Watercolour Techniques Book Flip Through

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Snow

We had snow yesterday evening.  Haven't had thick snow in a long time around here.  It has insulated the house well and feels warmer than when we just had the freezing cold temperatures recently.

How do I make a mixed media collage on a wooden panel?

Cat Bite

 

Feeling very sorry for myself just now.  Last week Gizmo attacked me and sunk his teeth into my arm.  It is getting better now but still painful around the area.  I have been feeling low for a while.  Not had a holiday for over a decade and 'fun' has been in short supply.

I was thrilled when my son booked a day off work to spend a day out with me.  I said I would like to do something cultural so we had planned a day in London going to the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square and then going to a nice cafe for lunch.  Almost as soon as the day was planned I got sick with flu like symptoms and spent most of the day in a dressing gown sleeping it off.  I rarely get ill so this was a shock to me.

The body aches are subsiding but I am left with a chesty cough, sore throat and watery eyes. I dream of a day where things go to plan.  I know that it is not the end of the world because I didn't get to enjoy a day out and hopefully we can do it another day in the future.

Sacrificing My Art

Crank Up Collage Skills

10 Reasons To Start A Glue Book

Glue Books | What Are They For?

Pumpkin, Halloween, Traditions

I didn't do a YouTube video on this pumpkin picture.  I had started it a few weeks ago and kept redoing it.  The photo isn't great as I took it in artificial evening light at the dining room table.  As it is a seasonal subject I'm putting it here on the blog.  

I don't really celebrate Halloween (in the commercial sense) but I do make a pumpkin pie each year - it has become a family tradition.  I no longer make it with fresh pumpkin but use a reliable tin of pumpkin puree.

Star Sign Collage | Mixed Media | Taurus

Star Sign Collage | Series One | Aries

Local Gargoyles

Walking locally, I looked up instead of ahead or on the ground.  There is an interesting looking old coach house that is fenced off.  The top windows and above are visible.  Up on the roof tops I could see figures strategically placed around the building.  The figures are gargoyles.

These photos are not very clear because they have been enlarged with my camera phone.  In my original photos you could hardly make out what they are!

Weird as they are - I love them!  They're not just pretty faces you know but served a practical purpose.  They act as rain water spouts to divert water away from the building and prevent the mortar from degrading upon prolonged exposure to water.  Do you have any gargoyles on building near you?  If so I would love to see them.

Printing on Gel Plate Demo | Copy Paper and Tracing Paper

Mixed Media Painted Paper Collage | How Do I Start?

Mixed Media Frog | Mini Tutorial

Some Thoughts

This year on a whim I started a YouTube channel.  I thought it would be fun to document what was going on in the garden and take videos rather than just putting up photos on here.  I did used to update my Sybil's Plot gardening blog but as most people come to this Linden Grove channel, I stopped updating on there.

I put up my first YouTube video in the Spring called A Small Suburban Garden in Greater London May 2022.  After that a few more garden videos were created - 6 in total under the playlist In the Garden on my channel.  Then we had the drought.  I totally lost interest in the garden.  Many plants died due to lack of water and the only thing I really had success with was tomatoes and *roses which I watered as much as I could. 

Feeling despondent about the garden, I put my attention back to Art and Paper Craft - the topic that the Linden Grove blog started out on back in 2008.  With a renewed vigour for the topic I started to make videos about things I was making and as of now have uploaded 17 Art and Paper Craft videos under the playlist Art and Paper Craft  I recently changed the name of the channel to Paint-Cut-Glue with Simone as that is what I mainly do.

I expect not everyone is interested in my YouTube topics and I will try to post on here in between uploading my videos if I have anything worth mentioning.  If you do watch any of the videos it would be helpful to the channel if you liked, subscribed or left a comment over on YouTube.  It costs nothing to sign up to YouTube or to subscribe.

At 12.00pm tomorrow I have a scheduled pre-made video coming up.  It is a very short video, less than 2 minutes.  After that particular video I will be focusing on collage made with my own painted papers.  Hope you give it a watch, or any of those I have uploaded.

 * Desdemona photographed today.

Gel Plate Printing Demo | Wood Block Stamps | Quiet Working

Gel Plate Printing Demo | Household Objects | Quiet Working

Mixed Media Paper Collage NOT What I Expected!