A lovely clear night,
Moonlight and dusk
My husband shouts bat!
I look out and see..
Nothing….
Clear sky..
White moon,
Silhouetted trees.
He shouts
It’s darting and flitting.
I look again
Nothing.. No bat!
So I drew one!
Category: Uncategorized
Tyres
Photo of an old painted sign on Hartshill Road, Stoke on Trent.
I noticed it as we were walking down Hartshill and heading for Stoke. The paint is peeling and will be gone in a few years, but it clings on.
Part of an old industrial heritage in the city of Stoke-on-Trent which is gradually decaying.
Some places rejoice in their heritage. Manchester turned old warehouses into loft apartments. The Black Country museum in Dudley in the West Midlands has rebuilt old Victorian houses and workshops to create a living museum.
Somehow Stoke-on-Trent has got left behind. Yes there are glimmers of growth, but old houses get knocked down and are either not rebuilt, or when they are, are too expensive for people to buy.
I’m not completely sad about the place, it is unique, but it needs looking after, the people caring for, and caring about this wonderful city.
Australian kestrel. Wip.
I’m having fun painting this Australian kestrel.
About half way through. I went out to paint with some artists called the Orme art group. Today was a self development day which means you could paint and draw what you want. I had seen the photo of the kestrel my friend in Australia had taken. I asked her if I could paint it and she said yes. It’s quite difficult but I’m getting there.
X apparently it’s a Nankeen kestrel at Woolangong Harbour.
Working on something else
Don’t ask what I am?
I’m not what you think
I was to be
The Tiger that hid.
Now I’m out in the open
Between land and sky
I could be a tiger
Flying up high.
I could be a kite
Streamers in the wind
Kicking back and forwards
Strings all spinned.
I am a little painting
Of a tiny tiger face
Or a cat with whiskers flaring
Out into space.
The grey lady
I’m still in the process of painting this, but I wanted to add a presence to this painting… 
There are tales of grey ladies haunting old buildings. Why does she look slightly surprised? Perhaps she hasn’t seen her own reflection for centuries, but the dust motes caught in the light of a setting sun have made her image come to life in their brownian motion. Is she looking out over her land, not realising that the past is gone? Seeing people in outlandish clothes? Women in trousers or short skirts? Men in more dowdy attire than she remembers? I toyed with trying to paint a ruff from Tudor times, and her hair up in braids, but I decided she would be in a night shift, hair down, caught between dusk and dawn.
More work to follow on this and other paintings.
X
Red horse, after a black and white photo by Eve Donnadieu.
This cheeky horse appealed to me the moment I saw the photo by my friend Eve. I was going to paint it in naturalistic colours but started underpainting it in red and that grew on me. I added a metallic blue sky to give contrast and atmosphere. Grey ground to make the land look dark and gloomy. This is another work in progress. I have a lot of ideas but I’m not sure if I will get them all done in time for an Exhibition at the end of May. X
The old wood
Step over into the wood and you will be lost forever. Keep this side of the fence. That was what she was always warned as she grew up. There are wolves, bears, screech owls. Spiders big as dinner plates. The boogy man lives there.
For twenty years she kept out. But she knew one day she would have to climb the fence and go and look.
She was twenty one today, she had been to a birthday party at the village hall. Now she was walking home along the lane. The sun was setting and the wood loomed up above her rising up the hill, shutting off the sunlight.
One step led to another. Pine needles softened her footsteps, tree roots started to tangle round her ankles. She looked back to check where the path was, but could not see it through the trees. She tried to retrace her steps, but could not find the fence. Fear crept into her, she trembled as the cool night air touched her skin.
The night was darker and a cold rain fell, still she walked, tripping and falling into bushes, scratched from thorns.
It was early morning when the ranger found her wandering. She could not speak. Her eyes were staring into space, out of focus. No one ever found out what happened to her that night. But the Green man of the woods smiled to himself as she was taken away in an ambulance.
Half ‘n’ half, work in progress.
I’ve started a new painting. My cat decided to climb up being my easle and popped his head out from behind a pastel drawing I’m doing. I decided to do a painting of it.
I’m going to try and do some different paintings over the next few weeks.
X
Of course I’m using artistic licence tto change the background.
Monochrome, Sue Vincent’s #writephoto prompt
When I saw the prompt I knew the place, so we visited two days ago. I’m pretty sure it’s the same place. From the front you can’t see the size of the hall. You walk over the bridge over the moat. Through an archway into the courtyard.
Inside the house is dark and panelled in old oak. There are places where wall paintings are being restored and the old windows are fantastic. Up and down many stairs and spiral staircases you reach the long gallery. Beware the bees nesting at the bottom of the stairs though!
Then outside to the knot garden and main garden. These are hidden round the back.
All in all not Monochrome at all. And if you want to know where it is you will have to wait for Sue’s explanation. I won’t spoil the mystery (and I might not be right!)
Bluebells at Rode Hall
Rode Hall is a beautiful place and the gardens are blooming with bluebells. The last day of the bluebell walks is today. 8th May 2019.
There are other plants on display including rhododendron, campion, tulips, and even some narcissi that are still flowering.
The hall is open on Wednesdays and Weekends. They have a farmers market which I think is on the first Saturday of the month? They have a good tea room that offers hot food, cake and drinks. They are having a plant collectors fair on 27th May. (Bank Holiday).
Rode hall is off the A34 North of Stoke-on-Trent at Rode Heath. It is along a road on the left hand side and is signposted.
