Mural painting.

What job would you do for free?

One of my old murals. I would love to still be doing these and if I had enough money to live on I would volunteer to do things like this for free. Maybe in a children’s ward, or some landscapes for a community centre. I have actually done one or two for free as a volunteer in the past. My first was painting the scenery at my senior school a few decades ago. I wish I’d got photos of it.

My only problem is my health. I can’t move as well as I used to and my balance is not good. I sake a lot so I can’t paint as smooth a line as I did in the past. Age seems to be catching up with me. It’s frustrating because this is the sort of thing I love doing. I get great satisfaction from it. I cannot remember when I didn’t paint or draw. It has been my life when I’ve been able to do it.

Lost

We drove past the Leopard Hotel in Burslem today. Its just hidden behind wooden hoardings and scaffolding. I haven’t been up past it since the fire that destroyed it back in February. We only glanced at it. I couldn’t stop. It’s a hole in the history of Burslem, and a hole in my memory. I managed to find a photo of the Leopard sign. It was also known as the famous Leopard. I’m still trying to find copies of the photos I took of the murals I painted in there. A remote hope.

Teddy bear and Teapot Cafe.

Memory of a visit in 2017 to a cafe in Prestatyn, Wales. It popped up on my Facebook page today. I remember the place, really interesting, there were lots of houseplants in the window.

Sadly I don’t know if it’s still open after 18 months of covid. I hope places like this have survived, but there have been so many problems that we have all suffered. I will try and call in next time we are over there.

The cold is seeping in….

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This is the first day of spring, but it feels like mid winter. Our house isn’t that well insulated and if it gets cold it stays cold, high ceilings means that the heat rises and warms the upper part of the room before it gets to us down here on the floor. The wind is gusting from the north and whistling through the gap round the seal in the front window and kitchen. We had new windows put in, but I guess they were cheap, all we could afford. The front door slams when you go through it because they measured it wrongly, so the top sticks out more than the bottom, giving it a very strange cant.

The North Wind cools the house, rubs the heat away as it pushes past the walls. Out kitchen bathroom extention only has thin walls. It really needs an insulating layer outside, but instead ivy is taking over and a wisteria has been planted at the end. Plants don’t keep us warm, but the blackbirds like to nest in it.

Now I’m cooking our evening meal, the heat from the oven adds a little to the warmth. I could microwave the food, but the gas cooker gives a bit of extra heat.

One day it will be warm outside, the leaves will grow, and we shall have spring and summer. X

Muraling again…

I did more to the mural today, climbing up and down some steps to get up to the top of it. I’m tired but happy with it so far. I’ve toned down some purple I’d added to it and made it more grey. This was because I was trying to add colour to it but was a bit overwhelming. Once I’ve finished blocking in the background I will add reeds and leaves and other details. I’ve got some iridescent white which I’m going to use to add more sparkle to it. Once it’s finished it’s going to have a glaze over it to protect it.

May get it finished by next week.

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To paint or draw the view.

Sometimes seaside towns are all pastel colours, peaches and primrose yellows or burnt orange and duck egg blues. But sometimes only the frontages are painted, I guess because people don’t have the money to paint the backs, or the weather is generally too bad and it wipes the colour away, washes the walls and the sun bleaches the buildings.

I think I might paint the view but add bright colours? Or I could stick with a muted palette. I have a sketchbook and I’m armed with a marker pen. Will see how I feel in the morning.

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Moss

Found this lumpy moss on the church wall. It was lovely, little blobs growing on the old stone, even though its close to a busy road. It’s at the top of the hill so the wind scours across the hill top. Sometimes the wind is so strond it could blow you off your feet..

Moss is an interesting plant, the reproduction is by spores I think, and it needs damp conditions to live in. I’m sure people know more about it than I do. Anyway I took a couple of photos as an idea if what it looked like.

I then did a duplicated picture of it because it made an interesting pattern. IMG_20190530_144539

Hope you enjoy.

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Sky, trapped.

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Your sky is trapped up high,

Below the stars you spy

Cerulean blues,

Ultramarine hues.

Tiles and bricks embrace

a pale blue face,

Reflecting windows catch the rays

of sunlight dappling through leaves.

No clouds can dampen your topaz sight.

slow shading to darkest night.

Trapped blue, without rain,

tomorrow shine out again.