Poppy time

Posted on November 17, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged British, Californian, Colours, Flowers, Gardening, himalayan, oriental, Papaver, Plants, Poppies1 Comment

One of my favourite flowers is the poppy, Papa er.

Different shapes, sizes, and colours.

Oriental poppies (large reds and pinks), californian poppies (small and orange) , Welsh (yellows), Himalayan (largish, pale blue) wild British poppies (reds, pinks and white), some are called Shirley’s mixed or ladybird with black splodge.

Their petals are enclosed in bulbous green capsules until they open to display paper petals that unfurl into lovely flowers. A central large seed head like a pepper shaker is left to dry and mature after the petals fall.

Poppy juice is collected and has been used in medicine over the ages, but this can be dangerous. Don’t do anything but admire the flowers beauty.

Poppy’s are out!

Posted on May 14, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Buds, Closed, dappled sun, Green, opened, Plants, Poppies, popping!, Red, Spring, SunlightLeave a comment

Last week when I saw these on the local allotment they were hardly in bud. Not anymore! They are glorious. The red pops against the greens. The sunlight splashes down onto the plants and paving. A cool breeze made light shimmer over the heads of the poppies. What a warm sunlit spring it’s been. But we might have a drought!

Poppy

Posted on May 16, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Flowers, Garden, Himalayan poppy, Mecanopsis, Poppies, Poppy, Welsh poppyLeave a comment

Poppy at Growthpoint allotment site. The pop of colour cheered me up yesterday. I can’t resist them. I have Welsh poppies in my garden, happy yellows and the occasional orange one. I once managed to grow a blue mecanopsis, (himalayan) poppy in the garden, but it never seeded itself and failed to grow again

Those paintings

Posted on March 11, 2024March 12, 2024 Posted in Cat, Fine Art, Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged 1980's, Black and white cat, Cat, Gift, Memory, Pencil sketch, Poppies, Tortoiseshell cat, Tuxedo cat, WatercolourLeave a comment

Here they are, quickly painted. I think the date on the bottom one is 1988? I am sure they are watercolour and pencil drawings now I look closely. I’m not sure if they were a birthday or Christmas gift? It’s lovely to see work I did over 35 years ago! To think they still exist x

Old paintings

Posted on March 11, 2024 Posted in Cat, Memories, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Black and white cat, Cats, Friends photo, Life, Memory, Painting, Poppies, TimeLeave a comment

Two small, quick paintings of cats that I painted years ago. My friend sent it to me recently. Both of them have also got poppy details. I will see if I can zoom in on them to see if I can get clearer views of them. I know they are mine, but I genuinely can’t remember painting them. That makes me feel guilty, I think I should recognise all of my work. Memory frays as you get older x

On display at the cafe

Posted on July 28, 2023July 28, 2023 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Etruria Industrial museum, Jessie Shirley's bone and flint mill, Painting, Phil?, Poppies2 Comments

My paintings still on display at Etruria Industrial museum today. The bottom painting has just been added. It’s called Phil, morris man/cyber punk and it’s for sale.

The museum is holding steaming days tomorrow and on Sunday 30th July 2023. The beam engine ‘Princess’ will be in steam and running the grinding pans that used to break up flint and bone for use in the manufacture of fine bone China.

I love painting images that are based on pottery manufacturing, but also poppies are a favourite flower and there are two paintings there that incorporate them.

Maybe you will get a chance to visit? Have a great weekend. X

Reds..

Posted on June 28, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Back yard, Colour, Flowers, Fushias, Gardening, Health, Pelagoniums, Poppies, RedLeave a comment

These are a few of my favourite red plants. Well petals not leaves. I love poppies and chuck in a few pelagoniums and fushias.

Photos from a couple of years ago. I’d have planted up a lot of annuals by now but I have had bigger bills to pay, and having problems with shaking and weaker muscles means I cannot shift flowerpots around like I used to. I do hope my health improves. I have to rely on (argue with) hubby to move things about. Anyway I’ll post photos once I’m satisfied with what it looks like.

Summer paintings

Posted on April 27, 2023 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, art's and Minds, Etruria Industrial museum, Fine Art, Flowers, Gardening, Painting, Poppies4 Comments

Poppies everywhere on these two summery paintings. I took them over to Etruria last week so they should be on display at the Etruria Industrial museum today (Friday). The left hand one was based on the wildflowers on display at Trentham Gardens, the one on the right is emulating a tile pattern you would get on the side of a Victorian fireplace. Both were previously displayed at the Arts and Minds gallery at Middleport. It’s good to have a couple of venues to show my work at. I just need then to go to good homes now. X

Paintings delivered

Posted on April 21, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Canal, Etruria Industrial museum, Gardening, Litter, Paintings, Poppies, Wildflowers2 Comments

I’ve previously exhibited these at Arts and Minds in Harper Street, Middleport and I’m having a swap round. So I’ve taken these to Etruria Industrial museum today. (I have more work up at Harper Street.) The lower two photos are my painting of the governor on the Princess beam engine at Etruria. The poppies and wildflowers represent the summer and poppies are hopefully going to grow there as the museum has initiated a wild flower garden to support bees and other pollenating insects. The idea is to stop mowing the grass lawns around the site and reintroduce more of a natural habitat.

One thing that upset me was seeing litter and rubbish in the grounds and in the canal which the museum volunteers deal with by litter picking. They have a long pole with a net and one of the volunteers fished a plastic cup and other litter out of the canal while we watched.

The museum is part of Stoke on Trents heritage and I’m pleased to have my art displayed there. X

Myself

Posted on April 14, 2023 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Books, brush, Canvas, Cat, Drawing, I, Illustration, Pencil, Poppies, Pottery, self portrait, Sketching, Willow pattern, xrayLeave a comment

I was looking for this drawing because there was a prompt on one of the Art groups I’m on that asked people to post #thisisme. I looked and looked for this and could not find it, and yet its on my WordPress media gallery! It was originally drawn for a college project ‘I’. As you can see it includes a self portrait, a canvas and pencil and brush, some poppies, an x-ray, books, an old pottery, a cat and finally the willow pattern on a plate. Each thing means something to me. It was drawn in 2020 so I have changed slightly since then. No bits have dropped off but I’m not as well as I was. Life eh? Gets to us all….

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Poppies