Little Devil

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I saw Adam from Hulton Art pottery today, which is based at the Spode pottery site. I bought a wall mounted bracket  (which is still wrapped in bubble wrap) but along with it he gave me a terracotta tile of what looks like a cheeky little devil..

I can’t  help liking his wide smile, the twinkle in his eyes, his spikey, possibly flaming coat, (the tile, not Adam!).

I asked if it was OK to paint this little guy, because he made me chuckle with laughter. It looks like something mediaeval that could have been a gargoyle on an old building. Adam told me it was made in about 1997, soon after he had completed his training in pottery, so it seems really special.  I feel privileged to have something that has age and character. This cheeky little devil is probably going to find a home on a window ledge somewhere.

I feel like he is related to the green men I have been painting over the last few years. Maybe they all have a feeling of spirit of the Earth in them. An old hidden life that we have lost as the world becomes ever more urban around us. I like the idea  of faeries and little people getting up to mischief.

I remember one if my favourite paintings when I was a teenager was Richard Dadds’ the Faeiry Fellers masterstroke. He was put into a mental asylum because of ‘madness’ but I don’t know his history apart from that. Dadds’ painting has amazing tiny details. If you can try looking it up on the net.

Anyway I might post a follow up picture of the little devil if I ever finish it.

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Drawing with Stoke Urban Sketchers

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There are apparently lots of Urban sketchers groups around the world. I am a member of Stoke Urban Sketchers (USK). We meet every few weekends to draw interesting places in the Towns and Cities around us.

Today we had a stall at Burslem, and members sat and drew the view and also were scattered around the town trying to draw some of the old buildings and crowds. There was also a classic car rally so these became the subject of drawings too!

I made the mistake of just taking a sketchpad and a HB pencil and a broad black marker pen. I had to borrow some coloured pencil but I think my initial sketch was not that good.

I did get into trying to draw the crowds of people, including a man with a cup of tea or coffee who kindly stood still while I drew him. I finished by drawing the old roofs across the square. I could have done more..but I was too hot and bothered. I think it got to about 28 degrees Celsius. ..thats about 10 degrees hotter than normal. Phew!

 

Trees and views

Leaves unfurl and block the view,                                                     the sky is shaded out,                                                                           green and orange, and yellow too,                                                    they cast their shade about.

Atop a hill, those huge trees grew,                                                     their roots spread wide no doubt,                                                           and round their branches… true                                                       delight I see the fields sprout.

Now came old autumn, when leaves flew,                                       they were madly strewn about,                                                          the world is seen as if anew,                                                                and “slumber trees!” I shout.

I’m not good at rhyming. I prefer blank verse, but I thought I would have a go at making a more traditional poem.

“View” and “Out” are such simple words…you can probably think of far more rhymes for them than I can. The poem is based on a visit to the Dorothy Clive Garden today. The leaves are starting to fill in the gaps between the branches and twigs, and some views will disappear until the leaves fall again in October or November, when the world beyond them will be revealed again. I think you can see three counties, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire can be seen from the top of the quarry garden there.

It’s a beautiful place if you feel like visiting it.

How do I accept messages on WordPress?

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Someone tried to send me a message on WordPress but unfortunately I could not open it, and now I seem to have lost it? How do I pick them up if I want to speak to someone?

It is probably quite simple but I only have a basic tablet and sometimes it is quite glitchy. The broadband is tempremental too and that means that sometimes it takes ages for a page to load. …

Think I need to clear some of my files to give me a bit more memory. But when I think of the old computers I had, with dial up modem, which made a strange bring boing noise when it connected to the internet, I know this is a lot better ….

So

If you tried to contact me…

Hi, and I’m sorry

I didn’t

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