White lily

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Another one has flowered, sitting in among the nettles and the convolvulus. There’s monbretia in there too.. What’s its newer name? Crocosmia I think. Its like when Fushias suddenly became Surfinias and Geraniums started being called Pelagoniums to differentiate them from the perennial ones.

I went on a walk on Tuesday and found myself pointing out the names of garden plants to my hubby. I don’t know why. I saw a couple of plants that I didn’t recognise.

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What is this. From a distance I thought it was a fushia?

1980’s self portrait

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Oil on canvas

Forty years ago I was at college learning how to paint. I had lots of fun and did some painting too! I used to paint in oils until I discovered how fast and clean acrylics were a decade or so later. I’m a fast painter but acrylics go off very fast so my style changed somewhat. Instead of mixing colours wet in wet on the canvas I ended up trying to get my colours right on the palette. I think I probably ended up with a more splodgy style until I learnt to blend layers on the canvas.

How to depict cuts in arts education?

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I thought I would try and share my idea about possible cuts in art education. It’s along the lines of the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil images. In this case the image is of a school child. Maybe with one eye peeping out. Covering his head are the hands of other children, stopping him seeing art equipment, or hearing music or poetry. Stopping him speaking things like lines from plays or novels.

Art and creativity are so important to the world. Maybe you can push a button and get a car design? Maybe not. At the moment it still takes the efforts of designers, artists, illustrators, musicians, and much more to bring out the creativity of the world.

What are we doing if we consider removing Art from the curriculum? If we make it just the perogative of the rich? What happens if normal, ordinary people aren’t taught to have a critical eye, to have the ability to see beauty. I see a world which is almost turning into a 1984 situation. Dumbed down and quiescent?

 

Walking!

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A couple of hours and about four miles. Up hill and down dale. My feet hurt. I haven’t been that far for years. By the time I walked down our hill at the end of the walk my legs started wobbling underneath me!

It started as a gentle walk up our steep hill. Left along a slightly flatter road to meet (at a social distance) a couple of friends. Then we walked around the contour of the hill we live on. This photo is looking out over the Trent Valley across the school fields. Then right up the hill and saying goodbye to our friends. Me, my hubby and our friend we usually walk with carried on down a side street. Down hill, then up a pathway between roads, I didn’t take a photo but there is a high wall with a huge crack in it. It felt like it could topple and fall. We came out of the pathway onto another road. Downhill towards the old hospital site, past the local cemetery. We walked through side streets, past terraced houses, slowly wending our way towards home. We stopped off at a corner shop to sit and rest on a brick wall under the canopy of a large street tree. We bought ice creams to cool down and sat for a few minutes. When I got up I was feeling very stiff and my feet hurt. From there we went down a hill with a view over the south if the city, enjoying a cool breeze. We left our friend there and we walked up a side street, then down our hill to the house at the bottom. I had to hold my hubbies arm as my legs had started to wobble!

I feel tired but happy to have done another walk!

Colour v black and white

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When I think about my vision I am so happy that I can see with the full spectrum of visible light (colour) . I know different animals can only see certain colours, sometimes just black and white and but others like snakes and insects can even see into the infra red and ultra violet.

Then there is colour blindness, where some cells in a person’s eye are not properly developed or can be missing. Then they have colours missing from their vision. For instance red green colour blindness. Apparently males suffer from this more than females. As I say I feel lucky to have good colour vision. X

Chilled cat

My cat has taken to sleeping in this cardboard box, and I just saw the sign on the side ‘Chill 2/4°C’.

I had to get my camera and take a couple of photos on him. He might not be the cutest cat in the world, but he certainly is the sweetest to me.

He half closes his eyes, and I’m sure he smiles! He finds various places to sleep. This is his favourite place at the moment.

My computer died?

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Oh darn! (or worse words!)

Last night my computer just switched off. Everything went black, the monitor stopped working, the printer stopped. The only thing still on was my speakers. I think it was a thermal cut out? One of my transformers was very hot and the extention lead that things were plugged into had stopped working (the light on it was out). So, back to the computer shop. All my course work is on it. I can’t do things on my phone! So DARN it!

Grr

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Grr, I’m a tiger, I like this picture of me. It’s me and it isn’t.

I wish I’d done this as a face painting. But it’s on a phone app. That’s why it doesn’t quite fit to my face.

I don’t remember it blurring the area around my face. But only my hair. Weird.

I think of the words ‘Tyger, tyger burning bright, in the forests of the night. What immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry?

One day there might not be any Tigers left, then all we will have are photos, film and art. The memory of great creatures, small creatures, so many plants and animals that no longer exist…