New paintings and regular art updates.
New painting, based on the lower photo of Dorothy Clive Garden waterfall. I’m working from a filtered photograph of it that has added texture to it. I will try and post an update later. I was trying to find an image to work from for the afternoon at the Orme Art Group today. I was worried about the yellow and green and purple colours, are they to muddy….? But now I’ve started adding a pop of red in places I’m happier. It is something that is making me happy, so I will carry on.
A fern in the corner of this photo from the Dorothy Clive Garden. The shapes really stand out against the darker background leaves. This is the sort of photo that I might duplicate and mirror. I look out for images that can be made into patterns. The deep maroon/purple is a good contrasting colour. I need to look through all my pictures to see if there are any more like this. I do take too many!
Up at the top of the waterfall in the Dorothy Clive Garden stands a life-sized statue of a stag roaring. It’s hidden in the trees on a path halfway up the sides of the quarry walls. This time we walked on the right path and found it! ❤️
I’m not sure what it’s made of but it might be cast bronze. It is so majestic and forceful, I think whoever made it did a brilliant job.
The little valley the waterfall runs into was full of rhododendron blossom a few weeks ago, but that has all gone now. But there are foxgloves and other tall flowering plants growing up to fill in the gaps. As you walk round the undulating base of the quarry you see an enclosed space, with different views round every corner. Dark and furry leaves, ferns, euphorbia in vibrant green, geraniums, dicentra (bleeding hearts). So interesting, I’d love to be able to find shade plants for our garden too.
After I drew the laburnum arch I looked through the photos I took at the weekend and realised I could have drawn this instead. I don’t remember seeing it before, but it is quite striking. One thing about the UK is the greenery. Once spring and summer arrives the greens burst out. Yes we do get drought conditions, but we are very lucky compared with many places.
Like blackberries and cream, this Rhododendron is in beautiful flower. Splashes of deep purple dot the tops of the flowers. I could eat them. Photo at the Dorothy Clive Garden this weekend. There are masses of different types and colours of them at the gardens.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was Arch. I decided to draw the laburnum arch at the Dorothy Clive Garden we saw at the weekend. A very complicated image and using felt pens makes it more difficult. I start with pale colours then build up with gradually darker ones…
Alliums, ornamental flower heads from the onion family. Globes that resemble fireworks peppered the borders at the Dorothy Clive Garden this weekend.
Chelsea Flower show is now on and no doubt these will be on display there too. The Northern Hemisphere is suddenly blooming. The joys of Summer will soon be with us.
Alliums come in different colours from white through pale purple to deep purple, I’m not sure what other colours are available. For a larger plant with bigger flowers I’d suggest Agapanthus.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was Canyon. I don’t live in an area with canyons so I decided to colour in a black and white drawing I had done at the Dorothy Clive Garden a few days ago. It’s of the fountain at the quarry garden which is full of rhododendrons. ( is a quarry a type of man made canyon ?) Based on photos I took on the day, felt pens in my sketchbook.
The Dorothy Clive Garden is at Willowbridge in Staffordshire on the border with Shropshire and Cheshire. It costs £10 for adults to visit.
At this time of year the garden is coming into bloom. It is planted on a sloping site and the main garden is full of blues, whites and purples at the moment. White and purple Alliums, Aqueigia, Irises, and other plants made a lovely display from the pond at the bottom up to the tearooms at the top. Then into the quarry garden. This is full of rhododendron and azalea flowers, the mature trees are in leaf and the waterfall drops from the rim of the quarry into its base.
We also walked along the Laburnum arch which is in full flower and is under planted with purple Alliums. Then there are ferns and lots of other interesting plants. We’ll worth a visit for the day.
It looks like pea soup. The green in this pond is caused by algae I think. This is also in the local lakes. Some of them have pumps that are being used to try and get some oxygen into the water. Days are cooler and greyer, so I hope the water will clear.
This photo was taken yesterday at the Dorothy Clive Garden out in the countryside. Still looking good and it’s almost the end of August.
Mallaband-Brown