New paintings and regular art updates.
As the last few minutes to midnight tick down I wish I was at a midnight service for Christmas. There isn’t one this year, and it makes me sad not to be able to go. It’s the carols that really get to me. I think Hark the Herald Angels sing is my favourite. I remember being in the school choir. I wasn’t very good, I think they used me for volume!
Stay safe this festive week, and kee well. No doubt I will add to this blog tomorrow… I don’t think it will be very exciting though!
A Clarice Cliff pottery pattern that I painted as a mural in the Leopard Hotel in Burslem, Stoke on Trent. The design is called umbrellas. It’s one I would love to own.
Nostalgia is that warm feeling you get when you see or remember old or ancient images or things. I haven’t looked up the actual definition. But things like this, or even old TV shows like The original series of Star Trek, give me a warm fuzzy feeling. I know somehow I’m safe, like I have gone back in time, as a memory or a thing I learned about in the past.
I get the same thing with the James Stewart film It’s a wonderful life. I think nostalgia and being nostalgic must be good and calming for the mind. The equivalent of a mental sigh.
Oh to be able to go out in warm sunshine. To be able to sit on the ground (I can’t get up if I try and get down). This is a sketch I must have done a few years ago. The picnic blanket colours are probably made up to show up against the grass? The hands are a bit odd, but it is quite a speedy coloured pencil sketch so I guess that’s the cause. I think I was drawing on oil paint paper? It’s got quite a strong texture. You can see how the pencil has got gaps in it where there are dimples in the surface.
Nice memory, can I go back in time please?
I wrote this poem on Facebook a year ago. The Wassail which would have been in January, had been cancelled so I wrote this poem. It might be cancelled again in January 2022.
Drink mulled cider
Dance and turn
beat the apple bough
Sing and burn
Fires to fight
And defeat the dark
Bring good fortune
To the bark.
Wassail the folk
Who sing in praise
A happy new year
And prosperity raise.
Remembered wassail
But not this time
Socially distanced
Won’t be the same.
I just saw a photo of this painting and thought of simpler times. When people could meet in groups, no one wore face coverings, and there was less fear in the world.
The conversation flows, there is gentle banter, there are smiles and laughter. People drink and eat and share food, a mouthful or two of delicious fruit or a compote. Wine and beer, fruit juice and water. The voices murmur, no need to shout through a mask and at a distance. I hope we can go back to more carefree times, but we will have to see. Stay safe. X
I’m going to shrink a lot of my images to thumbnail size and derlete the old photos. It’s going to take some time, but my phone memory and WordPress memories keep getting fuller. I don’t like doing it because I want people to see my art, but I’m hoping if you look on the images on a tablet and a computer you will be able to see them OK?
I hope the blogs will still be acceptable. I am also deleting a few older images. I’m on 97.7% full media at the moment. It’s going to take ages to try and reduce my file sizes, hopefully the words don’t take up too much space.
A friend here, @stoneronarollercoaster just asked what book got people into reading as a child.
I remember reading Myths and Legends books from quite early on. The story of Pandora box for instance. I remember them when I was about eight or nine. And when I was older I liked the Nancy Drew Mysteries then Agatha Christie stories.
But the main book that got me was when I was about ten I read ‘Old Yeller’ a book that shocked me as it was about a dog that had caught rabies. I remember it was very sad and made me really aware of death. I’ve never read it again. Maybe I should. I’ve been a bibliophile ever since.
One of my old digital drawings on a now defunct website called Sketchfu. I drew it when the Lord of the Rings came out. I have forgotten the actor who played him although I know Orlando Bloom played Legolas. I know the actor also played a long distance horse rider in a film about a horse that races over the Sahara. The horse wasn’t pure blood but one of Americas wild mustang horses. I can’t remember the film name! My memory is getting full of holes….
Tulips bloomed
Scent filled the air
Warm breezes
Touched my hair.
purple flowers
Proud and bright
Give enjoyment
To my sight.
May was gentle
Soft and true
Forget-me-nots
Bloomed in blue.
Fine flowers
Grown up tall.
Magic bower
Soft waters fall.
Memory of
a lovely day.
Gives my heart
Delight today.
My mind is a bit muddled at the moment. I am dealing with lots of ‘stuff’ and I feel overwhelming worry that I won’t get back on track. My life physically has been bothering me and I’m waiting for an appointment to try and find answers. I’m dealing with things for myself, my family and friends, and because I can put a good case for things I don’t mind helping. But when you persue various options and each one closes down it gets more and more frustrating. I wish I could herd cats, work out the best thing for us. I had to ask for help recently, and that was difficult. I’m a proud person and I don’t like to think I can’t cope. But you know those straws that broke the camels back? I think they are building up. Maybe I need to hibernate and look after myself, but turning away from others is not in my nature.
Mallaband-Brown