Not in…

Posted on March 28, 2026 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Fine Art, I like it, Life, Open exhibition, Painting, Phoenix, unsuccessful4 Comments

It wasn’t to be. Yesterday I thought I’d been lucky, a friend had been called her entry for the open exhibition was not successful. I waited all day, no call, no email. Could it be?

Discussed with another artist, you’re a cert she said. No problem.

About 10 am, the call came, I waited a second to decide whether I was assuming yes or no? Joy or gloom?

Sorry, you were not successful this time. A pleasant woman’s voice.. Gloom, then a realisation. I had managed to do something that I hadn’t done for a while. I’d painted a piece of art.. I don’t care about the judges. I LIKE it!

More work

Posted on March 22, 2026 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged acrylic on copper, altering, Fine Art, Life, Memory, Mountain, Painting, Reflection, Sketching2 Comments

I decided to try and improve this painting because it was too reflective and the metallic copper sheet it was painted on was showing through too much. I seem to have worked reasonably well but it took effort to get the acrylic paint to stick onto the surface, but that was the problem on the original picture. Acrylic on a metallic surface.

Hubbys cat painting

Posted on January 1, 2026 Posted in Cat, Fine Art, Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on board, Colourful, Creative, Hubby, Life, Loss, Missed, Painting, thoughtful1 Comment

He didn’t paint much, but this painting was one of our first cats, he also did a tornado shaped painting in many colours, and a sunflower painting (all acrylics on board). These were his efforts at creating some exuberant pieces of art.

He also made drawings which he did in an A4 sized hardback blue book. It’s crammed with notes and thoughts. Often quite disjointed, he was by training a chemist/physicist. That didn’t stop him enjoying the artistic side of life. I will always miss his thoughtfulness and quirky creativity.

Old self portrait

Posted on November 28, 2025 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Cat, Fine Art, Life, Memory, Noise, Painting, queen cat, self portrait1 Comment

Painted in 1991? that was when I flirted with getting my first studio, but one of the three people sharing it enjoyed playing loud music too much. Eventually it drove me out. I just wanted to paint in quiet and peace.

The cat was one of the first cats I had when I came to live in Stoke on Trent. She was extremely intelligent and followed me everywhere or rode on my shoulder. I was in my early thirties when I painted this. It was acrylic on canvas. Called familiar friends.

Wet cat

Posted on November 18, 2025 Posted in Cat, Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Cat, Funny, ginger cat, Illustration, Life, Memory, Painting, Rain, Watercolour, Wet catLeave a comment

My Cat is black and white so when he comes in from the rain he often looks like an otter. He’s like that tonight but it’s too dark to get a decent photo so here’s a little illustration I did of a cat walking through the rain… He looks very fed up!

An old doodle

Posted on November 9, 2025 Posted in Cat, Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Cat, Doodle, frowns, ginger cat, Painting, splashes, Stripes, tabby cat, WatercolourLeave a comment

I did this years ago. I still love this little watercolour doodle. I splashed blue paint onto the paper then I think I added the cat… I loved adding his frowny face. Poor cat, getting soaked. X

The Autumn

Posted on October 12, 2025 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Autumn, autumn puddle, Fine Art, Memories, Painting, Poem, Poetry, seasonsLeave a comment

Leaves Fall in Autumn

Flowers spring up in Spring

Summer sums the year up

Winter does what? Wint?

Seasons they are all….

Never know what words mean

They are only sounds,

What is the word Autumn

Two syllables round.

It’s more interesting to say

Than a bland word like fall.

A remnant of history

That our ancient world recalls.

Red horse

Posted on October 10, 2025 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Etruria Industrial museum, Exhibition, Fine Art, Painting, Red horseLeave a comment

My friend Eve let me used a black and white photo of a horse as the basis of this acrylic on canvas titled “Red Horse”. I had thought of doing a blue or green version too, but I think this works best. He’s certainly a character. On display at the Etruria Industrial museum in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. I think he could be one of the horses that used to haul barges along the Trent and Mersey canal.

Blurry photo

Posted on October 5, 2025 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, UncategorizedTagged Anniversary, Fine Art, Hubby, Loss, Love, Me, Memories, Oil on canvas, Painting, Portrait, Sad, Time, YoungLeave a comment

It would have been our anniversary today. We lived together for years before we married. I painted him when I was about 20 and he still sits in this painting looking out at me. I did a lot of drawings and portraits of him over the years, I am glad there are visible memories of him.

What will happen when I go? Who knows what my relatives will want to do with all my art? Will a local museum take them, or will they just get skipped? I don’t know, I won’t be here but I would like to have some recognition. The trouble is I’m very eclectic, I paint for my self in these images. Ah well, more questions…

Walter, found

Posted on September 12, 2025 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, UncategorizedTagged Emulsion, Fine Art, Mural, Painting, Stoke-on trent, the Leopard Hotel in Burslem, WalterLeave a comment

Recently found on my phone, photo taken a few years ago.

One of my murals from the Leopard Hotel in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, it burnt down a couple of years ago. Portrait of Walter a regular there.. Mural, emulsion on lining paper. I had to paint it a few feet up the wall, the paintings were painted within a frame attached directly to the wall. I just noticed his hands are too small!

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Painting