New paintings and regular art updates.
An old drawing I did of the local church one Christmas. It’s coming up to that time if year to decide what paintings to do for Christmas. I don’t want to make them too twee. They have to be something someone would want to hang on a wall. I half want to paint little icon paintings, or maybe images taken from something like the book of Kells. It’s hard to decide, do Robins work? Or are they just things you find on a Christmas card that get brought out once a year? Who knows?
Oops, just made the mistake of adding too much chilli to our tea. My mouth has that bitter burning sensation that makes you want to drink something long and cold (possibly a pint of milk). I only intended to add a little flavour, and I deseeded the chilli (I only ever use one), perhaps it was very ripe. It certainly was a flavour enhancer with added oregano and garlic. I think my stomach is regretting my spice choices. Oh dear!
Oh dear! What have I done? I haven’t posted much recently, and since the clocks went back I have got less views. Maybe I’m boring people. It’s hard not to be repetitive and I’ve also expressed some political views that might have put people off or annoyed them. But I can’t help being honest about my opinions. I don’t think I’m extreme in any way, just concerned about what is happening in the world with democracy and climate change. Tell me if there is anything I need to do to change? The Internet is an echo chamber, sometimes you only hear what you want to. I don’t think I can change that much?
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was current. Oh dear! I struggled to think of anything that fitted the prompt so I went for something silly and a play on words. Current and Currant, homophones
Another old painting. This was from about eleven years ago. The planet has only completed part of its orbit around the sun since I painted it. I don’t know why I paint astronomical objects, they are hard to do! Acrylic on canvas. This was my attempt at Jupiter. This banded gas giant is renowned for its great red spot (a storm that has been shrinking for a few centuries). I think painting planets is like knitting, trying to fit the right pattern in the right place. I also don’t think my paint is blended enough. I have lots of astronomical paintings, I need someone to be interested in them!
I was struck by how many toy adverts are on the TV now coming up for Christmas. There were a lot of crying baby dolls and I decided to draw this in response (for my own amusement). I guess I’m a closet cartoonist! I don’t mean to offend anyone, so apologies in advance x
Yellow, gold and brown
All the leaves fall down
Fallen in a mound
As the wind whirls round
Rain streaks the windows
As the wild storm blows
Hail mixed into icy rain
Knocks more leaves down again
Time has ended for them now
Rotten, crumbled, so they go.
Moira had noticed her cat kept staring up in a corner of the room. She could not see anything herself but she knew cats had better senses. Keener eyesight, a more acute sense of smell, hearing that was so much more able to notice small sounds.
Each night the cat would curl up to sleep, but then become alert, aware, interested in something. It would watch the ceiling for a few minutes, then close its eyes again and relax.
Moira started checking the time of each encounter with what was going on. Ten past eleven until seventeen minutes past. A precise time every night? Very strange.
Moira suspected that someone or something was playing games? She had friends that could do tricks, they had pranked her before, could it be them? But when she contacted them they denied any involvement.
It was on the eleventh day that she finally saw something. A drip of red running down the wall, slightly hidden by a picture. Could it be mould? Some old houses had problems with fungi? She decided to ring a builder if there was anymore problems the next night.
She sat down to watch TV the next evening. At precisely eleven ten pm the cat stretched and looked up. Then it did something new, it hissed! Moira looked up too, just as a disembodied foot pierced down through the ceiling. Slightly transparent, it paddled the air, not touching anything, floating, then simply vanished. The cat settled down. Moira didn’t!
Three years ago I was an extra in a film called Humanus, this is me made up for the preview which was featured on local TV. It was a comedy /rom com/horror /mystery and it was fun to be in! The cast were members of the inter- theatre company and the director was Steve Mitchell. If you look it up you might find Humanus, or at least the trailer on YouTube. It was especially good because part of it was filmed in the Leopard Hotel in Burslem (sadly destroyed by fire earlier this year). Better times…
I’m tired and not feeling much like doing anything, scratchy sore throat and a bit blocked up nose and ears. I decided to doodle a face. Why is it when I draw profiles they normally face left? Previous discussions with other artists raised the idea you can see where to draw easier if you draw the outline first then move back towards the eyes and mouth and ears. This is a finger drawing in ArtRage oils. I need to experiment more with it. I also need to find my stylus.
Mallaband-Brown