New paintings and regular art updates.
Just a few pictures of flowers from the garden today. This way you don’t see all the trees and shrubs that get in the way of them.
They are, red calla lily, osteospermum, lily, pink hydrangea, rose, pink convolvulus, buddlea, pelargonium, monybretia in bud, monybretia in flower (not sure of spelling), blue hydrangea, geranium.
I’m doing a few flower paintings and these could be subjects. I hope you like them.
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Some of the plants got bashed by last night’s storm. The temperatures are very hot although there was a bit of cloud cover for about 5 minutes and with a gentle breeze it felt quite pleasant in the garden. Now though the sun’s come out again and I feel like I’m being bitten by gnats or midges. I also realise I should have used some sunscreen. I think it’s around 32°C?
Last night I made gooseberry fool for dessert using the gooseberries we had picked from the garden a few days ago. You have to top and tail then first, which took a while as we had loads of small fruits. I boiled the goosegogs with some sweetener, let it cool then added the mashed fruit to mixed yoghurt and whipped double cream. Delusions cool and green.
Oh good, sun’s gone back in for a bit.
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Random influences.
This burleigh ware blue mug. I’m thinking of painting a blue flowery pattern on a small canvas. Not sure yet and it’s not going to be a copy of this but just something pretty.
Then I want to do a few small paintings based on sections of the willow pattern design. I’ve done a few of these before.
We have two small blueberry bushes on loan from a friend. They sit either side of the back door. One bush is sad and half died off. The other is healthy.
But it’s the blueberries on the tatty bush that are starting to ripen. As you can see they start out green, gradually swell and then the blue works it’s way over the fruit from the top to the base where it is attached to a stalk. I think they will get darker blue than this.
I haven’t been on line much today because I’ve been tidying up the jungle if a garden we have. Deadheading my hanging baskets. Watering the plants and tidying up the shed. I’m pooped! 
Here are a couple of the baskets I’ve been working on. I like the multilayer look. There is ivy growing up the wall so it looks quite nice.
I want a light red
Not a pink
Not orange
Crimson?
Perhaps,
Maybe vermilion,
Something punchy,
Not magenta,
Not alizarian
Not a deep cadmium red (hue)
So many names
But which one will be right,
What is the correct tinge?
Works in progress
Paint laid on paint,
Building up layers,
Blood red?
Maybe if I put my heart into it.
I decided to join three photos together and duplicate them as I see the joined photo as similar to a mandala. The pattern concentrates my mind and I see faces in the resultant image. The green/red and yellow/purple of contrasting colours makes it all the more vibrant.
I’m also doing this because I want to avoid getting my paints out! I’ve got a craft stall in a couple of weekends and I have to admit I’m prevaracating. I know I’ve got to do art but I’m not sure what to do. A bit of an artists block again. I think it’s because I’ve been doing so much lately that my mind needs a rest. I will be ok though, just taking a breather.
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A roar of colour, even in late evening light. The triffids have arrived, my hanging baskets are blooming lovely and are growing blousier by the day.
It happens every year, they are not fully grown when I get them, but add water and they burst into life. Plants that I didn’t know were in them are staring to flower, fushias and long trailing pelargoniums. A profusion of colour. I’m probably going to bore you with more of this until the last lobelia dies in the frosts of December! Some of them will survive until spring as they did last year.
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This is how I avoid hayfever in our garden. By completely eliminating a lawn. Luckily I don’t have an allergy to tree pollen. Over the years the trees have grown big, but I like having my own personal forest glade with bird life and small mammals like hedgehogs and of course cats who patrol the garden and mug my hubby for fresh cat food. At least that stops them getting interested in the birds…. Tweet tweet tweet pounce! I’m sitting here with a busy road just yards away and although I can hear the traffic it’s not as loud. I can hear the tsee tsee tsee of birds singing. The flap of wings as they look for bird food in the garden. The rustle of vegetation. At the moment I’m sitting on a bench in warm dappled sunlight. I guess this type of garden is good for capturing CO2 and for feeding the birds. We got very few cherries this year but the blackbirds are gobbling the ripe ones up high in the tree. In previous years we’ve made the effort to climb step ladders to get them but this year we are being generous!
A few years ago we rented the garden from the previous owner of our house. She then decided she wanted to build on it, and while she sought planning permission we were not allowed on it except for a four foot strip of path alongside the house, she even painted a line along the length of the path to show where we could go! Luckily she was refused planning permission so after three years we bought the garden off her. But the damage was done. Everything had grown enormously and out if control. We have struggled to get it back to some sort of tidiness.
I’ve been very busy with the election and the mystery play over the last two months so I haven’t been able to sit and chill. But today is dry and sunny, came and ate breakfast out here and since my WiFi seems to reach this far I thought I would write about the garden. No sneezing, my eyes are not running and I don’t feel like I can’t breathe, bliss.
Later I will do a bit of pruning. There are a few stray Ash and Sycamore saplings that need removing. Also I want to try and let a bit more light through.
Gardening, never-ending……
I took a few photos of them this morning. The sun wasn’t shining so I think they don’t look as bright as they could. There’s lobelia, fushia, begonia, surfinia, pelargonium, nemesia and other plants in them. There are other plants in the yard and I’ve taken a photo of the cala lily as well.
The hanging baskets I ordered arrived last week so I’m busily watering them to get them to grow. I get them from a farm out on the road between Silverdale and the road between Keele and Madeley in Staffordshire.
They are cheaper if you take the old baskets in. I did spend too much on them but I can’t explain the joy I feel seeing them hanging up. The bright colours inspire me. The different shapes and leaf colours are interesting. Apparently the human eye can distinguish more shades of green than any other colour.
One thing I like doing is hanging one basket under the other, it also means that when you feed and water one the other gets watered.
Happy summer x
Mallaband-Brown