I stayed

Posted on May 17, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged boyfr3, Canals, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1941, Hubby, Illustration, Life, sacrifice, West MidlandsLeave a comment

What sacrifices have you made in life?

I was once offered a job out of this area. The problem was that it would mean moving away from my then boyfriend, later hubby. It was a reasonably decent job, well paid, illustrating the canals in the West Midlands of England. I would be part of a project to map, illustrate and record details of the massive canal network in the area. I really wanted that job… But it was too much of an upheaval. My boyfriend would not be able to come with me and I was scared to lose him. So I sacrificed the opportunity, and truly, I think it was the right decision for me. X.

Cat

Posted on May 17, 2024 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, ArtRage app, ginger cat, Metallic, Non metallic, Prompt, Sketching, tabby catLeave a comment

Of course it had to be a mad digital cat drawn in Artrage with metallic and non metallic pens. #bandofsketchers prompt was Animal.

Artrage is a fun app to use, you can try various tools like oil paint, spray paint, pens, different brushes and pastel. The brush sizes can be varied on a sliding scale and you can change the amount of metallic and non metallic paint you use. There was a free version, Artrage oils. I don’t know if it’s still available.

Random

Posted on May 17, 2024 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, acrylic on cardboard, B'arts, Fire, hearth, Kettle?, molly leigh, Project, RandomLeave a comment

Random bit of set painting I did for the Molly Leigh project at BArts at the weekend, a type of sketch? I put it in for the #bandofsketchers prompt as it’s very random…. Acrylic on cardboard

Esther Chilton Water prompt…

Posted on May 16, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Atlantic, holidays, Lake, Memories, north sea, Ocean, Rain, River, Tears, Water, WindermereLeave a comment

I just wrote this for Esther’s weekly prompt. This week is Water:

Water today means too much rain. It’s been falling all day. Sometimes it’s a river flowing in the lake district. My hubby tried to tickle trout while we were on holiday one year. He was unsuccessful. Water is lake Windermere, before it got polluted with toxic green algae. Home of Arctic Char fish that got trapped there in the end of the last ice age. Water means the Atlantic and North Sea coasts where we visited on many holidays. I need to visit them again. Water is my tears of regret and happiness over all these memories.

An old tee shirt.

Posted on May 16, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Clothes, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1940, Life, Prompt, Recycle, Repair, Reuse, Tee shirtLeave a comment

What’s the oldest things you’re wearing today?

My tee shirts are getting holey before I throw them away. Most of my clothes are more than five years old and many are much older. If I get rid of them I put them out for charity or take them to a clothes bank for recycling. I can’t afford to spend lots of money on clothes. I’m not a designer shaped person (thin), I’m short and chubby. I’ve never bought clothes by well known makers. If it fits and it looks OK that’s good enough for me.

Why waste money on clothes you wear once or twice then throw them away? I think the reuse, repair, recycle, restore values are the ones to live by.

Poppy

Posted on May 16, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Flowers, Garden, Himalayan poppy, Mecanopsis, Poppies, Poppy, Welsh poppyLeave a comment

Poppy at Growthpoint allotment site. The pop of colour cheered me up yesterday. I can’t resist them. I have Welsh poppies in my garden, happy yellows and the occasional orange one. I once managed to grow a blue mecanopsis, (himalayan) poppy in the garden, but it never seeded itself and failed to grow again

Rain again

Posted on May 16, 2024May 16, 2024 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Description, dripping, Grey day, Life, pouring down, Rain, rivulets, Water, Weather, Wet, window panesLeave a comment

Water from the sky all day, falling incessantly. Rivulets splashing. Grey sky, rain pouring down, puddles and rushing gutters overflowing. I haven’t been out. Sitting in a warm jumper. I haven’t even opened the curtains! I watched the water running down the window panes in the kitchen, following wriggling lines downwards, drips racing each other to the bottom. Tears from the sky. Such a dark day, concrete coloured clouds and not silver lined. Perfect for ducks! Perhaps it will be better tomorrow?

Digital play

Posted on May 16, 2024 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Age, alteration, Digital art, Instagram, Photodirector app, Selfie, TiredLeave a comment

I’m looking a bit glum. I’m tired and got a headache. I know I’ve been overdoing things which is why I haven’t posted much here.

This was taken from a selfie, I tried giving myself a cartoon face but it looked bad so then I played with adding texture in photodirector. I layered another version of the selfie on top. Then I added more using Instagram tools. I’m smiling inside!

Bee painting

Posted on May 15, 2024May 15, 2024 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Anxiety, Art, Bee, Craft fair, Fine Art, fund raising, Mental health, Money, Painting, Time, Wood4 Comments

I was asked to paint some bees today for a craft fair at Growthpoint to raise money for the group. I painted one large bee on a flower and three small ones. I like going to the group. It’s helping me feel a bit less anxious. I can talk to the people there and get things off my chest I’ve had a lot of things to deal with over the last few months, I just want things to calm down.

Rhododendrons

Posted on May 14, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Bud, Flower, flower head, Garden, hot pink, Life, Petals, Rhododendrons, Soft, SpringLeave a comment

Beautiful bud, waiting to open, snugly wrapped in a soft covering. Soon the pink will fully unfurl, then the hot pink will blaze away in the sunlight. To join hundreds of other blooms signalling to the bees to pollenate them and so the life cycle continues.