The whole country except me!

Last night sparkling red /pink /green auroras shone over the UK and I missed them! They apparently were around at about 10.15pm, I normally look out after midnight. Suddenly my Facebook feed was inundated with photos. Oh I was miffed. I tried to take some pictures but not much was visible, the aurora had clearly wandered off somewhere else. Then as I was going to bed at about 1.30am I just caught a glimmer of a glow in the sky. Rather than going outside in the freezing air I looked out the kitchen window and managed to get some shaky shots. Well there may be another chance tonight xxx

Last Gladioli flower

On the step

This morning the last flower on the Gladioli stem had fallen onto the path. I think someone had knocked it off as they walked past. I picked it up and put it on my step because I liked it’s beauty against the old peeling paint. It will soon fade and wither so I’m glad I captured it before it’s gone.

#forest

Painted last year from a photo of an autumn wood. I’m in another group of artists on Facebook that does weekly prompts. This week was #tree, #trees, #forest, #forests. What gripped my attention was the russet, orange and bronze leaves on the forest floor and following the contours of the deeply worn pathway through it. Some paler leaves are still clinging to the trees, and the distant foliage is pale blue to send it backwards (I might have used pale grey but I liked using the complimentary colour to the oranges.

Digital rose drawing

I used to draw at a website called Sketchfu before it closed. It had simple tools to draw with, no complicated applets, and consequently it was open to a large number of people.

Eventually it became a massive site and the owners lost interest in it. I was a moderator and had to deal with a lot of problems over the years I was there. I won’t go into details but it included bullying and inappropriate language and messages. There were a few of us that were allowed to remove inappropriate content but it was hard work. (I also moderated another site but did not disclose my role). When someone draws the same rude or racist image over, and over again for hours, but you are there deleting them as they appear, they eventually get fed up and stop. But if you admit you are a moderator you get a lot of stick, so I kept quiet. At one stage I was working in a full time job and coming home and doing four or five hours moderating!

Anyway I loved creating digital drawings, including portraits. I loved doing challenges. Someone would post a photo and we had to try and copy it. I’ve just found some of my old pieces so I might post a few of them over the next few days.