
Feathers in frost,
How crystals grow
Waving and curling
See the cold flow
Other designs
Jack Frost can draw
Painting his marks
They are sublime.
New paintings and regular art updates.

Feathers in frost,
How crystals grow
Waving and curling
See the cold flow
Other designs
Jack Frost can draw
Painting his marks
They are sublime.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt, vase. I drew a vase in wax crayons and felt pens. I was hoping to get more of a wax resist effect but when that didn’t work I drew some outlines around the patches of colour on the vase. I also put it through photodirector to change the texture.


I’ll doodle and sketch on anything. This was a cup where I drew a donkey into the froth on the inside of my hot chocolate mug. I have drawn with sticks on beaches, creating mermaids and seahorses, into the gravy on my plate when we have been out to lunch, and when I was a child I used a sweeping brush to draw swirls in the dust on our garden path. That reminds me of videos of people painting Chinese characters with ink using a mop. I guess if you love mark making, it’s not easy to stop!

The one of art groups I am in, Orme art group, is having an exhibition on the theme of ‘Perspectives’. The show is at the New Victoria Theatre in Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire. The exhibition starts on Monday 30th January 2023, and is on till the 25th of February. As the poster says, we are a diverse group, so it will be interesting to see what other people in the group are putting on display. After over a month of illness I’m really pleased to be involved with this. I’m looking forward to seeing it when it’s up. One of the group members is a volunteer at the theatre and its great to be able to show our work to a wider audience there.

Thursdays #bandofsketchers prompt was socks. I don’t know if these exist, so if they don’t this idea is my copyright ©. Canal and bottle oven socks. The ideal present for someone who loves industrial archaeology, is interested in the Trent and Mersey canal and needs to keep their feet warm!

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was snail. I remember Brian the snail from the Magic Roundabout children’s TV programme, which I watched in the 1970’s. But this is Mike the snail. I decided to write a limerick for him.
“There was a snail called Mike,
Who decided to go for a hike!
He slid cross the table
To see his friend Mable
I saw him and shouted out YIKES!

Digital abstract in ArtRage oils that I did five years ago. The centres is meant to be a metallic, shiny egg shaped object, and the outside the pattern that is seen on the object. It doesn’t quite work but I think you can see a contrast between the sharp lines of the centre, and the softer outer lines. I saw this today as a memory on my Facebook page.

A digital drawing of a black and white cat, then which I then digitally manipulated to add textures and tilt the image. I used artrage oils free for the original drawing using a stylus on my phone screen, then photodirector to add texture and finally the editing tools including a sharpness option and tilting option on my Instagram account. I have also duplicated this image as four seperated cats, but that was done after I did this.

I just watched a programme about pottery on the TV. It’s set at the Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. I like it because people have to do challenges, tonight’s was to create three low relief birds, in a small medium and large sizes. Each one had to represent a real bird. One person did three macaws, another kingfishers, a third falcons. Each contestant made really interesting birds, the standard was very high. One person got Potter of the week, one got eliminated. Its good to see an art based programme with real skills.
The drawing above is a digital finger painting I dis in ArtRage oils a few years ago. It’s meant to be a multicoloured pigeon.

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was ‘random’. Random cat drawing, they are so able to almost tie themselves in knots! I just realised the dots could be like that game ‘twister’! Felt pen and black ink fine line pen.