Beach Sculpture

Picked up my camera again!

Dinefwr Park in the Mist

Washpool

Rosie's Stream at Howard's Way

Woods at Howard's Way

More Sketchbook Skool and Sketchy

More of my newly discovered love of sketching and all things Sketchbook Skool and Sketchy

This was my attempt at sketching Danny Gregory, joint founder of Sketchbook Skool and first teacher in my Exploring course. I tried hatching again as that was the theme of his klass

This was my first watercolour attempt for Nina Johansson who was my teacher for the second klass. All a bit of a mess but really enjoyed using my new Daniel Smith watercolours.

This is another Sketchy portrait. I love this lady's happy face!

Sktchy and Sketchbook Skool

I'm doing Sketchbook Skool's 'Exploring' course and the first week has been all about hatching with Danny Gregory. Here are my attempts:

My beautiful teapot and first attempt at sketching with hatching

A Sktchy portrait - too light I think, needs to be more confident, but I like that there is no hard outline containing the hatching.

Guess who - the morning after she announced another General Election in the UK and a woman from Bristol went viral with her comment, "Oh no! Not another one!"

Sktchy Portraits

I've discovered Sktchy app and have been really enjoying making portraits. I didn't think I was any good at faces at all but I think I'm improving. All these are using Copic marker pens in a Rendr sketchbook.

This was the first one I did and I had a major blot caused by one of my marker pens sending a flood onto the page. If you haven't guessed it's her left eye. I tried all sorts of ways to try to get rid of it and it helped a bit but it's still much too obvious. I should have matched her left eye to it!

I loved the happy face this girl has - it was a joy to sketch her.

This lady is very exotic and I haven't completely nailed her - the eyes were very difficult.

What beautiful bone structure this lady has and what a long neck. I loved doing this one but need to learn more about how to deal with hair rather than just scribbling it in.

Rose Hips

My goodness - so, so long since I posted here.

I've been doing some sketching recently, inspired by a couple of online courses courtesy of Sketchbook Skool and Jane LaFazio. Trying to find my 'style' so experimenting a lot.

This is a study of rose hips from my garden in part coloured, part left just ink sketch. I once saw a book of sketches by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Scottish architect and designer who died in the early 20th century, and it contained some beautiful sketches of flowers in ink, only partly coloured and I fell in love with them. I even translated one of them into an embroidery years ago but where that is now I can't think. I'll have to see if I can find it although I suspect it wasn't stored properly and has suffered for it.

Walk in the woods

Some photos from a walk in the woods this morning

The garden at Midsummer

I wandered round my garden today, two days before midsummer. It's so lush and green - fecund; now there's a word that sums up Mother Earth at this time of year

Here are cool mosses deep . . .

Here are cool mosses deep,

And thro' the moss the ivies creep,

And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep,

And from the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep...

From The Lotus-eaters by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Crow

Were you there beside the mountain on that day

and did you see the valley’s green fade into grey

Did you see the salmon sink beneath the reeds

and roll from silver scale to dull mud green

Did the air fall still to drop you from the sky

when spirits held their breath to hear the cry

Were you there when thousands fell beneath the bull

Were you there when all around you shrieked their soul

And did you fold your wings around them by the stones

Forest walk

These were taken on a walk on the Ashdown Forest that we call 'The Stream'.

These are Common Spotted Orchids - so beautifully delicate - if you just glanced at them you'd miss those gorgeous markings

Bark is so complicated and interesting - another of Mother Earth's wonders

The lushness of early summer - a carpet of ferns and mix of trees

Nature ALWAYS gets the colours right!

Stones tapestry series

I'm weaving a series of four small (12cm square) tapestries inspired by standing stones. They're monotone and when finished off properly they will be mounted together on acrylic.

These are the three I've finished weaving - the fourth is on the loom now. The backgrounds are white - it's the lighting that makes them look a little yellow in places.

Playing with Procreate and CalligraphyArt apps

I recently got the Procreate app and have been doing an online course to get to know it and managed to produce these:

Then I added some calligraphy and imported it into Procreate and played with a background and hey presto!

Young crone

There are resident herons on a nearby reservoir and each year they re-visit their nests to bring the next generation into the world. Unfortunately I was unable to get nearer and don't have the long camera lens required to get a better photo of this already large chick waiting for its mother to bring it food.

Heron is a sacred bird and was said to be the first bird to greet the sunrise and was able to predict storms. Three herons (or cranes) protect the entrances to Annwn, the Underworld. Heron is also associated with the Cailleach, the crone or hag, and as such is a bird of old age and longevity.

Herons dance in circles which mimic the movement of the sun.

tapestry off loom

Just cut my small tapestry off the loom. Inspired by the architecture of Luis Baragan. An exercise in sewn slits but much to learn!

making mobiles

I raided my shell collection to make a mobile to hang from the rose bush in the garden.