New paintings and regular art updates.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was Lake. This is a drawing of Westport Lake from a photo I took on Tuesday.. The sky was quite dark and overcast so it gave it a very atmospheric feeling. The silhouetted tries look good reflected in the water. This is a felt pen sketch of it.
Well trained Weimaraner dog seen on our walk round Westport Lake. Trained as a therapy dog, it was very capable of following orders. The colour was a grey brown and its eyes were a mixture of yellow and blue.. Its owner said that as it got older the colour might become more amber. I might do a painting of it as I have a closer view of it. One thing is because of the way I took the photo its head looks a little too big because if foreshortening. It looks more in proportion on the other photo.
I think this was a coot chick (could be moorhen chick) we saw yesterday. I goy a reasonable photo of it although it’s beak seems to disappear into the stony soil on the side of the lake. It’s mum was just out of shot swimming on the lake. I guess they have to be as independent as possible as quickly as they can so that they can go out into the world. But this is a little fuzz ball and it’s still without feathers. I hope it survives to full fledge.
Long day, a walk, a yoga class, singing. I feel exhausted. The walk was just round Westport Lake on a windy day. There were more geese than I’d seen for a long time. Mostly Canada Geese. But we are not allowed to feed them, because of bird flu. The Westport Lake Tearoom does not sell bird food anymore to try and restrict the spread of the disease. We just walked past the birds and felt sorry for them. Clearly they are used to being fed so they congregate together, so the disease can spread.
Later I went to yoga class, I’m limited in what I can do, so I try and do the movements sitting on a chair. I modify the positions to fit in as well as I can with the rest of the group.
Then later we practiced songs at choir. Some of them are joining the performance at Bethesda Chapel in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent on Sunday. The show is called Animal Apocalypse. It is about the extinction and loss of animals in the world. It was quite a good practice. All in all a very busy day!
Can you see the bird on the nest? I think it might have been a coot or a moorhen, but it was hidden under the overhanging branches of an alder tree, floating on the small lake at Westport. We also saw two Swans with eight cygnets swimming behind them. It’s that time of year in the Northern Hemisphere when nature renews itself. You see ducks with their ducklings too. I hope we get hedgehogs in our garden again too. Their babies are called hoglet’s.
Sketch of two Canada geese at Westport Lake today. I know their necks are too long. We went for a short walk but the wind was quite cold. So I decided to sit down and draw some of the birds and a view of the rippling water on the lake. While we were there a young man went up to one of the fishing platforms on the lake and started dipping his feet in. He was acting very strangely so we watched incase we needed to ring for an ambulance. But he came over to us and asked us if we wanted to buy a camera? Very strange. So I finished the sketch and we left. I hope he was OK but it was hard to know what to do.
Two lone geese
Sitting in a lake
Cold wet feet
But they look sweet.
Ripples in the water
Dancing on the lake
Geese are very calm
Not leaving a wake.
Twigs and branches fall
Whipped by the wind.
Soon the geese may fly
Then see them on the wing.
A strange looking dusk with red on its head. We only saw one of them. I don’t know what kind it is but I think it must be a male one. If there ever was an ugly duckling could this be it? No I’d say an interesting one! Medium sized, pink footed, friendly!
A large tree has fallen on the far bank of the Trent and Mersey canal opposite Westport Lake. Luckily it seems to have fallen sideways instead of across the canal. It doesn’t appear to have damaged any canal barges or cars on the access road behind it, although some of its branches are trailing in the canal. Seen on a walk today.
Buds are bursting
Leaves are appearing
Pigeons are roosting in the rain
The sky’s are grey
Ducks and geese wander
Round Westport Lake.
A gentle walk
Taking in the view
Dampened by the drizzle
Laceworks of twigs
Fill in the gaps
Soon there will be daffodils
Crocuses and tulips
Then May blossom.
March,
In like a lion
Out like a lamb
(or vice versa)
Soon to be revealed…..
Mallaband-Brown