Draw a shape…

Posted on November 13, 2021 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white drawing, Drawing, Face, Gold pen, helping hands, Pattern, Prompt, Sketching, Tears, to supportLeave a comment

I’m doing a series of drawings over a week based on prompts. The problem is the prompts are included in short videos and for some reason my phone is playing the audio at 3 or 4 times normal speed!

Anyway today’s prompt was to choose one verb from a long list of them. Then draw a pattern over and over again to represent that verb. I chose ‘to support’. With the problem I’ve been having with my drawing hand, I decided to draw hands over and over again. In a ‘supporting’ bridge sort of position. Then I decided it needed a thing to support. I thought of all my friends and how they support me. I decided to add tears, but not to wipe the tears away with a hand, I thought that would be too twee.

Cat, shut the door!

Posted on November 13, 2021December 15, 2021 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, Clever, Door, draft, Humour, opening door, shut the door, Tuxedo cat3 Comments

It’s cold, there’s a draft from the back door. I could shut the door, but the cats come and go. A paw to pull the door open, or a nose to nudge it from the other side. Result? The door is open about 8 inches and the cold draft gets in. But we are told we need better ventilation because of covid19 so I suppose I shouldn’t complain. I wonder how difficult it would be to put a cat flap in an internal door??

Cats are very clever, but they don’t know ‘how to put the wood in the hole’ (a way of saying shut the door). I guess they have fur coats and can curl up with their nose tucked under their paws or tails. I just wish they could shut the door. Maybe I could put a magnet on a collar and get some sort of mechanism to make it shut, who knows? I’ll just get up and push it too again…

Up the garden path.

Posted on November 12, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, blowing, Colours, Dancing, Leaves, Life, Photo, Poem, Poetry, Rhyme, Weather, Wind3 Comments

I’d better sweep up

The winds got up

And blown the leaves

All into weaves

The hedge is bare

And trees now dare

To share naked twigs

As branches do jigs

Dancing in the autumn air

Bright colours that dare

Descend to meet

Your slipping feet!

My writings awful

Posted on November 12, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged crossword, Healing, Hurt, Illness, Life, Pain, Photo, Thinking, Thumb, Time, wrist, Writing2 Comments

I am struggling to write since I hurt my wrist. If I hold a pen I get sharp pains shooting down from my thumb. The pressure I have to press down with is also making it hurt.

I’ve tried getting in the doctors but can’t get an appointment. I will try again. I looked the symptoms up on the Internet (not a good idea), I have an idea what might be causing it, but self diagnosis is not a good thing. I might be minimising or catastrophising…. Life is strange and interesting and can be confusing.

Fig tree leaves

Posted on November 12, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, fig, fig tree, Garden, Green, Growth, haven, Leaf, Life, Photo, seasons, TimeLeave a comment

Our fig tree that grows alongside the house is well sheltered and has got rather tall this year. The leaves are really big and are just starting to fall off. The one on the ground still looks healthy and green. The laurel bush is towering over everything and really needs cutting back but we don’t have the skills or the strength to do it.

So all in all the garden is thriving. We need to maintain it bit it’s our wild haven. I will maybe post more photos as the year turns.

Antiques are green!

Posted on November 12, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Antique, carbon footprint, Green, less carbon, Photo, recycled, reused, Time, woodenLeave a comment

A old wooden cupboard, but much greener than a modern one. Probably manufactured without much machinery. Transported to a shop on a horse and cart. The wood its made of must be 100 years old. It isn’t damaging rain forests now. Apparently an old chest of draws has a 16X smaller carbon footprint than its modern equivalent.

By buying old furniture which has stood the test of time you are recycling something that still had a use. I suppose if you don’t like brown furniture you could upcycle it… But that cupboard might just be worth something, so don’t sand it down and paint it if you aren’t sure of its provinance.

Holly in sunlight

Posted on November 11, 2021 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Fun, Holly, Metallic paint, Painting, Sketching, Watercolour, Watercolour sketch2 Comments

I did this painting a few months ago in metallic watercolours which are lovely, but I can’t find them now. I wanted to use them a few times but I think I put them somewhere ‘safe’ but I have so much art stuff, old paints, pencils, pens, that sometimes I can’t find them. Yes buying to many art supplies is bad. It’s consuming too much perhaps, but I try and balance that with other purchases.

I want to try and paint on black paper and I thought these metallic paints would stand out better against it. I shall go on a hunt for them. My idea is to paint gleaming frosty leaves to celebrate the autumn chills.

Christmas adverts!

Posted on November 11, 2021November 11, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged christianity, Christmas, Community, consumerism, cop26, Food, Spirits, Thinking, Toys, World4 Comments

Buy this now! You know you want it! Eau de Parfum! Jewellery! Food! A new colour for a hair dryer, a new electric car, toys toys toys.

Everything the consumer wants. Chocolates, biscuits, turkey, wine, spirits with edible gold. Lots of lovely stuff… That most people in the world can’t afford. That they will never have.

Meanwhile at Cop26 deligates have not been able to agree on reducing carbon emissions. Rich countries are not helping poor countries with funding…

This world is selfish. The Christian idea of peace and loving one another doesn’t seem very evident. Will we ever care enough to think of others?

Other handed

Posted on November 11, 2021 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, black and black cat, black pen, Cat, Drawing, Ink, metallic pens, Shading, SketchingLeave a comment

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was using your other hand to draw. As I have injured my right hand I was happy to try and draw with my left hand

This is one of our cats. Drawn left handed. I could manage the outlinesbut the shading is a bit rough and ready. I used a dark blue ink brush to go over the black shading. I have some nice metallic pens which are useful to create related colours

Mallaband-Brown

Category: Uncategorized