
#bandofsketchers prompt for Thursday was Wind. With the wind that’s been blowing lately if there are any dandelion heads they will all be bald by now! I tried to give the effect of wind by making the blue felt pen streaky across the background.
New paintings and regular art updates.

#bandofsketchers prompt for Thursday was Wind. With the wind that’s been blowing lately if there are any dandelion heads they will all be bald by now! I tried to give the effect of wind by making the blue felt pen streaky across the background.

I have just spent a pointless half hour on line to a call centre. I realise they are busy, so I don’t expect to be answered straight away. But listening to dull music with the occasional ‘we will be with you as soon as possible’ really doesn’t help. Each time the music dropped out for the announcement I thought someone would answer.
The list of 8 options to choose from was also frustrating. None of them really fitted with the question I wanted to ask:
Press 1 for fate
Press 2 for hate
Press 3 for karma
Press 4 for drama!
Press 5 for applying
Press 6 for annoying
Press 7 for an answer
Press 8 for a dancer!
My mind was boggled so I gave up. If they had only said you are number (1-100) in the queue, and the waiting time is….. Minutes. That would have been helpful. As it was the only people getting anywhere are the phone company!

Tuesdays #bandofsketchers prompt was View. We have a Robin flitting round the garden. Rather than drawing a real landscape I tried to draw our bird table and vegetation. I sketched the Robin from a photo because it wouldn’t stay still long enough to photograph! Felt pen drawing.

I’m glad I have someone to love. He drives me round the bend, and I think I’d be OK on my own, but we are joined at the hip. We stick together somehow. Chemistry? Maybe, perhaps we are like an old worn pair of shoes. We only match each other. Foibles? We’ve got a few. I’m sure we would drive other partners mad if we ever decided to find someone else. I’m a believer in the wedding ceremony, richer for poorer, in sickness and in health. All it means is that you have to have give and take in a relationship. I don’t mean you should stick around if its awful, or put up with bad behaviour. There has to be some love. I’m glad I have a bit.
So yes, I love the Beatles song “all you need is love”, it’s my era and I’ve probably listened to it a thousand times, and if you can, try and love yourself as well as others x

Describe one positive change you have made in your life.
It was a drastic decision, but I don’t regret it. Each time I thought I knew my job inside out the management changed things. In that sort of situation you could be doing the right thing one day and the wrong the next. That’s the problem with hierarchy, the top decides and the bottom has to implement rules even if they don’t make sense. And each time the goalposts move it’s not likely to be in your favour.
So I found myself out of work, but not regretting it. I had enough money to live on for a while so I set myself up as an artist. Of course I had grand ideas of sales and building a clientele, but at that stage I really didn’t know that my health would not be good. With that and the pandemic (no I haven’t had covid as yet) I found I really didn’t have a business. But I don’t care, I’m away from the humdrum, I’m not being made miserable by rules I don’t like and don’t want to follow. I have had more freedom to be myself than I ever had during the rest of my life. I guess I’m what they call semi retired. A hobbyist? I’d rather paint than do anything else.
Would I reverse the change? Never. I’ve only been back and seen my colleagues a couple of times. The past is the past, let it be!

What is it about cats and bags? I caught the cat trying to get his head in a small paper bag yesterday, it hadn’t had food in it but he was intrigued anyway. They like the cloth bags from the local supermarket, but even get in the orange plastic carrier bags if I leave them on the sofa while I’m unloading the groceries. Sometimes though if I use the bag again they go off it (it must smell different).
What other things do they sleep on or in? Cat beds, a cat tree, cushions and chair throws, basically wherever they want and can fit. Occasionally they even sleep on the sofa or our chairs, but that’s usually after we have gone to bed. Yeah, cats rule round here!

Oh help!
Five letters
One puzzle
I got more space
I got hooked!
Played the game
Once or twice
Frustrating and sneaky
I’m getting stuck
In words.
Knowing them
I have too many choices
Missed one letter
Eight times.
Only playing basic stuff
Five letters
Time stolen.

I’m imagining the back of a playing card with a pattern on it like this? Two profiles facing each other, one turned upside down. It’s based on the idea of the two heads on the King, Queen and Jack cards. Are they designed to read from both top and bottom to make it easier for all players to read them?
I am not a graphic designer so I am not sure what criteria I would need to actually make these, but I’m having fun as I experiment again.. Hope you enjoy my scribbles x

The way the winds blowing I could see this flying past my window!
It’s actually four collaged photos. If you take a photo with an interesting corner you can create images of things apparently floating in mid air. I didn’t take the picture deliberately to do that, it was more about the pinks and oranges of the sky…

Sundays #bandofsketchers prompt was drink. I’m finally trying to catch up with the prompts. This is a digital finger painting of a drink can. I used the Artrage app to draw it. I’ve adjusted the colours with Instagram because it looked quite dull.