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Blood moon

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Tonight there is a full lunar eclipse which is when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon and the earth casts its shadow on the moon.

As it progresses first there is shadow on one side of the moon. Gradually. Like a solar eclipse the curve of the Earth cuts into the Moon. As it progresses the white light from the sun is cut out by Earth’s shadow until only red light passes through Earth’s atmosphere and the Moon turns orangey red. Then the Moon starts to pull out of the shadow and gradually returns to normal

Tonight the moon is at its closest approach to earth so it is known as a super moon.

As a matter of interest I decided to try and draw what a flat earth would look like…. It would cast a flat shadow.. When it was fully eclipsed the moon would appear to be cut in half. Possibly by a red line? Other effects of a flat earth would be daylight all over the upper side then darkness all over the upper side as we tumbled through space. Also what is on the underside and is there a Trumpesque wall round the edge to keep the water in? I recently read an article about gravity. On a flat earth the people on the edge would be lying down as the gravity would be pulling everyone towards the centre of the disc……

Anyway enough rambling

X

One line drawings.

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When I used to draw at Youdraw.com I would do one line drawings. Basically you kept your cursor moving on the drawing area and didn’t lift it until you finished… Thats what I’ve done here … But then duplicated it and flood filled it. Sometimes it’s nice to lose black lines.

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I’m having a makeover on social media. I’m now @mallabandbrown on twitter… I will be using it more to post about paintings and other exploratory art that I’m planning over the next few months .

Panto rehearsal

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Help! The pantomime is getting closer “oh no its not!” it’s on in a month “oh yes it is!” and we are supposed to be word perfect and know the songs and dances… “oh no we don’t!”

Well last Fridays rehearsal was cancelled due to snow and this week a couple of the main cast were away or had injured themselves so some parts had to be read in. There are lots of things to remember for the whole cast. Like when to come back on stage for a crucial part of a song which we all missed! I don’t know how long 16 bars is! It’s a case if standing around muttering rhubarb rhubarb (to pretend we are talking) while the main characters act out the story.

It is funny (honest) but it’s hard to describe. It’s good that one of the cast has actually written  and I’d directing it. She’s so clever to do it. Plus organising over 20 children.  I don’t know where she gets the energy.

I won’t tell you all the story, but Robin falls for Marion, some Goons cause mayhem on behalf of the Sheriff of Penkhull who is cleverer than Prince John. Marion is Scottish and the panto has her travelling to her home land. However all ends well.  …

Wedding painting

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When we got married we stood on the steps of the local registry office and had a few group photos taken. I have the album somewhere (it was full of photos taken by friends as we didn’t have a photographer).

I decided to do a painting of the occasion. I used two photos, because faces and people were not posed I had to take figures off two photos to make a nice composition. (By the way my sister is that tall!)

I apologise for this photo, it’s not very good. I should really take better ones with lighting etc but I don’t have those resources.

I will say it was a good wedding. We only spent £300 and that was including our clothes, the food and our honeymoon!

How did we do it? Everyone bought food for a buffet at our house. We got a barrel of beer in. Friends made and iced the cake (shaped like a cat with a blue and pink cat on top). We held the reception at home. The honeymoon was two nights in a posh hotel, two in a bed and breakfast and the rest of the week in a caravan!

Big painting

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I have done large paintings in the past. This was painted in oil on canvas. About 4ft by 5ft. Done in 1993. it was before we moved to our current house. I used the room to paint in, I love pattern and regularly wore leggings, the jumper on the figure is made up. It is meant to be me. The cat on the canvas was taken from a book. It amuses me as it looks like its swallowing my arm. The cat in the corner was Gemma, a very intelligent loving cat.

Would I paint something this big again? Yes, I’ve done far bigger when I have painted scenery and murals. It would be great to be commissioned to do something large. You know where I am, get in touch.

X

Penkhull Wassail

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There’s not many places in Britain where you can wander round with flaming torches (but no pitchforks). But today we did just that round Penkhull Village. From Penkhull village hall we walked down the road to a garden with an ancient apple tree. The Domesday Morris danced and poured cider over its roots, Wassailing (shouting Wassail) to bless it and get it to flourish in the coming year. Domesday Morris danced, the Clay choir, which I sing with, sang Wassailing songs such as ” The old Cornish Wassail” and “the Penkhull Wassail” ( written by Duncan Bourne). Penkhull village brass band and the Penkhull Ukelele band also played.

Once we had drunk warm cider down at the garden we walked back up the hill and on to the local pubs, the Marquis of Granby, the White Lion, which was closed for some reason. We then went to The Beehive pub on Honeywall which had laid on some sandwiches. Then back across the hill to the Terrace pub and up to the Greyhound pub and Manor Court ale House where we finished singing and dancing. The Morris group were brilliant with their decorated hats, bells and boots. When they start dancing their sticks fly and swirl and clash together in time with the music  So exciting to watch.

We went over to the village hall for hot soup. Some people stayed for a barndance, but as we were tired out we came home to get warm and have a hot coffee.

No monsters or zombies were affected by this Wassail.

X

Tig remembered

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Tig was a handsome cat and very friendly. We loved him very dearly. I did this painting of him in about 2011. It’s just come up on my Facebook timeline.

We had Tig for a couple of years. He came and stole the other cat’s food and gradually moved in with us. The only thing he was scared of was The window cleaner, as soon as he heard him, he was out through the cat flap and away.

He was young and healthy and did mad things. I don’t have the pictures but I drew a series of cartoons of him on a website called Youdraw.com and called them the adventures of Tig.

One Wednesday he ran off as usual when the window cleaner arrived. But he did not come back that afternoon or night. I called and called but there was no sign of him. In the morning my partner went out looking for him while I got ready for work. He found Tigs body in the alleyway. We think he had drunk something, perhaps antifreeze that had poisoned him. There were garages nearby.

I couldn’t go to work that day. My grief was too much. I’m glad I painted him.

We have snow

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But don’t get excited! It’s wet and about an inch deep. But something we were going to tonight has been cancelled because of it.

Meanwhile over in Europe this week the snow fell so heavily that roofs have collapsed and people have been killed in avalanches.

Britain is situated in the Atlantic ocean in the gulf stream. We only rarely have a lot of snow so we are a bit out of practice with it. No one puts snow chains on car tyres, we don’t possess snow shoes, and the only time skis are worn is when people go up to the (mainly) Scottish mountains in the middle of winter.

Anyway an inch of snow is the most we have had so far this year. If it’s pretty in the morning I will take better photos.