Mango juice

Posted on April 24, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Challenge, Drawing, Drink, Food, Life, Mango, Mango juice, North West, Sketch, Sketchfu, SouthLeave a comment

IMG_20190423_035539_714

Another challenge drawing from about 10 years ago. I think this was Mango juice over ice looking at the colour of the liquid. I never tasted Mango juice until my thirties I think. And a real Mango? Probably in my forties. They were just not sold in local shops. Its the same with figs, I never realised how delicious they are. The world has changed in my lifetime. Probably better for the majority of the North and West of the World. Not so much the southern continents. I wish life was fairer where everyone could taste Mango juice.

N’er cast a clout till May is out…

Posted on April 23, 2019April 23, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blossom, Environment, Garden, Hawthorn, Life, May, PlantsLeave a comment

May blossom? It erupts in spring, flowering in masses of tiny flowers. The proverb doesn’t mean that you have to wait till the end of May to wear less clothes but just until the May (hawthorn blossoms) are out.

New business cards

Posted on April 22, 2019April 22, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Business cards, Life, Painting, Spode4 Comments

_20190422_210540

I’ve had some new business cards. Shiny, new and based on one if my paintings.

My previous set were based on a painting of a spode plate but it’s good to have a change.

Not much else to say really. I’ve decided to just sign my paintings Mallaband-Brown as fitting the Christine or C in takes up a lot of space. These also reflect my love of colour and experiment.

Maybe one day I will be better known, but I’m trying..

Sunday and Monday sketches

Posted on April 22, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white, Dorothy Clive garden, Drawing, Etruria, Life, Sketch, Sketching6 Comments

Not good photos of these. I’ve been using a black felt pen and them a broad nib cartridge pen. I took the photos of them in bright sunshine so they were overexposed. I’ve used the curves option on my phones photo editor to try and get them less bright but on one of them this caused a blue cast. The drawing of the cup is just a doodle because we were messing about with clay.

Oak man

Posted on April 22, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Design, Dorothy Clive garden, Fun, Garden, Green man, Life, Oak man, Plant sale, Plants, StaffordshireLeave a comment

I’m a bit disappointed with my phones camera. Although this image of an oak green man came out OK three other photos of similar green men didn’t register. I think it’s because I have too many photos saved and as most of them are MB not KB they are too large as files so they take up too much space.

This oak man was for sale at the Dorothy Clive garden near Woore, Staffordshire. It was rammed with people, there was a great plant sale on, but it was crowded with hundreds of people. We struggled to get a seat and had a quick lunch. I usually go there to see the rhododendrons in flower but it’s a couple of weeks before they will be out in the quarry garden. In the meantime they had a massive plant sale with stalls so we came home with about 15 varied and interesting plants. Glad to be home to get a rest.

Katkins in the sun

Posted on April 21, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Green, Industrial archaeology, Life, Marl pit, Mining, Photography, Staffordshire, Staffordshire wildlife Trust, Stoke-on trent, Westport lakeLeave a comment

DSC_1678_optimized

A warm evening in March, out at Westport lake. One of my favourite places for a walk. Over the last few years the trees have grown and the management of the lake has been taken over by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. The sun reflects off the water and ripples from the swimming birds make it sparkle. The lake was artificially created from the remains of a marl pit (where they dug out the clay for potteries) and old mine workings. It was created for wildlife in the 1980s I think when Shelton Bar Steel works closed ?

Life spreads and grows. Greenery overtakes the tallest buildings, ivy scrambles, buddlea infiltrates. And beauty comes from waste and destruction.

A digital drawing cat with wings

Posted on April 21, 2019 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Cat, Cat with wings, Digital art, Digital drawings, Life, Painting idea, Sketchfu, Wings6 Comments

IMG_20190421_110509_998

Oh I did like drawing this. It must be 10 years ago. I like my digital experiments. This may well be turned into a painting. That’s why I like experimenting. My mind can be free. This was another sketchfu drawing.

Wallflowers and dianthus

Posted on April 21, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Environment, Gardening, Life, Plants, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Urban greeningLeave a comment

DSC_1833_optimized (4)

I shared this a few days ago as part of a group of photos but I came back to it because I loved the vibrant colours. It goes with my mood today. Gold wallflowers and pink dianthus I think are the types of flowers.

An artist at Spode planted and looks after this area just outside the spode studios. They always cheer me up when I go in. To see them in the middle of industrial delapidation lifts my spirits.

On the road that passes the site there was a project called greening Stoke where various shop fronts and bits of derelict land were planted up with wild flowers. They are still growing. Good to see green in the urban landscape.

You’ve got a spider in your ear….

Posted on April 21, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Drum, Ear, Fun, Hearing, Humour, Life, Poem, Poetry, Spider, Wax, Web2 Comments

_20190421_190008 you’ve got a spider in your ear,

with a heart on its back.

It’s smiling gently

As it builds its web.

It stops thoughts leaking out

when you lie on your side.

Stops ear wax escaping

And keeps bed bugs out.

It plays on your eardrum

Tapping timpani

When you are asleep!

So don’t be afraid if you see a spider in my ear.

It’s just looking after it

and keeping it clean.

Blossom and pigeons

Posted on April 21, 2019April 21, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Birds, Blossom, Colour, Fun, Life, Photo bombed, Photography, Pigeons, Pink, Pink blossom, SpringLeave a comment

My picture of pink blossom today, photo bombed by pigeons! I might turn the top half of the photo into a painting, the pigeons just add some movement to it. This year the blossom has been amazing. My cherry blossom is starting to fade and blow off the tree. I don’t know if that’s due to cold nights or drought as the weather has been very dry. There are thunder storms due later in the week. I guess that will remove the blossom.