Heron WIP

I decided to transform the reeds painting, an abstract picture I thought I had finished yesterday. It was a bit abstract but it didn’t fit in with the other paintings I had been doing. What to do? It needed some more colour and a focus. I added glittery, shimmery paint between the reeds to try and make the water behind the reeds stand out. I was thinking of adding a small bird like a Reed Bunting, or a Coot. But in the end I decided on a Heron. The colours fit in, it’s camouflaged but recognisable. This is still a work in progress.

Light through leaves

I noticed how light shines through the leaves of this plant. The leaves are spread out so the light gets to most of them. Looking at trees, I can see the leaves do the same thing. They spread out and don’t overlap much. If you look closely at trees and other plants you can see the leaf pattern fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. Sometimes when you see a bush the leaves are all on the outside, close fitting, and the centre is just branches and twigs. The internal area has been shaded out by the ball of leaves around it. Maximum photosynthesis and maximum food for the plants. Nature is wonderful, and evolution is amazing.

One more for tonight

A doodle based on the previous post about the environment. They say allergies are caused by being bought up in conditions that are too clean so the body does not learn how to react normally to its surroundings.

Feeling stressed

Thinking of nature

But suffering hay-fever!

Eyes water

When I try and commune

With the outside world

The pollen

So tiny

Can keep me trapped.

Sneezing

Enclosed

Removed from nature!

I like snakes

When I was little we had a talk at school about snakes and reptiles. At the end the person giving the talk gave us a chance to hold a snake. A lot of the girls were scared, they thought they would be slimy and cold. I don’t think I was scared so I put my hand up and got called forward. I ended up with a snake wrapping itself round my arm. The scales were dry and shiny and beautifully patterned. It was so interesting that a few years later I was at a nature display and held a six or eight foot long python across my shoulders. I also went to an open day a few years ago and held this snake (well it wrapped itself round me). I’ve also found that I quite like tarantulas. I would not have either as a pet, but I do think taking a look at things like this isn’t as scary as it looks, as long as they are not venomous!

Hanging baskets have arrived

Joyous day, we get a few hanging baskets every year, we had a call from the farm today. They were ready! Even though we were expecting them I was overwhelmed at how big and beautiful they are. If yo buy a hanging basket from a shop they often only have one species of flowers in them. But these are packed with petunias, fushias, begonias, lobelia, and other plants I can’t name. It’s not all their work, the rest is our handiwork. X