Twilight Zone

I've been feeling deep and dark recently.  It is though I am in a twilight zone.  This mood is being reflected in my current artwork.  I am not depressed but I am pensive.  

I keep thinking about all the people and creatures in the world  that will never know me or me them.  As William Butler Yeats was to have said 'There are no strangers here, just friends you haven't met yet.'  I feel sad when I think of all the potential friendships and connections I could have made and yet haven't been able to do so.  

Even when I am with people I feel isolated.  I feel a bit like the hollow eyed creature sitting up there on a tree branch in my collage above.  Always on the periphery.  Always on the outside looking in.

Thankfully I enjoy my own company but am occasionally curious to know what it would be like to be with people who truly 'get me'. 

Cliff Richard The Next Time

Autumn in the Garden

    And as if by magic the autumn appeared in the garden.

    New life growing on old lives.

 

    Greens and browns and rich earthy tones grounding and comforting.

Completed Paper Cut Illustration

The finished illustration.

Close up of the dog

Who you lookin' at?

Back where I started

 

I have enjoyed playing and creating with paper for years.  Back in 2008 I shared my first paper person tag here and in 2014 some gift tags here

There are many examples of my papercraft  and collages on the blog and you can find them under labels of papercraft, tags, craft etc., Back then I used printed papers and coloured card-stock.  Nowadays I paint my own papers and create with them instead.  I really feel that I have evolved creatively since those early days but miss something of the charm and innocence of those simple characters.

My watercolour painting has gone on the hold for the time being whilst I reconnect to my first love of playing, cutting and sticking paper.  

The picture above is my most recent work.  It is not complete yet as I need to add some finer detail. 

Solace in Books

I find solace in books.  I've been buying quite a few books recently.  I like the anticipation of guessing what information lies between the covers and hopefully gleaning any useful information.

The book on top of the pile is The Star-Born by Henry Williamson, written in 1933.  It is an original copy complete with untrimmed pages.  It is a sheer delight imagining all the history that particular copy has gone through.

The story is a celestial fantasy set in the real world at Lydford in Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor, and its gorge and castle keep (info from The Henry Williamson Society).

The illustrations are wood-engravings by Charles Tunnicliffe. 

Spoon Decorations Completed

Another task ticked off the list.

 Spoons have now had their ribbons attached and are listed on eBay.

The ones with Father Christmas on them sold well last year.  I hope this is a good year for the wolves!

Wolves on Spoons

 Last year I repurposed some plastic spoons and turned them into hanging Christmas decorations.

I had some spoons left over so today I finished making more decorations using glass cabochons of wolves.

 I love this image of a sleepy wolf with the moon in the background.

 This wolf has piercing blue eyes.

 A snowy white wolf.

 I had great fun making these and choosing the embellishments to put with them.

I just need to attach ribbons or thread for hanging. 

Cucamelons

 Cucamelons grown from seed. Easy to grow perennial vine fruit and rewarding. They taste like cucumbers with a hint of sourness/lime flavour.  They are also known as mouse melons, Mexican sour gherkin,  Mexican miniature watermelon, Mexican sour cucumber and Pepquinos.  The scientific name is Melothria Scabra.

I will probably make a curry pickle with mine.

I have just reverted to legacy interface to write this blog post.  I am finding it increasingly difficult to get along with the new interface and do not find it user friendly at all!  With so many changes/variables in my life just the small matter of not being able to post like I used to is really getting me down.

Even after reverting to 'old blogger' I can't get photos or text to behave itself with photos jumping all over the page or disappearing.  This post will have to stay as three photos with a bunch of text below.  If I fiddle about with it any more I will probably lose what I have! 

Lammas Lughnasagh Wheel of the Year

Happy Lammas!  So the wheel of the year turns.  Today the Goddess of the Wheel of the Year calendar tells me:

Feel Me now as bountiful Mother.

I am fertility and creativity.

I am the abundance of the harvest.

I am the abundance of life.

I create and nurture all being.

My golden cloak is the ripening grain.

Pause a moment whenever you eat.

Feel My presence

I am your

nurturing Mother.

Tired

 I am not feeling industrious like the bee today.

I feel much more like this sleeping cherub.  Wake me up when it's all over.

Aquamarine

Another crystal healer painting.  The throat is said to be the main chakra for the aquamarine stone.  Aquamarine is expressive, cleansing and companionable.  It is blue, blue/green.  It is part of the Beryl family of gemstones.

She was very calming to paint.

I'm on track for completing 8 paintings by the end of the month as long as I stay focused.  I am sorry if I haven't been commenting on blogs as much as usual.  I am finding it hard to read blogs where there is a lot of information to absorb.  It is difficult for me to concentrate. 

I know these paintings aren't everyone's cup of tea but I enjoy doing them.  After this set of crystal healer paintings I will move on and pick another theme.  I may stick to this style of painting or try something else!

Citrine

Citrine is one of my Crystal Healers set of paintings.  Citrine is comforting, uplifting and happy! 

I had set myself a goal of painting 8 Crystal healers by the end of July using gouache paint.  I painted three: rose quartz twice, and then amethyst and then I decided enough was enough!  I hated painting with gouache!

Yesterday I went back to my watercolour paints and I am so glad I did.  I was miserable painting with gouache and with smooth hot press paper and multi-media paper.  The painting above is done on paper almost older than me!  It is vintage watercolour paper made in Somerset, England in the 1960's.  It was a pleasure to work with and I still have many more sheets to use.

My next character will be Aquamarine......................unless I change my mind!

Garden Early July 2020

 There is good and bad things happening in the garden.  Let's focus on the good.

 The sunflowers are bursting open!

 The seeds will be a welcome feast for the birds come the autumn.

 They look interesting at every stage of their development.

 The night scented stocks fill the evening air with delicate fragrance.

I expect many people have lawns like this right now.  It is a shame to cut the grass when so much of it is full of food for the bees and other insects.  Some days this clover is smothered with all different types of bee.

My beautiful Desdemona rose is coming to and end for now.  Hopefully she will produce more buds.  Her fragrance has been intoxicating.  The most recent addition to my garden.  I hope she will be with me for many years.

Rose Quartz

Started a new target of eight pieces of art work in four weeks.  This time my theme is crystal healers and the first one is Rose Quartz.

Rose Quartz is the stone of love associated with the heart chakra. Its energy is emotional, loving and sensitive.

This series of paintings will differ from the last ones as I am using gouache paint (much more chalky than traditional water colours) and smooth hot pressed water colour paper. 

I had a large piece of rose quartz stone present when I painted this to get the love vibe! 

*Edited:  Was about to pull this post as I really am not happy with this painting.  The paper was cut too small and I lacked concentration whilst I was painting.  My son said I should leave the post here to see my progression and that is what I am going to do.  One step forward, two steps back.  That is how we learn! 

Garden Late June 2020

 Bloody Mary nasturtiums are out in full force now! 

 The delicate creamy milkmaid nasturtium isn't too far behind.

My kitchen garden isn't as full as I would like it to be.  I have had many plant casualties with dwarf beans being decimated by black fly no matter how often I squirt them with soapy water!

In this bed I have planted courgettes, dwarf runner beans, dwarf french beans, beetroot, sunflowers, carrots, peppers, borage, cucamelons etc.  The only thing I have harvested from here so far have been some unconventional looking courgettes!

The white borage has been disappointing.  A huge mound of prickly leaves with some barely visible white flowers with their heads down-facing.  Perhaps they will perk up when we get some cooler weather.

I had far too many cucamelons than I knew what to do with, so I put two into this angel wall container. 

There is much more to delight in the garden such as my tomatoes and newly purchased David Austin rose but it is far too hot to photograph out there today.  The next time I will be in the garden will be before sundown to water the plants. 

Happy Weekend!

Painting Number Eight

I am happy to say that I completed my challenge of eight paintings within a month.  Just goes to show what can be achieved when plans are made.  I've never been much of a planner and feel that I have wasted a big part of my life drifting.  I can't honestly say that I will be this organised in the future but for now I am enjoying having a stucture and goals to work towards.

I've noticed that most of my characters have a dream like state.  This image is my favourite out of all the previous ones.  They can be found here and here.

Painting Number Seven

Painting number seven.  Flower girl with butterfly.  Just have to do one more before the end of the week to reach my target.  Still planning what to do next.  Shall I paint a series of landscapes or animals or something else?  Hmm........

I know that I am going to move on to gouache paints from the water colours I am using now and changing paper from textured cold press to smooth hot press. 

The paintings I have been doing are much larger than what I am used to.  They have all been on A4 size paper and I am more comfortable painting on a smaller A5 scale. 

I am looking forward to exploring more with paints and paper.  It has been most enjoyable so far.

The Days are Full

The days are long but full right now.  I have adjusted to this new way of life.  Yesterday I had to go to the Post Office - the first time since early March.  I joined the socially distanced queue that went outside the shop and down the street and was number eleven.  Some people wore masks, some gloves and everybody stayed 2 metres apart.  It was a very strange experience like being in a dream.  After about 45 minutes I reached the counter.

My days are filled with cooking, gardening, planning shopping, painting and domestic chores.  It feels a little bit like being on a treadmill.  Gizmo is unfazed by it all and spends most of his time dreaming in the shrubbery.