
You look old….
But the joke is new
How did that happen?
To you…
Is the joke on us
Or you?
Not antique
But imitation?
I’d have it!
And that’s true X
New paintings and regular art updates.

You look old….
But the joke is new
How did that happen?
To you…
Is the joke on us
Or you?
Not antique
But imitation?
I’d have it!
And that’s true X

Latest photo of my self portrait. I think its getting better although it might be a bit too peachy coloured. I need to sort out the hair, it’s hard to decide when to stop. Acrylic on canvas. I have done a few self portraits over the years. This might be my last! I think I’ll call it portrait of the artist as an old lady!


Sultana scones with cream on a Calico Burleigh Ware plate for tea.
It was very tasty and filling. I decided not to have jam on them, it would have been to sweet. But I did butter them.
Burleigh Ware is a type of pottery made at Middleport pottery in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent. Calico is one of many pattern types made by transferring the pattern onto the pottery with transfer prints. It’s a skilled job to line up all the prints. They are mounted on paper and stick to the pottery when they are wetted, the print sort of slides off onto the piece. If you turn over pottery it will usually have the makers name and other details printed on the base. People who do this say they are in the ‘turnover club’ .

I do like drawing in my little sketchbook. It’s getting full of pictures and poems and some short stories.
This morning a friend took me out so we had a cappuccino and a muffin. It was lovely to have a chat. I decided to draw what was on the table so here’s the result. I like crosshatching to add shape and shade to make it more 3 dimensional.
We were talking to the waitress and and she saw my sketches. She said that she used to be good at art and sometimes shows her children how to do things. I suggested she get a little sketchbook to start drawing in again, I hope she does.

Not right yet, eyes too close together, my nose is too long. But it’s getting there slowly. I need to try and make the eyes slightly smaller too. I tend to paint self portraits straight on although I might try and do a three quarter profile one instead as it can be more dynamic. This took about an hour and a half. In acrylic on canvas.

Playing with Artrage, it’s been a while, I wanted to create the impression of a stained glass window. I like drawing digitally and I used a stylus to try and control my shakiness. I like this app because it had various pens and the ability to make the colours metallic. I paid for it, but not much and I’ve used it for several years .

I only had an hour at art group today so I messed about and came up with this. It’s a semi abstract painting of a horse/zebra. I was concentrating on a limited pallette, green, burnt umber, a lighter brown, silver and white. First I painted the horse and highlighted it in green, then I added the gnarly tree. Finally I added textures, including the striped zebra idea. I think it has a vague medieval feeling. I’m calling it finished. Acrylic on canvas.

Semi celtic cat design
I love the way cats twist
And squirm
Paws and tail,
Mouth and leg
Shuffle over on the bed
You like to sleep
In my way
But I love you so much
You can stay!

I love my little notebook, getting filled up with sketches and doodles and bits of writing prompts. This bird recently appeared squeaking and squaking (odd word spelling I know) on the page. With this drawing comes memories of drawing odd bits when I was a child. I used to try and draw butterflies and moths and horses too. It is about learning to draw and freeing your imagination. Art is life!

I’m still working on this. I tried to sort out the horizon line as it was wobbly. I think that the land in the background is too dark. I want to try and resolve the colours and waves on the sea…. Is it too light or dark….
This is from my imagination but I might try and find something that is similar. Or I could turn it into a more abstract image?