Archive
The “Forest” Floor
I tidied this up today, the sketch was done last week on a visit to the Living Rainforest which was an almost on the way a to stop off over half term. I fell in love with the birds there, especially the little metallic partridges which bustled around the paths and in and out of the bushes. They are called Roul Roul Partridges, they quarrel ,they chase each other and make a funny noise. Much more attractive qualities in shiny feathers than in grungy jeans and dubious t-shirts.
Two days of tulips, artificial light and natural light- a painting a day
12″ x 9″ 30cm x 22cm approx. 200g/90lb paper
Both these paintings are a full page of my medium sized Fabriano block sketch pad. They are not entirely to my satisfaction. The first uses artificial light and the second the fading natural light of this afternoon. I think I could almost do a Hockney cut and paste, adding the parts I like from one image to the other image. Well I could except it was the two tulips to the left that went off in each case. Tulips are swines for moving by the way; in a half hour period leaves curled and twisted away from their starting positions.
#193
The snow has not all melted and today I met a man cross country skiing on the South Downs. It was beautiful but very cold up there. In Ditchling village the pub window boxes are still showing blue in the flowers ( now freezedried) of the summer lobelia. In the last half hour fresh snow started falling.
#194
Jack Edwards beans on a striped plate-a painting a day original watercolour AND a design for a collagraph
8cm x 16cm, 3.25″ x 6.5″
These two are work in progress,
The beans on the plate are almost abstract and I am fine with that. They grew on the allotment and we have dried them for use in stews. They are rather good in stews they get very soft and smooth, better than shop bought dry beans. The plate is a bit of a disaster zone, but it’s an easy picture to set up and do, so I should try again.
The print-like image is a wax rubbing of a collagraph plate which did not work. I made it to remind me of how to proceed when I sort out the technical problem caused by the waxy leaves. I have read of someone using a mixture of polyfilla and pva glue.
The snow has finally proved to me that my sons are no longer children. It snowed on Saturday night, instead of leaping out of bed and getting out there they came to in their usual morbidly slow way and cursed the fact that there was the whole of Sunday to clear the roads making school closures less likely!” But it means you’ve got today to go sledging!”, I said weakly….a short time ago they would have been cock a hoop that the snow arrived on a weekend for maximum exploitation.
No2 son has returned from school with an appointment with the deputy head for throwing snowballs at school, and there was I thinking as I thought everyone thought …its only muppets and cissies that don’t play with the snow.
#192
Lemon a day 