Flutter by

I like messing about as you know. In this case it’s a butterfly drawn with nail polish. I also used some felt pens to fill in the gaps. Yes it’s a bit strange, but I prefer doing this to just throwing the stuff away. At least the nail polish is locked into the paper and not sent off to landfill somewhere.

I will carry on doing drawings with them till they run out. They could be used to do illustrations. I wouldn’t use them in a children’s book! It might give them the wrong ideas and I am careful to apply a bit at a time to reduce fumes.

I did draw with boot polish once as part if a mark making class. It’s amazing what you can do…. Didn’t JMW Turner add mud and sand to his paintings?

Fruits….

Blackberries, before they are ripe, before the sun ripened them. Turning them juicy and sweet. I thought this image that I’d duplicated and mirrored made them look almost like insect eyes.

There are patterns that seem to replicate each other in the world and the universe. By playing with images you can get some startling effects.

Emotion

Todays band of sketchers prompt was emotion. I tried to draw myself doing an evil laugh. Permanent marker drawing. I was drawing by the light of a standard lamp to excentuate the shadows on my face. It’s a bit scruffy and odd because some of the pens are running out and it was difficult to differentiate between the colours on the pen tops. I wanted to say ‘Grr Argh!’ which was the sound that was at the end of Buffy the Vampire slayer programmes, oh yes I was a Buffy fan.

Orchids

This is a duplicated photo of the orchids in my window. I thought they were hard to grow, but they seem to thrive on the neglect they get from me. I generally just give them a bit of water once a week. I think you are supposed to mist them with water and give them orchid food but that doesn’t happen. I did try repotting them but I killed one because I didn’t know they like clear pots so the roots get light. Some of the roots are ariel ones that need to be allowed freedom from the pot. One of my plants has sent out two flower spikes since I got it. I’m hoping it will do it again.

Asleep, dreaming

After reading the cycling magazine the cat fell into a deep sleep. As I watched him his back legs started to kick and wheel, like he was pushing pedals, hard. In his dreams he was riding a small bike, resting his forepaws on softly covered handle bars. Cycling up and down the rooves, down into guttering, splashing along, kicking leaves down to the ground. Now he’s going for a wheelie, front wheel pulled up. Leaping the gap between two houses, tail flying like a flag. Eventually, after half an hour of chasing his tail on the bike, round and round in rattling circles, he falls gently into a quiet sleep but remembering his ‘mad cat’ adventures.

horse on its side

OK, I dont know why I like this

but this horse

on its side

could be stone

waiting to be carved

hewn out of rock

pumice from a volcano

found in an ancient town

or modern art

tipped sideways to shock

graffitti painted in white

on a famous building?

or slapped onto shutters

before they open

to the next day’s sun.