Cats

Posted on October 7, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Cat, Claws, Fun, Humour, Jumping, Leaping, Life, Play, Scratch, ShoulderLeave a comment

You can’t escape them. If they want to climb up your leg and stick their claws in, or jump across the room to get on your shoulder? Then they will spring athletically with powerful muscles and grip on like grim death!

Food? You want to share? No… But they look at you with those great big eyes and you are hypnotised. But they are such good companions (which means when it suits them, not you) it’s amazing how a three to four kilo animal can pin down a human, who then apologises when the time comes to move them. Dead weight? Surely cats weigh more!

Cats have their own minds. They don’t like being controlled. You can’t pick them up if they don’t want to be. They squirm, and watch out for the claws!

They have their skills, catching rodents. But why do they have to leave you a ‘little gift?’ that cartoon image of a mouse with crosses for eyes springs to mind.

Cat box

Posted on October 6, 2020 Posted in Cat, Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Box, Cat, Fun, Life, Mat, Memory, Oil paint, Painting, Parquet, Stool, Years ago4 Comments

I painted the leather seat if this stool/box about thirty years ago. It used to hold all my old oil paints but they dried out years ago. I unearthed it recently. One of the problems with being an artist I have found, is collecting art materials. I have stuff that goes back years. I tend to think one day things will come in handy. Is anyone else here an artist? Are you the same? Materials cost so much its almost a sin to throw things away.

This is a cat on a mat on a parquet floor. As you can see even then I loved patterns. It’s varnished, but you can see where I must have left a thinners can on the surface that left paint rings…

Sleep

Posted on October 6, 2020 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Cat, Curled, Digital art, Dream, Photo, Photodirector, Poem, Poetry, SleepLeave a comment

Sleep

Sixteen hours

Curled

Curved

Paws over nose

Twisted

Tummy stretch

Yawn

Pounce

Sleep again

Dreaming

Twitch

Warm

Purr

Pure love.

Seen it all before,

Eyes closed,

And repeat,

Old boat

Posted on October 6, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Carpenter, Grandfather, Life, Lytch gate, Memories, Methodist Chapel, Old boat, Random, Ship2 Comments

My grandad was a carpenter and made this many years ago. I never met him as he had died before I was born. But he carved the lytch gate at the parish church where I came from, and the altar rail in the Central Hall (Methodist Chapel). This is carved out of a peice of oak with bits of thick card nailed around the sides and tiny cannon along the sides. Maybe one day I will get it restored. I think I got my artistic ability from him.

Today’s sketch, transport…

Posted on October 6, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, Bike, Cycling, Drawing, Exercise, Memories, Red, Sketching, Transport, Viking QueenLeave a comment

Todays ssketch for our band of sketchers prompt was transport…

My old viking queen bike. Bought when I was twenty… I was still cycling a few years ago. Now I’m too nervous so it sits in the living room and gathers dust….Still a great bike, only a small bike frame, but it was chosen because it was just the right size for me. I wish there was somewhere flat I could practice round here…

Succulents

Posted on October 6, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Good for you, Help, House plant, Indoor gardening, Indoor plant, Life, Mood, Plant, Random2 Comments

Houseplants are good for you according to recent research. Apparently just a glimmer of green in an otherwise plain and boring magnolia painted house can improve your mood. If you are locked down in a house or room, having that bit of green can help.

This is a badly watered succulent plant we have at the top of our stairs. I look out over our garden and feel infinitely lucky to have that patch of green.

Baked pear and apple with a pastry top

Posted on October 6, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged apples, Baked fruit, Bit of water, Cooking, Gas mark six, Lemon juice, Pears, Recipe, Sweetener or sugar, Tasty, Use for glut of fruit6 Comments

I made this today to use up some of the glut of pears and cooking apples we had in.

Ingredients:

1 large cooking apple

2 large pears, both sliced and de-cored

A knob of butter,

Lemon juice

Sweetener or sugar to taste

A little water

Shop bought ready rolled pastry

Egg to brush the top.

Method:

Butter a Pyrex glass dish or flan case.

Bakethe pears and apples with a bit of lemon juice and water, add a sprinkling of sweetener, or a tablespoon of sugar over the fruit. Gas mark 6 for twenty minutes in the middle of a heated oven.

Remove from the oven with oven gloves (it will be hot)

Add the ready made pastry to the top, cutting round the shape of the flan dish. Cut two small holes at the centre of the pastry and put the rest back on the fridge to use at a later time. Brush the top with egg and if you are using sugar sprinkle another teaspoon or so on top.

Cook in the oven again on gas mark 6 (just about a middle hot oven) for around twenty more minutes, till it goes golden brown.

Remove carefully from oven and place the flan case on a wire rack to cool. If using sweetener sprinkle it on the top now.

Serve and enjoy on its own or with custard, icecream or cream.

Note: ready made pastry will probably contain WHEAT unless otherwise stated. Always check for allergens. Egg and sweeteners may not be suitable. Use what is OK for you.

Enjoy x

Sun and moon

Posted on October 6, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Design, Fun, Layout app, Painting, Photodirector, StyleLeave a comment

I’ve copied a photo of a sun and moon painting, then duplicated them and because they were a bit fuzzy I added a stylized filter to them. I can imagine these as tiles in a courtyard or something like that. As usual I was playing with pattern. These were painted in 2014 and I gave these as gifts to my friends daughter when she went away to college. I’m thinking of doing a whole series of astrological style images to see what I come up with for fun. X

Winter man painting

Posted on October 6, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Green man, Ideas, Life, Memories, Painting, Sold, Woman artist2 Comments

2014 acrylic on canvas. I’d painted tree spirits previously and was trying to create something with the branches. My friend, who is a sculptor bought it off me because she said she might use the design to create something in three dimensions. I might do some more paintings like this to go with my Green man pictures. Plus I want to include autumn colours. X

Just wrote to my MP

Posted on October 5, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cold, Homeless, Life, MP, Nowhere to live, Pay taxes!, Sad, Terrible, Unfair, WetLeave a comment

Dear XXX MP
Why have I just had to give my takeaway meal to a homeless woman by xxx bank in xxx tonight. Why is she sitting there with a wet duvet, in the cold. Articulate and desperate. Crying.
She didn’t ask for our help, she was just desperate.
Why do I need to take pity on someone? Be a good Samaritan. Why isn’t your damn government doing something Christian to sort things out?
Oh we can’t afford it? But you damn well won’t charge taxes to the rich!
Yours Sincerely
Xxxxx Mallaband-Brown

But I shouldn’t have to write this. Our MP doesn’t seem to be in touch with the local population. I don’t even know if she lives here. When she was first elected she answered my emails, then one of her staff answered. Now I expect silence. In the meantime people are suffering. If I’d had somewhere for her to go I would have offered her somewhere to stay.