New paintings and regular art updates.
Sunset was Sundays #bandofsketchers prompt. As we arrived at our holiday destination one summer I was amazed to see what appeared to be a tall beam of sunshine above the setting sun. I found out later that it was a sun pillar. I think its a phenomenon where sunlight reflects off ice crystals in the sky? A bit like sun dogs. Can’t find the photo to work off so tried to remember it…
Behind the glass
Beyond the tree
And house of brick
Lies the hill.
Behind that hill
And valley wide
Sits the horizon
Where the sun rides.
It sinks below
And it’s last rays
Illuminates
A golden glow
On the glass
In brilliant ways.
Jupiter above, Venus below. In a dark blue sky. Wobbly photo tonight during a walk. Shaking arm makes photography difficult!
I saw the sky this evening
Turned bloody orange
As if on fire
Light streaming through
Branches and trees
Illuminating a landscape
Still dry from lack of rain.
The hedge behind us
Was split by the light
A shaft of red and gold
For telling bright weather
And clear skies
And stars
For the night ahead…..
A mackerel sky over Stoke today. A plane had flown through it leaving a slice of blue sky through the blue and white. These clouds usually happen when a weather front passes over the land I think I remember. To me it looked like a huge swans wing was covering the city. The low sun sparkled off sections of it, but as the sun started to set the cloud got darker and moved further over us, the feathery sections moving Eastward away from the sunset.The forecast is for possible rain showers and strong winds tomorrow
This photo doesn’t do it justice. I don’t have a great view of the horizon because its obscured by trees and buildings, and the window needs clearing of ivy that is growing around it. There was a yellowish gap in the clouds where the sky was visible, then bars of orange/red clouds lay across it, like sand bars in a shallow sea. Have you ever looked up at the sky and thought it was mimicking an ocean view? It was like that. The best time I ever saw that illusion was when we were driving down to Dorset. We were climbing a big hill and the sunset appeared over the peak of the hill. It looked like the sea with land protruding into it. As we reached the summit the real sea became visible and the sky looked as if the sea was reflected in it. All pinks and golds and bars of lavender grey. We had a lovely week away.
5pm sky. Less than a month after the shortest day, and this afternoon I noticed there was still light in the sky after 5pm.
Why does it matter? When I was working and doing a 9 to 5 job I hated starting and finishing the day in the dark, particularly in the evening.
There was an experiment in the 1960’s when the UK kept British Summer time throughout the year. It only lasted for about three years, but it was much better to walk home from school in daylight. The Royal Society for the prevention of accidents? (I think), worked out it was safer for children because in the evening people were tired and there were less accidents when children were more visible when walking home.
For me, when it starts to get lighter in the evening I feel less gloomy, my spirits lift. I’m pretty sure I don’t suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. (SAD). I can’t imagine how bad it must be for people that do.
Now I’m looking forward to Spring despite the rest of the winter to come.
When the sum rose this morning it was on the shortest day of the year. Now the days up here in the Northern Hemisphere will slowly start to lengthen again. At first at a minute or two a day, but gradually a few more minutes around spring time. Then as the Summer solstice approaches the number of minutes slows down. Finally after that the process goes into reverse and the days begin to wane again. So the great cycle of light and dark tumbles along North and South. Only on the equator are day and night lengths balanced out. The cause? Earth is tipped at an angle, so for six months of the year one half of the planet gets more light than the other (which also proves the Earth is a globe).
Happy Solstice everyone!
I live on the wrong side of the hill. On the other side is where the sun sets. If I see the clouds turning pink I jump in the car to try and catch a view of the sunset! I’ve only seen a few in the last few years, I don’t know when they will be happening. I guess I could look at the times that the sun goes down on line, then I could be there and see the beautiful view. I wish I could afford to buy a house over there.
Sunset with dotted line. (top right corner). I think it’s a telephone line not a glitch on the photo. I wanted to get a shot of the winter sky and terraced houses so I stopped to pull over the car on the way back from the gallery at Middleport. It was good to see some blue sky today, but the wind that cleared away a lot of the clouds was quite cold and cutting. And the dotted line? I feel like I should add some text ‘cut along dotted line’ and add a ✂ scissors icon! Even the world can have random glitches, I could literally have cropped it, but no, more interesting like this!
Mallaband-Brown