New paintings and regular art updates.
Six years ago.
I took these in a friends garden because they were so colourful and interesting. I think some of the plants are Swiss chard, nasturtium, marigold, sweet peas and poppies. Most of the day the sun shone in it except later on when the sun webt behind the hill. Some lovely colour combinations.
I drew this today, sitting in the garden, looking at a jumble of narcissi and other plants ( I’m not sure of their names).
Another of the USK Stoke thirty day challenge. I’m really enjoying this series of sketches. Every day a different way of stretching our practice. So many different sketches by different artists. I hope you like this.
Sky to the East of us about 7. 10 am. Barometer showing fair but the old saw that red sky in the morning is a shepherd’s warning seems appropriate after all the bad weather we’ve been having. Apparently if the sky is red its because the dawn is reflecting off the underside of clouds (yes I can see that), and that means the bad weather is more likely to be overhead now or later. Red sky at night shepherd’s delight? The weather will have passed over and be moving away. I guess the point is also that it depends what direction the wind is blowing in?!
Waiting for the next storm…. It will probably start with the letter E…. How many more?
What better on a crisp winters day than to take photos of a Swan and a couple of ducks. Interesting how the sky is reflected in the first one and not so much in the second. They were taken last year out at a place called the plume of feathers, at Barlaston, Staffordshire. The pub sits alongside the Trent and Mersey canal. Much more picturesque than where it runs through the city, the canal offers an opportunity to glide along in narrow boats on self catering holidays. The boats are beautiful to look at, but they can be quite expensive to rent for a week, so I prefer to walk for free by the water and allow the Swans and Ducks to do the gliding….
Potbank, Stoke-on-Trent. I think I drew this at the Gladstone Pottery museum last year? This was part of a ‘throw down’ held by Stoke Urban Sketchers after an afternoon of drawing in rain and shine. We were in a covered area so we could put the drawings down on the ground.
Urban sketchers usually draw outside, so we need to wrap up warm when we go out in the winter, and shelter when it’s raining or windy.
Next year I want to go out with them more often. You get to see places you might not go to otherwise.
X
Soon all the leaves will be gone. A big storm is due in overnight so I guess they will be torn from the trees. My hanging baskets still have a few flowers opening in them despite the minus temperatures we have had. The sky has been lovely in the last few mornings, with gentle hints of colour, rosy glows and golden hues.
Then it will be time to cur back and prune some of the trees. Tidying up a little bit, but not enough to harm where the birds sleep. Now dawn is getting later, after 7am. It means I get to see more of them. X
The sun crept up and sideways,
Falling West And South,
Skirting tree branches and
Hopping over leaves.
Each minute, slightly higher,
Each second slightly across to South.
As the Sun reaches its Zenith
It falls behind low clouds,
Grey mist rising,
Now its afternoon.
Already going dark and freezing,
Sunrise forgotten in the crepuscular light.
My male cat on his cat tree tray. He finds other places now as it’s not directly over the radiator and he’s got a bit big for it. His sister sits on the other side on a tray directly over the radiator.
I just loved the way he was lying in the hot sun, clearly enjoying the warmth.
Memories of lovely days….
We just came back from lunch at a pub called the Red Lion in Werrington, Staffordshire. Lovely food, and a view from the restaurant over the Staffordshire countryside. The leaves are still falling. There are some beautiful colours. It was clear and the sky was a cold blue. It was good to be snug and warm inside. Now I’ve got to get ready for a craft fair tomorrow. I need to finish a couple of paintings a d add some ribbon… Back to work…
August at Rudyard lake, 
Heat, sunlight, memories of warmth. Memories of the lake and the little narrow gauge (miniature?) railway that runs along side it. I think it’s 18 inch gauge.
The lake surface was very smooth apart from ripples caused by a few rowing boats. We had sandwiches and ice creams at the cafe and caught the train there and back to see how far it was (one of my Dad’s phrases).
I miss the sunlight and the warmth. It’s only two months ago and it’s literally freezing outside tonight. We had frost this morning…. Let me go back into my memories, time travel, back, to summer.
Mallaband-Brown