New paintings and regular art updates.
Nine years ago I was helping with penkhull mystery plays. Painting flat boards for scenery and Picassoesque horses which were props for the show. I really miss those days. The plays were sometimes religious or sometimes historical. Covid seems to have ended it. We all got older and it was hard work for the organisers to keep going…
We just gathered some cherries off the ground because the rain and wind has knocked a lot off the tree. This is about a third of them that were too bruised, damaged or pecked. The rest have just been washed thoroughly in salty water and I’ve put them in the fridge to eat tomorrow. I will thoroughly rinse them again first.
The plan is to get a broom or a stick to try and pull some more down and collect them in an upturned umbrella. I hope the weather doesn’t intervene in the meantime! Praying the wind doesn’t whip up and blow them off. There’s still plenty left for the birds…
One of the Art groups I’m in wanted us to post a picture based on the prompt #movement. This was from my imagination after swimming with a wild dolphin called Georges. It had swum into a bay where we were caravanning and stayed around after the rest of his pod had gone. There was a notice the next day saying you shouldn’t swim with him because he was over friendly and dolphins can pass on pneumonia from the droplets from their blowhole. Anyway. I loved painting this and have great memories of swimming with a dolphin!
A few weeks late because I couldn’t afford them earlier. Some of the trailing plants got damaged in their transport in the back of our car. I would like to get a few small colourful plants to dot around the yard and make it more colourful. I will see what cheap plants I can get locally.
These cheer me up. I know they will last well into autumn, and looking out the window on a cold damp day brings up my mood. X
What are your daily habits?
For 323 days now
I started this last year. It was recommended as a way of bringing more positive thoughts to my mind. I have done it for 323 days now and there’s no sign of me stopping. I’m most of the way through my third sketchbook. I draw a sketch for each of three gratitudes and a short description of what I’m grateful for.
The idea is you don’t write big gratitudes, but little ones so you don’t feel put off by not having a big enough thing to write about. So on one day I wrote that the traffic lights were on green and I got to the doctors in time. For that I drew the traffic lights. Another could be that the cat came up and was very loving. I drew a curled up cat. Finally I wanted something else to write, and the plants in the garden were lovely so I wrote that and drew some flowers.
I have continued to do this each day, sometimes I forget, but it’s a good habit for me to keep to and it has helped me to keep things together. So if I’ve forgotten I will catch it up. It’s become that important to me. It’s going to mean a lot of gratitude sketchbooks though if I carry on!
Photo taken outside Etruria Industrial museum. This is not a colourful tourist boat. Painted with castles and roses. But careful lines have been painted on it to delineate it’s shape. I think its part of the industrial museum exhibit? Perhaps it was used in the past to transport the flint and bone that had been ground into fine powder at the Jessie Shirley flint mill. This is the main part of the industrial museum. A stationery steam engine called Princess was used to provide power to do the grinding. The boat or barge might have transported the powder to the local potteries to add to clay and produce fine bone China pottery. So much history in this city of ours.
Peeping out, watching the traffic, avoiding dog walkers, he sits and waits for us to get out of the car. Then he’s on the doorstep waiting to come in for his tea.
My other cats have their habits too, my little queen stretches up and claws my knee every time she says hello. I always say ouch, but she’s not bothered. She won’t stop. Just a friendly miew…
The other Tom likes me to Stoke his head, all the way down his back to his tail, as I reach the end his head comes back up again for the next sweep of my hand, over and over, 20 or 30 times…
The three of them are so loving. I enjoy their company. X
A friend just sent me this photo. It’s one of my little paintings in someone’s kitchen. Just a simple design. I was rather pleased to get this. Knowing my art is appreciated cheers me up!
Bench at Westport lake last year. It was taken on a drizzly day like today. It’s good to see the weeping willow tree a bit further round the lake sweeping like a curtain across the side of the waters edge. It brings back memories of another one I knew….
I used to hide under a weeping willow when I was a child. It stood on its own in a park and I would sit with my back against it and imagine I was in a green tent or hiding behind a green waterfall. I had many adventurous thoughts sitting there in peace and quiet.
Relaxing on a bench is good when you have a view like this at Westport. After you have walked half a mile it’s nice to stop for a chat. Or a sandwich and a cup of tea. Refreshed and calm you can carry on with your walk. By the way there is a bench appreciation society page on Facebook for those that are interested….
Are there things you try to practice daily to live a more sustainable lifestyle?
We have an old car, it’s about 23 years old (not as old as the morris in the painting), we can’t afford to replace it. But don’t really want to because of all the resources locked up in it. We only drive short distances now and did less than 1000 miles last year. I rarely have to fill it up with fuel. For local trips we usually walk. It’s a struggle to carry things, but it’s exercise.
I have a bike but I’m too wobbly to use it. But it may well be given to a charity so it can be reused, it would be good to give it to a good home. You only have a short window of adulthood to be adventurous but as you get older it gets harder. My mind is mostly fine but my body is getting worn out and ill.
Apart from that we planted a lot of trees on our garden which have become mature over the years. I’m sure that must offset our carbon footprint. We try and grow some fruit and vegetables too. We also try not to use much gas and electricity. We rarely buy clothes or shoes…..
I could go on. I don’t feel deprived. I’ve never flown and don’t want to and I rarely travel more than the occasional 80 miles to visit relatives. I hope all of this is a good way towards living a sustainable life. We could do more, we try.
Mallaband-Brown