Poppies near Argenteuil.

Posted on June 19, 2020June 19, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Claude Monet, Fine Art, French impressionist, Life, Monet, Painting, Poppy field, Relaxing, Summers day, Walking7 Comments

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Monets’ painting of a poppy field is such a ubiquitous image, but beautiful nonetheless. The figures at the top of the hill are the same couple at the bottom of the hill, though I doubt that he painted so quickly that he managed to paint the rest of the picture by the time they had walked down the hill.

The trees in the background and the house set at the back of the field frame a beautiful summers day. It always seems so calm and peaceful when I look at it. I feel joyful and relaxed, thinking of glimpsing a view like that in Devon or Yorkshire. I know many wildflower meadows have gone, but maybe we will restore more of them in the future so people can enjoy walking through them again.

Drawings

Posted on June 19, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Calendar, Covid 19, Lock down, Memories, Sketching, Stoke-on-Trent Urban sketchers, Thoughts, Time2 Comments

17.4.20, after I had drawn for thirty days with Stoke Urban Sketchers, and I guess at that stage I thought we wouldn’t be in lockdown for long. Our government, and in particular our prime minister was giving out optimistic press conferences saying that we should be able to get over it pretty lightly. I think he even said it was like some sort of flu? Of course things didn’t go that well for us, and now over 42 thousand people have died from covid 19 in the UK. Its almost like the government thought we would be immune with our “stiff upper lips” and “gung-ho” mentality. Clearly they were wrong.

So here we are. How many more drawings will I do before it’s safe to go out properly and not just dash to the shops to get essentials. Who knows when that will be?

War of the worlds film

Posted on June 19, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Author, Blogging, Fear, Film, H G Wells, Horror, Scary?, Sci fi, tension, Time, Tom cruise, War of the worlds, WordPress2 Comments

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Going from something I love, to something I hate.

I hate this film, starring Tom Cruise. I admit its very good. But it’s so bleak. It’s a horror road movie, everyone running, panicking, and getting killed.

When I first watched it years ago I was mesmerised by the special effects. But now, it’s on during a pandemic, and I can see how people react to a tiny virus. How would they react to something larger and malevolent.

I don’t want to give too many details as people may not have watched it. But I guess I’ve pretty much explained what happens… Guy meets monster, guy runs away from monster, monster finds guy…. Guy escapes….

There was a version on BBC TV a few months ago. It was more directly based on the original book by H. G. Wells. Set in Victorian times, it was still chilling.

So I really want cheerful films, but hubby vetoed me.

Strawberries and cream

Posted on June 19, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Beatles, Evaporated milk, Food, Fun, Life, Memories, Pick your own, Single cream, Strawberries, Strawberries and cream, Taste of summer, Transistor radio4 Comments

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First of the season, fresh strawberries and extra thick cream (saves having to whip it). Added a tiny bit of sweetener on to the strawberries. I have one that doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste.

When I was young we used to go and pick our own strawberries. You would spend ages in a field searching under leaves to find the berries. Often they were padded underneath the plants with straw to keep the berries from trailing on the ground. I think that’s where they got their name? Summer days when most of the strawberries missed the punnet and fell into our mouths instead. When music by the beatles played out of little transistor radios.

And when we got home? Strawberries with either single cream and white sugar. Or if we hadn’t got cream in, evapourated milk… Heaven…

My mona

Posted on June 18, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Digital drawing, Drawing, Fun, Leonardo, Life, Mona Lisa, Painting, Sketch, SketchfuLeave a comment

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I drew this at sketchfu about eight years ago. It is simply drawn with vasious circular brushes. Different sizes, a palette of colours, different opacity and transparency and an eraser.

I was looking at a post on Facebook by portrait artists. They thought digital art was just taking a picture in Photoshop and using filters to make it look like a drawing. I don’t think they understood the hours it takes to do something like this. It’s not brilliant, but it was difficult.

My nose….?

Posted on June 18, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Chinese minnows, Fish, Funny, Goldfish, Interesting, Minnows, Misheard, Odd, Pond, RandomLeave a comment

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My hubby just said (I misheard) can you look up my nose. What he actually asked was could I look up minnows.

Why? He bought a few for the pond and he wanted to know how big they get as they are only about two centimeters.

It’s amazing what you can find on line. I looked u Chinese minnows. They can grow to four centimeters long. They are bread to have some bright colours and they live on insect larvae and fish food for ponds. As we have midge or gnat larvae growing in the pond I hope they will be happy. They are living with a few goldfish and some ramshorns snails. They seem happy.

Sisters photo of poppies.

Posted on June 18, 2020June 18, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Blue poppy, Garden, Gardening, Himalayan poppy, Mecanopsis, Photo, Plants, Sky blues2 Comments

I saw these today on my sisters timeline. FB_IMG_1592521493915

I love Himilayan poppies. I’ve tried to grow them on many occasions. One year I bought a plant and for a glorious few days it flowered, but that was it, it withered and died. Too much water? Too little? Too shady? I should have read the instructions. Mecanopsis. Beautiful.

The delicate blues like washed sky after a rainstorm, edged with the shade as the sky starts to darken at nightfall….

Want longer lashes?

Posted on June 18, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Added eyebrow, Cost, Fun, Humour, Longer lashes?, Make-up, Photo, Poem, Poetry, Sketch app2 Comments

Oh my balding eyes

I don’t have long lashes,

or thick eyebrows.

But strangely

I don’t want them.

I’m happy with my lot.

Sticking gunk on my face

making my eyebrows arch..?

No, not for me,

it costs too much.

And I would poke myself,

In the eye….

What’s in the bag?

Posted on June 18, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white, Blogging, Drawing, Ink pen, Plastic bag, Shopping, Sketching, Stoke-on-Trent Urban sketchers, Usk challengeLeave a comment

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Today’s Urban sketchers drawing was to draw what’s in a bag. I have drawn a plastic bag containing different items obscured by the plastic.

Ink pen size 0.5,iI think I possibly should have used a bigger nib? But it did mean I’ve goy some nice fine lines. I think we are about half way through this set of challenges. The are happening three times a week. It’s keeping my mind occupied. I have other things I need to get done that I’m putting off!

Washing machine working again

Posted on June 18, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Electronics, Fixed, Lightening, Power, Relief, Repair, Time, Washing machine, WeatherLeave a comment

So after I rang the electrical goods shop about the washing machine, they said the thunderstorms we are having must have blown one of the two pcb boards that control it…

I asked to have them replaced, but that would take two weeks to order them in and the cost would be £60 for one and £80 for the other, then £50 for Labour, plus Vat.

The decision is do that or buy another one. So I decided to go for a new one as I don’t know if I would have problems again with this machine.

So as I say, I rang to order a new machine this morning. Then for some reason I switched the washing machine on again, just to see if the thing would do anything (it had beeped before but the screen you press to choose spin speeds, and the start button had stayed black). I switched it on. Loud beep, I turned the dial to a random wash, I still had things inside from a few days ago… Beep, I saw the panel light up! I pressed start, it worked! Rang the shop back and cancelled the order!

My hubby reckons that the electricity from the lightening had disrupted the pcb panels, but by leaving it a couple of days it had allowed any power to dissipated and the circuit boards settled down. I’m holding my breath! I will unplug it every time its not in use.

Mallaband-Brown

Category: Uncategorized