Sitting, yowling1 Comment

Seems to be moving in. I turned round yesterday and it was on the arm of the chair, she keeps coming in and stealing my cats food.

The two of them have yowling matches, hurling insults at each other.

I’m sure the cat is from about 3 or 4 doors up and I don’t want to encourage it as they might get annoyed.

It’s just come in again, I will have to go and shoo it out again.

Pink sky in the morning

Posted on August 27, 2026 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged amber warning, Climate change, mud slides, Nepal, Red sky, Storms, Thinking, Thunder, Weather1 Comment

View through my bedroom window this morning. We had a couple of rumbles of thunder last night which resulted in my damp cat jumping on the arm of the chair for a bit of reassurance.

Today’s forecast is for light rain and a light breeze, but more widely our area has an amber warning issued for thunder showers with a risk of flooding and disruption to travel.

However this is so incredibly minimal compared with the terrible mud slides and flooding in Nepal. So far 160 people have died and 1400 people are reported missing. Yet another climate disaster.

We must stop ignoring the damage we have, and are causing to our precious planet.

Window

Posted on August 26, 2026 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, UncategorizedTagged ballroom, Bright light, Exhibition, Fenton Town Hall, Memory, shadow, Silhouette, Stoke-on trent, Window1 Comment

Window with curtains

Town Hall window with curtains, I loved the silhouette this made, the brightness of the daylight outside emphasised the shape, and the height makes it feel elongated. It’s like a tall house with a pointed roof.

Taken in the ballroom of Fenton town hall, Stoke-on-Trent.

Movement

Posted on August 23, 2026August 23, 2026 Posted in Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, black pen and biro drawing on paper, Drawing, Horse, Horses, Life, Memory, School, sixpence, Sketching, TV programmes1 Comment

Movement was the prompt and it brought back memories of my childhood. I learnt to draw horses. They are such powerful and beautiful and intelligent creatures. I only occasionally saw them in real life as I lived in a town. But I had the book black beauty, and watched folly foot, a TV series about horses, and was always singing the theme tune to something else “on white horses”, plus champion the Wonder horse and the lone ranger.

It’s no wonder that I loved drawing horses from an early age. When I was a kid at school I used to draw horses over and over again. I even sold some to other kids in my class for sixpence. I loved drawing dappled greys. I was better at it then than now x

Bread

Posted on August 22, 2026 Posted in Uncategorized, MemoriesTagged Photos, Food, Cooking, Baking, Bread, Friend, Tasty, Yeast, Ingredients, Flour, WhatsApp1 Comment

My friend keeps sending me photos of bread he has made. Because he’s posting on WhatsApp the images keep downloading themselves into my phone gallery.

He makes a basic dough then adds nuts or berries, chilli powder or flakes or garlic. Recently he’s been adding chick peas.

The only thing is, he lives so far away that I’ll never be able to eat any of the loaves.

Miniatures

Posted on August 21, 2026 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, UncategorizedTagged Art, Etruria Industrial museum, Fridge magnets, Life, miniature paintings, Painting, sale4 Comments

I have a few miniature paintings for sale at the Etruria Industrial museum. They are pictures I painted a few years ago that I had left over. If they don’t sell I could glue magnets on the back of them and varnish them to be used as fridge magnets.

I have a small painting someone gave me which has built in magnets, that’s where I got the idea from.

I want to try and do something because I feel like my art life is ending… And I don’t want it to.

Sad birch

Posted on August 20, 2026 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, birch trees, browning, climate change. Life, Heat, Poem, Poetry, Sad, Silver birch1 Comment

The leaves fall

Silver birch wilt

Sad trees heated

Beyond nature

Driven to drop

Their browning

Paper thin foliage

No doubt about it.

Climate change exists.

Choccy biscuits?

Posted on August 19, 2026 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 85rk chocolate, Chocolate, dark chocolate, digestive biscuits, Food, melted, Microwave, sweet treat2 Comments

I wanted choccy biccys so I melted 85 % dark chocolate onto digestives in the microwave for 1 minute. I had put one square of chocolate on each biscuit.

The chocolate melted and started to slide off onto the plate so I got a knife and spread it back onto the surface then let the chocolate cool…..

Unfortunately the sweet liquid congealed and glued the digestives to the plate! I ended up having to prise them off with the knife. They broke up into bits but they tasted lovely. I might reduce the chocolate if I do it again… Now I’ve got to scrape the plate clean.

Mom’s first car

Posted on August 19, 2026August 19, 2026 Posted in Uncategorized, MemoriesTagged Car, Memory, Life, Snow, Radiator, Robin reliant, three wheels, low cc, small engine1 Comment

Mom was the driver in our family. She drove a Robin reliant 3 wheeler car. Fibre glass body. Me and my sisters would squeeze in it with her and sometimes my gran too. The three wheeler struggled with hills because it only had a very low cc engine. It was hard to drive in snow because the front wheel would have to push it’s way through fresh snow… Eek

One day on a very long steep hill l remember it boiled dry dragging 5 of us and our combined weight upwards. I remember a hot day and wondering how we would get home. Luckily mom found a house and they brought a watering can of water down to refill the radiator.

BTW Robin reliants got the nickname “Plastic pigs”!

Mallaband-Brown

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