New paintings and regular art updates.
How do I reduce the size of my saved photos? I’m getting close to my limit again, so I’m still deleting pictures off blogs. But ideally I want to keep the photos. I could go into a post and edit each individual image, reducing the file size to medium or small? I’d only have to go through thousands of posts? I can’t afford to increase my WordPress /Jetpack package. So I’ll keep fudging things and deleting my most fuzzy or boring photos… Maybe I’ll win the lottery?
Don’t dip your brush in your tea!
It might make it taste foul..
You’ll see!
Oil and water doesn’t mix
And you’ll be in a fix!
Cos your tea isn’t water
Remember you ought’a
Put your mug somewhere else
Linseed oil, or turps taste
Vile, what a mistake…
Take it from me!
When it’s quiet here I can still hear the birds singing in the garden. Blackbirds and Robins seem to sing the loudest, but I can also hear Pigeons cooing and Magpies cackling in the morning as they dive and swoop around the trees.
The blackbirds were singing on top of our neighbours chimney pot, long and varied songs to call for a mate and to display where its territory is. Now they have become a bit quieter, they may have raused their young by now. The Robins still flit about but with the heat I think they are quieter too.
The world keeps spinning and the birds keep singing. I hope the birds keep coming back. X
I think about spirituality sometimes and I question whether it is part of religion or not?
I don’t really know what I believe in. I was brought up as a Christian but I also think there are other aspects of spirit and life that come into your thoughts. I cannot be dogmatic or “born again”, I think you have to question things. Just because the bible says the world was made in seven days does not mean it was. That explanation seems like a simple way of understanding the Earth and the Universe. As we grow and learn we have to take on board science and all the knowledge that has come about over the centuries.
I could be an atheist, and not believe in a God or Gods, but in fact I’m more of an agnostic. I don’t know what I believe in, but if the universe is infinite and “God” is infinite how can I possibly know anyway?
I love John Lennons song “Imagine”, imagine there’s no heaven above us, and no hell below (I don’t think I’ve got the words right). I don’t believe in heaven or hell. I don’t know if there is anything after life, and if there is, what comes after that?
I enjoy Yoga, and we do breathing and meditation exercises. I think that helps me cope with my life. I think there are aspects of spirituality that I could question more, but I don’t know whether I should.
I think this man sized puppet at Etruria canal festival a couple of weeks ago was meant to be a preying mantis. I didn’t get the details of the puppet theatre company but they are obviously very skilled makers! I think this is absolutely beautiful (sorry if you don’t like insects), the colours are amazing and the way it is painted with such great detail is a tour de force. If anyone knows the name of the puppiteers please let me know, put it in the comments. Then I will edit this post and include it here. X
Three years ago our cherry crop was already picked. The tree came from the old Woolworths shop in Stoke about twenty five years ago. It must have been happy because now it’s about thirty feet high.
The cherries are starting to ripen, but they are not ready yet. Maybe next week we can reach the lower ones. The rest we donate to the birds. One thing I need to do is buy a big umbrella, it really helps to stop the cherries we pick from rolling off into the undergrowth!
I just drew this… I saw a red admiral butterfly outside and wanted to take a photo of it, but it flew off. I decided to draw something against a dark background to make it stand out more. This was drawn in the Artrage app I use, it gives nice metallic effects, hence the abstract look of this butterfly.
Mother and baby macaque Monkey sculpted from an old tree stump. This is at the entrance to the Trentham Monkey Forest. We went a couple of weeks ago and saw a few babies, a bit older than this one. They were swinging off branches and twigs and learning to climb. I think the guide said there have been eight babies born so far this year.
They are happy in our climate because they originate high up in the mountains in North Africa so they are used to wide temperature variations. The monkey forest is part of a group of parks, the rest are in France, and they are working to conserve the Macaque population. Worth a visit.
How do you practice self-care?
I had to look it up.
“Self-care has been defined as the process of establishing behaviors to ensure holistic well-being of oneself, to promote health, and actively manage illness when it occurs. Individuals engage in some form of self-care daily with food choices, exercise, sleep, reading and dental care. Wikipedia“
It’s all very well having a definition, but do you keep to it? I for instance, try and do certain activities that help me, but not every day. Sometimes I remember, other times? I’m too engrossed in whatever crisis I’m dealing with to even remember to take care of myself.
I have responsibility for caring for others, I also have people who need my help. If I don’t help I feel guilty, and that’s not easy to put to one side.
So what things do I do? A little bit of chair yoga because I cannot get up and down off the floor. Choir twice a week for my mental health. And a gratitudes diary that I try and write three short things in that have happened in the day. They are usually minor, but it helps train your mind towards a more positive track… (gratitudes can include traffic lights on green for instance, or a favourite film coming on the TV).
Now I’ve read the definition I might just try a bit harder…
Sundays #bandofsketchers prompt was Wing. I drew part of a wing….. A made up feather. I misread the prompt as flight (how?) I don’t know, so I was thinking flight feather, but I think it still works?
Mallaband-Brown