New paintings and regular art updates.
My friend drew me and I love it! The necklace round my neck is supposed to be a diamond and she calls me ‘queen Victoria’ (which makes me feel very old!)
Such a sweet drawing, simply done. But it cheerdx my heart. Love the glasses and the bows in my hair. I look like a little girl again. Funny how people see you. Different to myself. I’d add more lines and lumps and bumps!
When you open up Facebook you don’t expect to hear that a friend has passed away. Someone who I admired. A good artist and a compassionate and sensitive man.
I guess I would rather find out than not know at all. Waiting to see if he would post new art, or a post about how he was feeling. He went missing for a couple of months about two years ago. He eventually turned up and everything turned out OK.
Now, I don’t know. I guess I’m glad I met him on a website and saw his art, he lived in a different country so we were never going to meet up. But that doesn’t matter, he was a very good artist and was a thoughtful person.
I lost another friend in a similar way last year. This was a woman from overseas. Another artist.
The internet allows people who would never normally meet to find each other. At least I’ve found out what has happened. Feeling very sad.
Christmas a couple of years ago. My friend took this of me taking a photo of my other half… Can you tell which one he is? He’s definitely an eccentric. I think this was round the back of the German Market that was held locally. I’m not sure why the wooden soldier was parked there but it was an interesting object.
This is good because it is black and white, so the details of textures stand out more than they would if it was a coloured photo.
I was cheered by receiving this photo today. It bought back happy memories. I can’t find the photo I took though!
Today I walked 4.3 miles, not far, but part of it was up one of the steepest hills in Stoke-on-Trent. I’m trying to get fitter, and lose a few more pounds in the meantime. We stopped off at a local pub in Hartshill and had half of lime and soda water. The beer garden would have been quiet except for the traffic being heavier today than it has been for ages. I tried to talk to my walking partner, but I’m too slow and I’m also trying to keep to social distancing, so I enede up having to shout a bit, then every time I spoke another car came past so I repeated myself a lot. Well I’m not a great walker, but I did OK. My legs were wobbling by the time we got back. Highlights were seeing five or six bees feeding on Japanese Anemone plants. Sadly no photo unless my friend sends me a copy of hers.
My friend decided to order this for us on line. Carribean chocolate rum cake. It arrived today, a small cardboard box with a yellow hexagonal box wrapped in bubble wrap inside. When I took it out of the box there was a dark round cake inside, it had a small hole in the middle. It was like a sponge cake. The box said you could microwave it, so I made some custard and warmed it through. Very tasty. And where did it come from. Not Tortuga, but Hampshire. Yummy.
X
Imagine my delight when I saw this yesterday. My lovely friend Stephen Talbot (his copyright ©) has been doing a series of caracatures and this is the one he did if me, in the guise of Miss Marple played by Margaret Rutherford.
If anyone hasn’t heard of the author, she was Agatha Christie. She wrote many detective books, with sleuths like Miss Jane Marple, and Hercule Poirot.
In addition to the books there were several films, made from the 1950’s onwards. Some of them starred famous actors, like Elizabeth Taylor.
There have also been television adaptations, of which my favourite was Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.
Recently the BBC have done a few adaptation of Christie mysteries. But the most recent strayed a long way from the book it was based on. I’ve forgotten what it was called… I think they tried to over simplify the story,, so removed some of the characters.
I would love to see “murder at the gallop” again, its an old film, with wonderful music. Lots of fun.
X
I’ve been given a couple of these cat plates by a friend recently. I really like them. They remind me of Victorian illustration, but the sepia toned cats are on a nice blue background. The back stamp says PrintRun.co and made in China. Microwave and dishwasher proof. That doesn’t give you much information. I could investigate further, but I don’t think I will.
There is a thing which people who live in Stoke-on-Trent do, which is to look at the backstamp on pottery and see where it was made.
So anyway sorry to be quiet, busy trying to learn lines!
I found this posted onto a friends story on Facebook this morning.
I knew she had been ill and had come home from hospital, but because my friend lived in America it was not as easy to keep in touch.
We had spoken over the Internet early last year. I probably should have called he more often. But life gets in the way. I admired her art. I first met her on the Internet at a website called Sketchfu. The site is long gone, but we discussed art and drew pictures and enjoyed our artistic friendship. We both then joined a site called Muzy, which also closed. But a friendship had been made and stuck.
In later years she posted her art to Instagram. Her work was full of beautiful drawings of women and lovely landscapes. All drawn with soft and thin layers of bright colours.
Now she is gone. I won’t see her art anymore. At least a message was posted telling us she has gone. A friend lost. I mourn her passing.
You sat on his lap today,
Fell asleep with a twitch of your tail,
Trusting you could stay,
Trusting that you would be safe.
First time that’s happened
In three years of life
Living with us, but nervous.
Always flighty, flitting, fleeing,
But now content to rest,
On his warm lap
One totally relaxed cat.
Trust. X
Love. X
Friendship. X
I’m here at the Open studios and I keep getting tongue tied. I need to explain about my art, but for some reason I become shy, it’s like trying to display my mind to the world. Cut off the top of my head and scoop out all the swirling thoughts time…. But… My good friend came along today, she greeted people cheerfully, asked them into my studio, said how I was a good artist, (by this time my head was in my hands with embarrassment) and encouraged them to think about commissioning me to do some art for them.
I was really pleased and mortified at the same time. I think it’s that British thing if too much modesty. It’s a learned habit that makes you feel like the “I’m not worthy” characters you see on TV or in books. Do you know what I mean? I felt it was far easier to just say “hi” as people walked past.
Thank you my good friend!
Mallaband-Brown