A year ago

Posted on May 20, 2019May 20, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Chatterley and whitfield, Countryside, Etruria, Fun, Gladstone, Life, Little Moreton Hall, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Urban SketchersLeave a comment

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A year ago I was outside Chatterley and Whitfield colliery drawing with the Stoke Urban Sketchers.

This year Stoke-on-Trent is hosting the United Kingdom Urban Sketchers annual festival from 7th to 9th June 2019! There may be a lot if sketchers descending on the city.

There is a lot of industrial archaeology and architecture here so I think people will enjoy it. Hopefully I will be able to get involved in it.

There are lots of places in Stoke-on-Trent and in the surrounding countryside which are worth drawing. I would love people to come here and fall in love with this city.

Portrait from 2000

Posted on May 20, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 2000, Art, Drawing, Life, Old art, Picture, PortraitLeave a comment

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This is a portrait of Cyril I did in 2000. I hadn’t seen it since then.

But then we went to an exhibition by Cyril Tilston a few weeks ago at Centre Space in the Spode heritage visitor centre. Cyril had a photography show and we got chatting.

He took one of my cards and then contacted me over the weekend. He had found this drawing. We had met 19 years ago at another exhibition. We had got discussed art and I had invited him to a drawing group we used to hold in a local pub. So I must have drawn him at the group.

So interesting to look at my drawing style then. I think my eyesight was better then, my hand less shaky. The lines I drew stronger than now. But I’m glad I still draw and paint. Maybe I will have the chance of drawing him again.

Sleight of hand

Posted on May 19, 2019May 19, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Card trick, Entertainment, Fun, Jack Wild, Legerdamane, Life, Magic, Magic tricksLeave a comment

Today I went to our local hall because we were doing auditions for this years mystery plays.
I got chatting to someone holding a pack of cards. He said he was waiting for someone and had bought the cards with him to fill in some time.

He is a Magician, stage name Jack Wild and he was brilliant. He showed us a couple of tricks. I don’t understand how he did them. They were slick, they were right in front of my eyes and they were mind boggling. It was only a deck of cards and finding the card I chose but it was impressive.

Yes I know that it’s just a skill, but it’s a brilliant skill. If I ever want a magician I would book him.

Favourite flower

Posted on May 18, 2019May 18, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Colour, Design, Garden, Idea, Life, Nature, Painting, Poppy, RedLeave a comment

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An acrylic on canvas from 2013. This was one of my favourite paintings and I used it as my profile picture for a few years. I’m no longer sure it’s as good as I thought. I would change the background to a darker grey green now to make the red Zing even more.

I think I will base another painting on it though. I’m thinking of doing a long thin painting that could be hung horizontally or vertically. The design would have to work in both directions and perhaps even upside down.

Forty years later

Posted on May 18, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 40 years, Change, Fine Art, Life, Painting, PoliticsLeave a comment

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It’s forty years since I started my Fine Art degree. I’ve changed a lot in that time but I still paint and enjoy art. I’m trying to make a living at art which isn’t easy, but at least I’m trying.

The world has changed too. 40 years ago we had a female prime minister?! But we didn’t have food banks, we hadn’t had the collapse of the banks we hadn’t had partial privatisation of our health service. But it all started then. Politics is mad. People vote for making things worse for themselves. I think I shall keep calm and carry on painting.

Doves

Posted on May 17, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Bird, Digital drawing, Doves, Life, Peace, Pigeon, ReligionLeave a comment

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I wonder why doves are the symbol of peace? They are beautiful, they are white which might signify purity. The dove was released by Noah on his Ark and came back with vegetation in the Bible story. But that’s is not about Peace. I know Picasso painted the dove of peace many times and it appears on Christian art. But where does it come from. Does it appear in other religions?

For instance why is the symbol of peace not a pigeon?

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Well you never know?

Owl

Posted on May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Bird, Blogging, Environment, Great grey owl, Life, Owl, Work in progress2 Comments

I started a new painting last night. It began as a spiral, but then I found a photo of a great grey owl so it’s morphed. I’m quite happy with it as it is as a sketch, but I will finish it. I’ve got a few half finished paintings but I haven’t had the energy to do them over the last few days. Anyway the background is going to be of acer leaves, the ones that look like fingers, because I want to give it a feel of autumn.

Might do a bit more today. I usually do a lot of things on a Thursday but I’m not up to it. _20190516_205231

Done some more x

Idea for a quilt

Posted on May 15, 2019May 15, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Butterfly, Colours, Design, Idea for quilt, Life, Pattern, Quilt, Sewing ideaLeave a comment

Just playing with the abstract pictures I drew, making a butterfly pattern then duplicating it, adding borders as if each piece was sewn together. I think I could make something out of this using cut pieces of patterned cloth using the butterfly as a template. I’m not sure about the colours as it gets mixed into the pattern. I wondered if I added some black to the background.

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I sort of like the more random feel to this. At least I am being creative.

Abstracts

Posted on May 15, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Abstract, Art, Blogging, Colour, Digital art, Drawing, Fun, Life, SketchLeave a comment

Something more abstract. Playing with colour and pattern. All I started with was a photo of the wallpaper on the ceiling. I edited it to change the colours, then added a few coloured strokes in my sketcher app. Then I changes the hue in the phones photo editing suite.

I wish I felt well enough to paint, but little steps….

Tired of being ill

Posted on May 15, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Digital sketch, Fed up, Life, Micro poetry, Poem, Poetry, Tired2 Comments

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Sharp spring cold

Throat burning

Nose running

Fed up of it

Tired of it

I hate this

I want to paint

Instead I sleep

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life