My friend did a river mouth image for this prompt. It gave me an idea, so instead of drawing a mouth with teeth I decided to draw the mouth of a volcano starting to erupt. For #bandofsketchers prompt. ‘mouth’, digital drawing.
Mouth
Mevagissey watercolour
I had a lovely surprise this morning, a message from a lady who I had done a painting for, for their wedding present. It was a commission for her and her husband by her neighbour who I used to work with. It’s dated 1996.
Mevagissey is in Cornwall in the South West of England. We drove down to it on a day trip one summer.
It’s a long time ago and sadly I don’t remember painting it, but it’s got my signature on it and is dated, so it’s definitely mine. I used to like painting landscapes like this, the detail is such a challenge, getting it accurate. I doubt I could do it now.
The lady says she still has it on display and it’s admired by her friends. Not bad for thirty years ago! It’s so good to know my work is appreciated.
I sing
What do you do to be involved in the community?
I’ve been in a couple of local community choirs for several years. Not church choirs, or ones where you have to audition or read music, but natural voice choirs where you choose where you want to sing depending on your voice. Sometimes I sing really low notes but sometimes I join in with the high parts if there is a shortage of sopranos.
I’ve got involved in local pantomimes and community plays as a Chorus member and even had a few roles in plays as a singer. It’s good for community cohesion and helps me mentally especially when I’m feeling down. It drags me out of the house when I would just like to ignore the world. I try and persuade people to join me as it’s been a big help to me over the years. It doesn’t solve all the issues but it ameliorates them.
If you want to be involved in the community I would recommend choir singing as an activity. Music helps calm you and can be very meditative.
Some books…
“Some books are to be tasted.
Others to be swallowed.
And some few to be chewed and digested.”
Sir Francis Bacon.
A poster my hubby had before he met me over 40 years ago. We put it up in a frame and it really does sum up his life. Where I will read sets of books and I’m interested in biographies and art, sci-fi and science, he was interested in everything. He could skim read but take what he was reading in. He seemed to absorb the words like some sort of computer. He often read a book cover to cover in a day. He was an eccentric, an intelligent man, but not overly intellectual. He was unique and I miss him so much.
A job at Jodrell bank
What’s a job you would like to do for just one day?
WordPress does not have a photo of Jodrell Bank radio telescope near Holmes Chapel in England, so I’ve chosen a random photo of a radio telescope from their image selection.
I love visiting the place, but I wish I had an astrophysics qualification so I could sit in the control room and actually be involved in the discovery of something spectacular, like the radio signal of a pulsar, or the signal from an alien civilisation. To be the first to hear something new. Like Jocelyn Bell-Burnell who discovered the first Pulsar, a fast spinning neutron star that gives off radio signals which can be detected by the radio telescope. She didn’t get credit for the discovery and wasn’t included the nobel prize when it was awarded for the work she did.
If I could be there I’d even enjoy making tea for the astronomers, or just sit quietly in a corner, listening out for signals. I used to be a member of a citizen science group looking out for alien signals. SETI is really interesting and I also like the ZOONIVERSE group that looks at data for several citizen science projects.
The trouble is if you let me in…. You won’t get me out!
Seabiscuit
Watching the film Seabiscuit on the TV. I decided to try and draw a horse so I used Artrage to draw it, then I edited it in Instagram and also Photodirector apps. It’s a bit smudgy and indistinct but I quite like it. I drew the mane blowing in the wide and it’s tail up in the air. Brown with a white blaze on his nose. Digital drawing.
I have none
What are your favorite brands and why?
Things cost too much so I try and be selective in what I buy. I go to a few different shops and try and buy what’s cheapest, but of a reasonable quality. I don’t want to buy a tin of beans only to find out half of its weight is tomato sauce.
It turns out a lot of own brands can be as good or better than the more well known ones. So they can be cost effective to buy. I also buy food close to it’s sell buy date, it means there are savings to be made there too. I live close to shops so I can pop out and top up with things relatively easily.
As to other things, anyone who knows me knows I’m not into fashion or expensive objects. If I have money it gets spent on bills or repairs or art supplies.
I hate adverts, I never buy things I see on TV or online. It doesn’t tempt me to see expensive perfume or clothing. I’m not a brand buyer, I can’t be bothered with merchandise like handbags or shoes.
So that’s your answer… None.
Sore
I don’t know what’s causing this, but I think its because I’ve had my washing up water too hot and I might have used too much washing up liquid? I’m taking time with washing up because I’m struggling to hold onto things and when I use washing up liquid bottle I have to squeeze really hard to get it out. So really I’m using too much. I think I might put it in a smaller container so I don’t get as much on my hands. I’m leaving my rings off for a couple of days and I will try using a little eczema cream on my fingers. Has anyone had similar problems?
Rattled
Something was rattling loudly in my washing machine! I opened the door and found this! One of my agitators in the drum has broken off…
If you look underneath it you can see where the plastic bits have snapped off. I guess when it spins the weight of the clothes must put a lot of pressure on them. I looked into the empty washer and saw a small metal flange was sticking up so I got my hammer and pressed (not hitting) the metal down in line with the drum. The metal was quite thin so malleable. I’ll have to see if that works, I can’t imagine it will rip anything. The broken agitator is not reattachable as the lugs on it are sheared off……
Steam punk portrait
Going through my art trying to find images with sunlight in them. I came across the this semi abstract portrait of a Steam Punk. It’s from a photo I took at The Etruria Canal Festival either last year or the year before?
I like experimenting, especially since my arm shakes, so I can integrate that into the paintings, or try something even more different if I want?
Mallaband-Brown 