Painting

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What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

This was a painting I did a few years ago, it’s of the upper story of Cheddleton Station, in Staffordshire, England.

I still love painting, but my health is affecting what I can do at the moment, I really want to do more. And somehow the anxiety over it is making me struggle to start. Because I’m worried whether I will be able to do a good enough job. I know I’ve been doing a lot of digital art, but it doesn’t have the same quality to me as actually painting.

I’ve spent years being an artist and I don’t want to stop. I admit some of my work isn’t as good as I’d like, I paint fast and rely on my skill to pull things into shape. I’ve certainly put in the hours to get to a good standard. But I wish I could go back in time and make better decisions about my art.

I haven’t stopped, but I might not do as much as I used to, I’m just hoping the physiotherapy I’m due to start will help.

I HATE adverts

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They are everywhere, TV, Internet, radio, cinema, in print.

I ignore them, but get fed up with them. Can’t some algorithm get that I never open them on the Internet, I don’t do click bait, I mainly watch public broadcasting TV services so that I can avoid them.

Recently I’ve been bombarded in my emails. There is a certain credit card that wants me to apply for it. I’ve responded to it by sending submissions back telling them I’m not interested, that I feel like I’m being ignored when I’ve said no. But it keeps happening. It’s so irritating.

Is it only me, are people OK with adverts?

Mugged by a cat

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Staring, it’s the way my cats mug me for food. The silent treatment, no miaowing or purring. Just the long stare, the neat paws placed together as the cat stands like a sentry. The stare can go on for ten minutes or more until I give in and feed them, a cat snack, a pouch of food, then they don’t acknowledge the response, but go off outside or somewhere to sleep.

I have too many!

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What would you do if you lost all your possessions?

Books, ornaments glass, clothes, paintings… Clutter.

In some ways to lose all my possessions would make life simpler as long as I had somewhere to go? Our house has got crowded with ‘stuff’, we have collected things over years and years, and we are trying to get rid of some of it.

But it’s easy to become attached, an object can encompass memories, look at it and you look back in time. Does losing your possessions give you freedom? Or is it oppressive? What if you only have the clothes you stand up in, no credit or debit card…. Knowledge of where you live would be important. Knowing how to light a fire, keep warm, find food and clean drinking water. The inhumanity of men to the homeless is a fear if I went through with disposing of my possessions.

An artist did do it. He crushed all of his belongings I think. It was a very powerful art ‘happening’, but what happened to him? Was he paid to do it, has he replaced things, did he survive? The problem is that in a world of thousands or millions of wonders each day, does anyone even notice.

It would be good to dispose of my belongings, to free up myself, but I’m getting too old to survive such a thing. I will have to keep at least some of my things..

Sketchy blonde

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When I get bored I doodle.

Usually faces either in profile or three quarter positions. But I’ve noticed they usually face left, and I thinks that because I’m right handed. I also draw cats and horses facing left too.

I think its because I’m right handed. I usually draw the edge of the face first, then the eyes and the mouth, and hair and the ear. If you draw across the page you can see what you have drawn without your hand getting in the way. I spoke to someone who is left handed and she draws faces facing right. I haven’t done any research but it would be interesting to find it hw prevalent this is….?

Early morning

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Early morning, looking up from the settee where I’m currently sleeping, I can look over at the ceiling and see the shadow cast across it by one of the living room lights. It’s in black and white because the colours were washy yellows, and I thought this looked more dramatic.

The fact you can see the woodchip patterned paper on the ceiling which is not very flat shows the poor decorating skills of the builder who put it up there almost 30 years ago! I’m never going to take it down, it’s hiding a multitude of sins including bad plastering and cracks I think.

This was around 6am or maybe later, I just liked the stark, long shadow.

More tiles

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I thought I’d show you the other photo of the church floor I took last night. It’s a bit blurry but this is the main block of minton? tiles. It’s hard to tell what the central section depicts. I love the contrasting blues, oranges and terracotta colours. Using complementary colours makes the image pop even with using only blue and orange.

Blue to Red

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What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?

At 18 I voted blue (Conservative). That was how my family had always voted, we spoke about it, and I was supporting our first woman prime minister. How I regret it now!

After the election I moved out and started to learn more about the world around me, how people struggled and how the new prime minister was making things worse for people not better.

I went through several general and local elections over the decades but I never voted blue again. I had completely changed my mind. Sometimes I don’t like Labours policies, they can seem to be Tory lite, but I’ve never not voted for them. Sometimes they get into power. But for the last thirteen years Conservatives have been in power. They have had five prime ministers, some of which were not elected by the populace but by their fellow MPs. They make promises but they don’t keep them. Cancelling projects which were expensive and that have been massively over hyped. All blue policies…. From privatisation to selling peerages…

So I’m Red through and through. I think I always will be. The biggest change of mind and direction in my life.