New paintings and regular art updates.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was Spring. I decided it was too cold to stand outside and draw daffodils so I decided to draw one from memory. Also couldn’t get my sketchbook page flat so it’s a bit curved… I have some with very strong orange trumpets and bright yellow petals so I think these colours are close.
Yellow and orange. Large flower heds. In front of the house. Cheerful and bright. They delight me when I come home. Signs of spring are showing everywhere now. The trees are starting to blossom, buds are swelling on the branches in my garden. I’ve seen blossom on the trees along the canal. But it’s been dry and sunny, it’s been exceptionally warm for this time in March. I worry because the temperatures are due to fall next week and frost might nip at the buds. But if it stays dry they might be OK. What we need now is rain to swell the buds and start the growth process. Cells expand when they absorb water, the become turgid and then, they start to photosynthesise. We are at the turn of the year.
Tonight the clocks go forward. It means that sunrise is an hour later and sunset also an hour later than in the winter. This is BST or British Summer Time. We revert back to GMT or Greenwich Mean Time in autumn. The idea was adopted in the second World War to give farmers extra time to get crops in? The zero meridian runs through Greenwich, England, and is where the world’s time is set. As you go round the globe there are time zones set covering sections of the globe going forward or back in hourly segments.
At one stage in the UK they kept British Summer time in the winter. This was for two or three years in the 60’s or 70’s. It was darker in the mornings but lighter in the evenings. They found less traffic accidents involving children because although they were tired at the end of the school day they were able to see cars better. There were less deaths. But the government decided against keeping it because people in the far north weren’t having sunrise until 10 or 11am if I remember correctly.
There have been more recent suggestions of creating double summer time, where the clocks would permanently go forward an hour all year round, but then in the summer the clocks would go forward another hour. The idea is that this would save energy. However it has not been approved by Parliament.
I know it’s almost spring because the grape hyacinths come out in the pots at the front of the house. We are the only house with plants growing on the pavement. When I come home it cheers me up. They really do look like little bunches of grapes, don’t they? The blue colour reminds me of bluebells but they don’t emerge until April or May. X
A strange looking dusk with red on its head. We only saw one of them. I don’t know what kind it is but I think it must be a male one. If there ever was an ugly duckling could this be it? No I’d say an interesting one! Medium sized, pink footed, friendly!
Beauty on a spring morning. Petals turned toward the sun. Glistening pink surfaces. Yellow/orange centres. They look edible, like gorgeous sweets. Crisp and crunchy, or like cupcake icing. Sugar lumps of tasty colour. Then the dark green shining leaves. They add a polished background to their jewel like flowers. How strong they grow in early spring. The frost sometimes nibbles petal and leaf. But on a bright sunlight morning, what better sight.
Oh you beauty
Colours split
Spring in a rainbow sits
Gaudy yellows
Proper reds
Generous greens
Flower heads
Blues and purples
Different hues
Oh what fun
When a filter is used!
Daffs, Narcissi, Daffodils, Daffydowndillys…. Names old and new. The world has so many names for these spring flowers. Some sound almost musical, very flowery. The shapes frilled and fluted. Daffodils tend to be larger, with a conical centre, the narrowed part towards the stem. Then a splay of petals surrounding the centre. The Narcissi such as tet-a-tet are small and sit in clusters on top their stems. All glorious colours from pale cream, to zingy lemons and bright oranges. I’ve filtered the shapes but only lightly.
Buds are bursting
Leaves are appearing
Pigeons are roosting in the rain
The sky’s are grey
Ducks and geese wander
Round Westport Lake.
A gentle walk
Taking in the view
Dampened by the drizzle
Laceworks of twigs
Fill in the gaps
Soon there will be daffodils
Crocuses and tulips
Then May blossom.
March,
In like a lion
Out like a lamb
(or vice versa)
Soon to be revealed…..
St David’s day (the patron Saint of Wales đ´ó §ó ˘ó ˇó Źó łó ż), Shrove Tuesday (pancake day) and the (meteorological) 1st day of Spring. All tied up in one day this year, the 1st of March. I know shrove Tuesday moves around, its generally in February I think? It is connected with Easter which falls on a full moon? And also the 1st of March isn’t always on a Tuesday! So it drifts around the calendar. Also linked with Lent, giving up something for lent, like chocolate, is a well known thing that Christians do at this time of year. St David’s day is celebrated with daffodils, Wales with dragons. I wonder if they have dragons holding daffodils. Then the first day of spring? Apparently the actual start is later in March so this must just be a way of dividing the year up into four equal quarters. Time moves on.
Mallaband-Brown