A present for someone I love and care for in this awful year. As I was about to wrap the necklace and the Christmas tree decoration I realised how much I have enjoyed creating things with a bit of sparkle. The photo does not do the glass pendant justice because the lighting is not good. Perhaps I should invest in a light box or try and make a DIY version. I think the recipient will be pleased as she has a small collection of my paintings. X
A tree I drew for someone a few years ago that she wanted for her business cards. I wish this wasn’t so blurred but I only got a chance to take a quick photo of the finished printed card and I can’t find the computer file it was saved on.
It was a commission for her and she was really pleased with the result. Its funny how you find images that suddenly spark memories. The rainbow type colouration in the background was hard to get right. I think I used a digital spray can to get the softness…
For mindfulness day two. I’ve hurt my right hand so I appreciated doing something left handed. It turned from mark making into a tree. My friend alou has a Facebook page where she encourages art with mindfulness as a meditation.
I started withe the blue swirls, which felt earlike, but when I added the gold colour and the dots it felt like a tree in the wind. The dots and the green leaves add to the feeling of a tree blowing in the wind.
The Croft is a local piece of land the that was threatened with having houses built on it. But it is a green lung of the city, giving a recreation area for local people and for local wildlife.
The sky was covered in mackerel clouds indicating it might be raining tomorrow. I sometimes think the clouds look like a flock of sheep!
The fox is carved into the tree of a neighbouring garden. I did find out who the sculpture was done by. I woukd like one doing on a tree stump in my garden. X
On our walk we saw a glorious copper beech tree. I think it’s only quite young but it is set on its own above the valley of the Trent. I’d love to live in the house on the other side of the road and have this magnificent tree to look at and must be lovely to look at as the sun rises behind it. I will have to get up early to get a shot of that.
Looking up at Seven beech trees entwined at the top. Inner branches trimmed and from the outside looking like a huge tree. Branches with leaves going down to the ground. There is a huge wooden bench inside in the middle.
Look at me? Can you see my face? Am I man or cat? Or cyclops? So many options and shapes.
Photo rotated and mirrored. Blue grey clouds and salmon pink sky. Totem or monster alien. Unknown sea creature. Ent? Your choice. Playing and experimenting to create alien images.
This trees flowers make Chesnuts when they are fertilised and mature.
Chestnuts are big brown nuts or seeds. They have hard shells and children gather them up in the autumn to play the game Conkers.
The local children throw sticks up into the tree to knock the chestnuts down. Then they make holes through them and thread them onto string tying a knot at the bottom so the Chestnut (or Conker) doesn’t fall off.
They take turns to swing one conker against the other until one of them cracks and breaks up. There are various tricks to try and make the chestnuts harder, like for instance soaking them in vinegar.
The more conkers a child hits and breaks, the more important the child’s conker is. If it’s only broken one it’s a ‘oner’ a six would be a ‘sixer’ the winner is the person whose conker does not disintegrate and beats all the other ones.
Probably not a game played much these days. But I remember playing it until my friend conker accidentally hit the knuckles of my hand. Ow!