Bog snorkeling

Posted on October 28, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bog snorkeling, Life, Odd, Peat bog, Sport, Swimming, Wet suitsLeave a comment

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What is this?

Looking at Wikipedia I quote:

“Bog snorkelling is a sporting event in which competitors complete, in the shortest time possible, two consecutive lengths of a water-filled trench cut through a peat bog. Competitors must wear snorkels and flippers and complete the course without using conventional swimming strokes, relying on flipper power alone. A wetsuit is not compulsory, but is often worn.”

I only looked this up because there is a channel identity thing for BBC1 which has bog snorkeling in it. Not having heard of it before, and not knowing that it was a sport I was fascinated by the idea. Its odd what humans get up to. Apparently it’s held in Wales, Ireland, Sweden and Australia?

28 days

Posted on October 28, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 1"challenge, Art, Black and white, Drawing, Life, SketchingLeave a comment

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Well it’s been 28 days since I started the 1″ challenge started with Stoke Urban Sketchers. I’ve only got three more to do. When I look back there are a lot of different ideas in here. It wasn’t always easy to think of things to draw. Only three more days to go.

Supplies

Posted on October 27, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Box canvas, Canvas, Design, Life, Painting, Small canvases, SuppliesLeave a comment

I’ve got a few tiny canvases in for the next lot of pictures for craft tairs I’m doing. I’m seriously thinking about doing some more seasonal scenes, or autumnal ones. I may use reflective or metallic colours on them to give them a different feel.

The problem with getting canvases is that I can’t always get the size I want, they are not always well made, and sometimes the wood is so hard it’s difficult to put screws into them to put mirror plates on them. Also a lot of laces just sell box canvases. They are OK but they are very deep, so they are hard to frame so you have to paint the edges to make them look neat.

These are only small but I paint on even smaller matchbox sizes. I will post more photos when they are painted.

Pear tree leaves

Posted on October 27, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Biro drawing, Cherry tree, Drawing, Environment, Garden, Life, One inch challenge, Sketching, Yellow and greenLeave a comment

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Yellow leaves are hanging on the pear tree. They haven’t fallen yet, the light is shining through them. Sits been sunny for the first time in days. Everything is sodden from the rain. Our stray cat is wandering around pouncing on fallen leaves.

This is my 27th drawing for the one inch drawing challenge for October. I’ve added colour for the first time with some Faber-Castell pencils. It’s only a touch because I was trying for a black and white theme until my black pen ran out of ink. Now I’ve moved over to biro.

Old cars

Posted on October 26, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cars, Design, Environment, Fun, Life, Play, The D Road, TheatreLeave a comment

Part of the set up for the play we went to see were the cars. Old and new. My favourites were the Austin Maxi in mustard yellow, and the bright red Audi Quattro. Both were just inside the door as you came in, together with an old caravan. It set the scene so well. Fascinating.

Reading

Posted on October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Books, Creative writing, Learning, Library, Life, Reading, redundancy, Short storyLeave a comment

He never stopped reading. Even when the toast was burning, or when the kettle boiled. He would sit reading the cereal packet when he was a child, and still did it as an adult.

When the letter came he read it. Then ripped it in half and put it in the bin.

Off to work, silence, cataloguing, putting books back in place. Following the system of the books, the shelves. A to Z, Abracadabra to Zebra.

Enjoyment, organisation, learning. It was fun to him. He’d been there years. He had skills. He knew where the book was that someone would ask for. He knew what he was doing…..

End of day. Home again. He picked up the letter out of the bin..

“Redundancy notice. Head Librarian”.

He looked at the books on the walls of his house. He began to rearrange them.

Crying

Posted on October 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cry, Crying, Digital drawing, Life, Poem, Poetry, Sadness, TearsLeave a comment

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Crying,

In sadness, in anger,

With fear, with hope.

Crying out loud,

Crying with happiness,

Relief.

Crying in dismay.

I cried loudly.

Cry, at the drop of a hat.

Cry-baby

Cry-ogenic

It never gets old

Tears of sadness and happiness.

Home is Where the Art is revisited.

Posted on October 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Design, Exhibitions, Group exhibition, Life, Longport, Newcastle-under-Lyme, One inch challenge, Painting, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, The Brampton museum and art gallery, Waiting room gallery4 Comments

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I’ve has a busy day! I took eight paintings up to the Brampton museum and art gallery for their annual Christmas show, which is an exhibition by a group of local artists to se their art through December. I still have two paintings in there for the Orme Art group show. Then I popped over to the Waiting room gallery to see their ‘Home is where the Art is – revisited’ this is another group show on for a couple of weeks. I have two paintings in it.

I’ve never had so much work exhibited in so many places at once!

Helium balloon…

Posted on October 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Air currents, Anniversary, Balloon, buoyancy, Floating, Fun, Helium, Hydrogen, LifeLeave a comment

I was given a Helium balloon by a friend for our anniversary and its gradually losing Helium as the days go by. Helium can escape because it has the second smallest atom in the periodic table, and can diffuse through the skin of the balloon. Helium is also inert so unlike Hydrogen that has the smallest atoms, it won’t burn. (Hydrogen on the other hand is very reactive and burns with Oxygen in the atmosphere to make water).

The balloon has gradually sunk in the air as its buoyancy has reduced. We gradually cut off the ribbon on it and as that reduced its weight it flew higher. Its also following air currents and drifted around the house. Rather like a drop of water floating in the international space station the balloon has drifted up and down the stairs. When it gets above a radiator it ascends, and when it drifts out of the warm air it descends again. At the moment it’s bobbing around the living room, like one of the giant bubbles in the 1960s series ‘the prisoner’….

A not very interesting anecdote…..

Done

Posted on October 24, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic, Acrylic on canvas, Angel, Design, Finished, graphic, Icon, Life, Painting4 Comments

One more done….

I enjoyed doing this trying to make it ‘iconic’ got a robin painting to finish off. That should be finished tonight. Still more to do though. They will all need mirror plating. These are flat plates screwed onto the back of the paintings so they can be attached to the wall. I will also paint round the edges of each painting to make them look nice. This is called ‘gallery wrapping’. I do it because I can’t afford to frame all my paintings. It also means anyone buying a painting can choose what they want.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life