New paintings and regular art updates.
A lovely dog we saw while we were out a couple of weeks ago. It was a mixed breed but I can’t remember exactly what? A shitzu crossed with a corgi? It was small and sweet and friendly. I took a photo as I was thinking I might do a small painting including it. I’m not sure what to do in the background. Why are small fluffy dogs so cute? I think it’s the sweet eyes and nose.
I just took my Heron painting to the cafe at Etruria Industrial Museum to swap it for the one of the waterfall that I have sold. I will try and deliver that to my friend soon who bought it from me. I need to do some more work because I have the opportunity of showing some small paintings at a new venue that is opening up in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent, near the Middleport pottery. I’m trying to grab opportunity where I can.
Hubby was playing with a model aeroplane yesterday. The trouble was the shutter on my camera reacted a few seconds after I pressed it, so the plane was not in the picture. I had a silly idea. I would superimpose a model plane on the photo. Problem, I don’t have that sort of software on my phone. So I drew a plane instead. Its badly drawn and I had to erase bits of it to get the general shape. But you get the idea of what was happening in reality.
Flaking paint scatters
Like dry blue snow
Bubbled by sunight
A patch of metal on show
So scrape off the old
And paint on the new
Go on, be bold
Then damp as the dew
Paint the wall gold
A liquid will run
Until it solidifies
In the hot sun.
Tuesdays #bandofsketchers prompt was light. I drew one of my blue glass candle sticks in felt pen. There’s too much clutter on the shelf so the shadow is imagined as is the candle. I have drawn smoke from the wick which is also visible in the shadow. I could have added a flame but don’t have a memory of how it would look.
I just optimised about 100 photos on my phone, but as usual it’s mixed everything up now. Photos I took yesterday are right down my camera roll and this picture I created digitally is now number 1.
There must be a logical explanation for what happens but I don’t know why. I’m not a computer expert so I don’t understand the ins and outs of what is going on. Still it’s interesting to see old photos popping up again. Mostly ones I have made into patterns.
Red is the colour I loved as a child. Not pink. I had to have a bright red polkadot dress. I remember seeing a red setting sun for the first time when I was small. I liked red sweets, though I don’t remember the flavour. Red roses were beautiful, and red toffee apples were tasty.
Even now I like wearing red, but I’m a bit more adventurous, liking deep reds and maroons and bright reds. I still don’t like pink though.
It took centuries to discover why plants are (usually) green and how they grow and create food from thin air. I was watching a programme about botany last night and there was a long explanation about the science of it.
First people experimented by weighing a plant before and after tending it for five years and finding that although it gained weight it did not affect the soil. Then they tried growing plants but without light, which meant they would not thrive. They realised that they created starch in their leaves, but took time realising they absorbed carbon dioxide and gave out oxygen as a byproduct.
The whole programme was very informative but I wasn’t taking notes. But the idea that humans could understand it and may be able to use the process artificially is amazing. The ability to turn sunlight into fuel would be something that could help humankind.
Sadly the two craft fairs I signed up for have been postponed because they fall too close to Christmas, there are other similar fairs on at the same time and the cost of living makes them less likely to be profitable because no one will have any money.
I would like to participate in ones next year but how can I be certain that things will be any better then? People are going to suffer financially and luxuries like arts and crafts may not be saleable. The whole idea of being an artist and trying to sell work seems less and less feasible.
Meanwhile, I’m seriously thinking about leaving my studio at Spode. I didn’t use it very often since Covid happened because I’m still avoiding people. I don’t know if I can afford it any more. Life isn’t terrible but sometimes you need to be sensible.
Later today the United Kingdom is going to be told the new price cap for Gas and Electricity which will affect the cost of bills. The price is set to skyrocket to about £2300 a year in October but then £4200? Per year in January! Bills are going to be unaffordable for the poorest in society and the question of whether to heat or eat becomes very bad if all you can afford to buy is cheap tinned food but you can’t heat it up.
The UK is supposed to be the sixth richest nation in the world but we seem more interested in giving the fuel companies shareholders masses of money instead of supporting our citizens. Our government is currently deciding who will replace Boris Johnson by letting 160,000 members of the British Conservative party choose the next prime minister instead of doing something about the cost of living crisis. Note to Liz Truss who is likely to win. If you cut taxes that’s fine for the rich, but a lot of people don’t pay them because their incomes are already too low. A 1% cut of nothing is nothing.
Mallaband-Brown