New paintings and regular art updates.
What are your future travel plans?
It doesn’t have to be hot
It doesn’t have to be sandy.
I’d like there to be a pier
That is still working this year.
Maybe a promenade
Brass band playing a tango
Or Waltzers spinning and twirling
Horses galloping on the Carousel.
That would suit me very well..
Gulls stealing chips
Waves rolling in
My head in a spin
From the loud wind blowing…
And of course a stick of rock
Peppermint flavoured
The resorts name written
right through it.
My female cat likes to drink from the tap. Not in the kitchen, but in the bathroom. I guess she likes the running water. Sometimes she gets on the sink and drinks from the tap (faucet) there.
Cats are strange. They have their own purrsonalities. They can wrap people round their paws with ease. They are beautiful, graceful, clever. I like dogs, but I could not give one the exercise it needs. Cats are able to go off into the world and use their skills to play. I know they are predators but they are not always bad. I love them.
What would you change about modern society?
Something needs to change. As the world gets more complicated, resources diminishing, people may be becoming more selfish?
But is that because we see so much more of the bad things going on in the world? It is only since film and TV and then the Internet that we have been able to see wars and conflicts in real time. We are not always sheltered by time or censorship of terrible events. Computers give us access to horrendous content that could change the way we think. But statistics show that in some countries crime has decreased considerably over the years.
As countries seem to be heading towards populist, right wing agendas, perhaps we should look at the ethics of news, bring in compassion and empathy. We could go back to religious rules, like turning the other cheek, enacting laws so that the weapons of war are not easily available, or working against theft and violence. But it doesn’t have to be a religious interpretation. Not all of those rules make sense. Why not work with humanitarian or humanist ethics? Listen to world courts and follow their precepts.
If compassion and empathy were taught in school we might not change the current situation but we could change our futures or our children’s futures.
Florets unfurl
The hydrangea bursts
A firework flower
Bursting into life!
I’m watching a film called Yesterday starring Himesh Patel, Lily James and Ed Sheeran. The premise is that a failing musician has a bike accident when all the power goes off in the world for 12 seconds. He wakes up in hospital and when he gets out he finds out that none of his friends have heard of the Beatles (a 1960’s and 70’s pop group).
The story continues to tell the tale of his life and integrates Beatles songs into it. I don’t want to say much more, but it’s great to hear those old songs again. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up as I watched the film.
If you want to see something funny and life affirming on a wet Sunday night this is one worth watching.
Flowers everywhere. I love these deep pink petunias. It’s a close up of one of my hanging baskets. When the sun shines they seem to glow.
The head in the background is a ceramic one I made about 30 years ago. It’s got a few flowers trailing from it that managed to survive the winter.
There is an ancient song from the 14th century I think?
Sumer is icumen in,
Loude sing cuckou!
Groweth seed and bloweth meed,
And springth the wode now.
Sing cuckou!
Ewe bleteth after lamb,
Loweth after calve cow,
Bulloc sterteth, bucke verteth,
Merye sing cuckou!
Cuckou, cuckou,
Wel singest thou cuckou:
Ne swik thou never now!
We sing this at choir practice (with slightly less difficult wording).
Taking a petal from my flower photos earlier. I decided to use my sketchbook app to try and create a floral pattern. The symmetry tool was used to create a nine sectioned flower. Then I coloured it in with symmetry and non symmetry. Finally I put this through a scenery filter in my Photodirector app. Not AI but definitely digital.
Dogs or cats?
Cats are very loving, except when they give you the cold shoulder! They are aloof but also demanding. They can be funny.
One advantage, you don’t have to take them for a walk, just install a catflap!
They can be cheeky, friendly, mad, crazy, and run about so fast they are like miniature cheetahs!
They like company, and will try and get your attention when you least expect it. Walking over your keyboard and flopping down just as you get to that important clause in the contract you were writing.
By the way I still like dogs, but I’ve grown up with cats and I love them.
Look at you with your golden eyes
Staring at me, whiskers engaged,
Ready to pounce, or yawn, or sneeze
You just do what you please.
Golden eyes, not green or yellow
But gloriously strong in colour
You know what you want
As you stare at me
Food and cuddles
Clearly!
Which activities make you lose track of time?
I can’t remember where I took this photo. I think it might have been the Trentham Gardens show gardens?
I lose track of time when I visit (which is not very often). I will try and get a friend to come with me so I can explore a bit further. It takes me a while to walk around a garden, and I frequently take photos so that I can rest on the way round. I’m slow and not sure so handrails can come in handy. But I love seeing how gardens change with the seasons. But sometimes my progress is glacial! I keep checking my heart points on my phone. They generally stick at 0 because I’m so slow!
Mallaband-Brown