The painting’s on the wall.

sketch-1547394800817

There is a form of art called graffiti that has been created for centuries. But there is a modern take on it by artists creating pictures using stencils. The most famous of these is called Banksy.

Recently a painting has appeared on a garage wall in a Welsh town called Port Talbot. It’s of a fire burning on a garage and a young girl standing in that pose when you are standing in the snow, arms and face held upwards with the snow falling on them. But in this case the snow is actually the ashes falling down from the fire. I think it questions what sort of world young children are growing up in. Banksy paintings are worth a lot of money, so a fence has been erected around this one. His work has been defaced, painted over, removed and sold, and in one case shredded. It all goes to show what an influence he is having.

Art is fascinating because it is ubiquitous. Without it what a dull place the world would be. If we have to have graffiti I would prefer a Banksy to rude or crude images that sometimes appear on local walls. Art can be interesting, startling, ugly or beautiful. As can life.

X

 

Buying papers, the cost

 

sketch-1547390254372

I did a calculation today because I love newspapers and we get them virtually every day, but a friend asked how we could afford it…..

The result was scary! It turns out if we buy a paper every day of the week it costs hundreds of pounds!

Hiw on earth didn’t I realise this. My partner also buys a magazine every week… Help!

Luckily I’ve realised if I subscribe just for the weekday papers it would cost 2/3 the price (or we could stop buying it completely, which is possibly the more sensible option.

We want to keep informed and find out what’s going on in the world. But with fake news on the Internet and a biased press I prefer to read a paper I trust…. So we will consider the subscription route.

Life drawing with Orme Art

I had the great pleasure of spending the day drawing my friend Eve when she came and modelled for us at Newcastle Fire Station. One of the art groups I’m in, Orme Art group had booked he as a clothed model for the day.

Here are my attempts at drawing her. The red dress was really spectacular and hard to draw! I felt really out of practice but I felt like I was getting into it more as the day wore on.

Walk and relax.

dsc_0840

Cold grey, January day.

Duck lake, not Swan,

And every one is an ugly

One.

Muddy footprints,

Bike tracks too.

Mountain bikes rush past

Out of the blue.

Bare trees, bare branch.

Bare seat. Too cold to sit.

The wind is chill.

No time to stay still.

But walk a mile

Enjoy the view.

No longer frozen

Hands warm

Breath full

Revived.

 

A friends exhibition

Here are a couple of photos of my friend, Alice Thatcher’s, exhibition on at 118, Church Street, Stoke, Stoke-on-Trent. It’s on from today, and is made up of peices of porcelain made by placing thin layers of the porcelain clay on paper and then firing it.

The exhibition is called “Porcelain and Paper”. I’m not sure when it’s on till but it will be visible through the windows of the building until the show ends. The pieces are delicate and fragile. They are displayed in various ways along with drawings of them.

 

Parquet

_20181210_211502

This is some old flooring which may be tiled. I don’t think it’s actual parquet flooring which is a type of wood block flooring. Usually laid in a herringbone pattern. The floor is then buffed to a shiny finish. I saw this floor somewhere in the recent past, and it reminded me.

We had a floor like this at the gym at school, and then in the life drawing room at college. I remember painting and drawing many models there and trying to draw the floor pattern from lots of different directions. It made the pictures more interesting and once you got the hang of it quite easy to draw.

Anyway I was doing quite a bit of life drawing early last year but things got busy. But I’m going to try and go back. I also want to learn some new drawing techniques. I think they have parquet on the floor in the hall where they do life drawing. Things do come round full circle.

X

Wassailing

_20181217_173141

Wassailing is a tradition to celebrate the New year. People would go from door to door  knocking on them to rouse their occupants.

The local Morris Dancing troupe started to organise Penkhull Wassail a few years ago. Our Choir joined in and now quite a lot of people walk around the boundaries of penkhull with lighted (flaming) torches. We visit an ancient apple tree in a garden nearby, the Morris dancers dance and we get a drink of hot cider.. Then we continue around and sing and dance outside the local pubs.. . Just for fun. We end up at the local village hall for soup. Sometimes we stop for a barn dance afterwards.

We sing various songs including the Penkhull Wassail and the Gower and the Gloucester Wassail.

I guess some of the songs will be on YouTube.

X

Painting on black boards.

These are two more boards that I’m painting for the Penkhull panto. This time I have black boards to paint on and it’s taking a lot of paint! I think the acrylic paints I used are a bit too thin. The colour seems to sink in, not float on the surface so that they won’t show up as well on the stage. I’m going to get some stronger paint for next week with more pigment and less filler in them.

These two took a while to paint and it was very cold in the hall. I’m ready for some warm food and a rest.

X

Rainbow cat

img_20190109_231841_022

Cat out in the rain, dripping wet, Shivering, sad. Waiting to get in that house I visited. Are you safe and warm now. Did your owners come back or let you in? I would have taken you myself, blacks whites browns and oranges. If you were mine you would be snug and safe.

At least the rain stopped and the sun came out. Then, miracle, you sat in a pool of sunlight, rainbow hued, content with warmth.

Now wash yourself dry, find a quiet place and lie down and wait for them.