Sunset, Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent

Posted on July 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Etruria, Heat, Life, Red sky at night, Shelton, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Sunset, WeatherLeave a comment

As we left Etruria tonight a red glow was spreading at the bottom of the grey clouds. As we got up to the top of the hill it had spread across the sky with the sun peeping through. This was a reminder of ‘red sky at night, shepherd’s delight, red sky in the morning shepherd’s take warning’. I’m hoping this means things will cool down tomorrow. I’ve got a lot of things to do. The temperature reached 38.6°C and we are not used to it here. Global warming seems to be getting worse. I do wonder if we can get the temperature under control. The anthropocene era seems likely to be one of mass extinctions sadly.

Cat painting

Posted on July 25, 2019 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic, Acrylic on canvas, Art, Black and white, Black and white cat, Cat, Cat portrait, Design, Life, Painting2 Comments

This was what I was painting at 2am this morning. Bit more to do. I just liked his cheeky look. The background is a bit weird but I might leave it.

Next is a painting of either Mars or Earth. I’ve already done a couple of Jupiter so it would be interesting to paint something different. I just need a decent photo to work from.

Small clematis painting

Posted on July 24, 2019July 24, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic, Acrylic on canvas, Art, Artist, Craft fair, Design, Flower, Flower portrait, Life, Painting2 Comments

Small painting of a clematis flower. Just wanted to do something pretty and still interesting. This may be finished. I haven’t decided yet. So far I’ve started six paintings for the craft fair on Sunday. I’d like to be doing more art to be shown in a gallery, but I also think art is for everyone, and if this is a way to get it out to people?

The problem is deep rooted, artists rarely earn much, and often people want their work virtually for free. I’m a fast painter and I enjoy experimenting with art but that should not make what I do different. I guess it depends on the quality of the work? Also as an artist you can become very self critical. Questioning what you are doing. It’s a difficult thing to deal with. Anyway I keep doing it because I love doing it.

Sunset

Posted on July 23, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Colour, Driving home, Evening, Life, Penkhull, Penkhull sunset, Sunset7 Comments

I was coming home from choir early because I was hit and bothered because its so hot here, (around 30°). But the sunset was fantastic and I just had to stop and take pictures. It developed as I watched.

Resting bee

Posted on July 22, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bee, Close up, Colour photo, Environment, Garden, Heat, Insect, Life, Photo, Pollenator, Weather2 Comments

My husband almost sat on this bee. I tried to give it some water but it flew off.

As the paper said in the seventies “phew what a scorcher”.

I managed to get quite close then used the zoom on my phone. The metal look plastic weave on the chair make it interesting and I like the detail on the bee and the folded wings. You can just see the antenna on the left side so that’s the head end x

Gooseberries

Posted on July 21, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Crop, Environment, Food, Fruit, Garden, Gooseberry, Gooseberry Bush, Growing, Life, Plant5 Comments

The crop! These are off one scraggy bush in the garden that was surrounded by stinging nettles. There is one red one somewhere in the jug from another bush but that one didn’t fruit well and we only found the one. I’m thinking if making a gooseberry and apple pie or cake. I think I’ve got the ingredients in to make one.

Gooseberries are not that popular and have a distinct taste. I can’t explain it, sour, green and fresh? I don’t know if you can buy them from a shop or supermarket, because they are a bit unusual. If I make something I might post a photo.

Watching Apollo 13

Posted on July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Apollo, Apollo 13, Life, Moon, Science, SpaceLeave a comment

sketch-1563574205297

One of my favourite space films. Up there with the Sci-Fi classic 2001 a Space Odyssey.

In this case the film is based on the ill fated flight of Apollo 13. The crew of three were on the way to the moon when one of their oxygen tanks burst when it was stirred. They were left 3/4 of the way to the moon with a shortage of air to breathe. They had to work out how to navigate the space ship, work out how to clear the CO2 that was poisoning their air, work out how to use the equipment with almost no battery power and successfully splash down on the Earth. It was only on the way back that they saw the damage to their service module that they saw the damage and whether the heat shield that protected them from friction from the atmosphere would work.

I guess it’s on because of the 50th anniversary of landing on the moon. Very good film.

Sitting in the summerhouse

Posted on July 18, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Creating, Environment, Garden, Life, Mind, Peace, Poem, Poetry, Summerhouse, ThoughtLeave a comment

I was sitting in the summerhouse this evening and I felt happy for the first time in ages.

Keep going

Keep doing,

Making art,

Meditating.

Seeing positives.

In our garden,

I love the light,

The green,

Refreshing,

Surrounded by life,

By inspiration,

By colour.

Art and imagination,

Release of creation

Serenity

Shumaker-Levy 9

Posted on July 18, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 25 years ago, Astronomy, Blogging, Comet, Courtesy nasa, Hubble, Jupiter, Life, Memory, Science, Shumaker-Levy, SpaceLeave a comment

25 years ago comet called Shumaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter and the world watched as 20 cometary fragments hit the giant planet.

_20190718_170250

Hubble space telescope saw the first large impact, then watched as the fragments continued to collide.

The planet was affected and material from below the cloud layers was thrown up into Jupiter’s upper atmosphere.

Scientists are looking for comets and asteroids that might hit Earth not Jupiter. We are lucky to have the outer gas giants because their gravity can stop some of them getting through to us!

Forgotten?

Posted on July 18, 2019July 18, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Carving, Church Yard, Death, Grave, Gravestones, Life, Local history, Penkhull, Photo, Pollution, Pottery, Sandstone, Smoke, St Thomas churchLeave a comment

Sandstone is a beautiful stone, soft and porous, it can be carved into fine shapes. But as this gravestone shows it also dissolves, especially in out acid rain environment. In this case the stone has turned black, probably from pollution, as Stoke-on-Trent was a very smoky place, due to the coal fired potteries. And yet the church is clean. I don’t know if it has been cleaned but it has had some restoration.

The lettering on the headstone is almost lost. Its almost as if a layer has peeled off. Gone but not forgotten? It depends on whether the family still exists, and whether they still live in the area.

Other stones in the graveyard are in worse or better condition. Some have been turned into steps, gradually wearing away under foot.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life