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Autumn leaves , Beech, Hornbeam, Beech – a painting a day
This painting has been framed and is for sale
size 6 in x 9 in, 15cm x 24cm
No1 son has gone off to the frozen North to look at rivers. I am feeling slightly anxious about this as there really is snow forecast for Monday on the teeth of a gale. He is not designed for heat retention being extremely thin, also he never thinks it’s a good idea to put any thought into dressing for the weather.
The leaves are all falling in great heaps now; there is a job for months, if not life ,out there on my own back lawn. I dug out a bag of old leaf mould the other day and it proves it is worth collecting and composting the leaves. I have enough to layer it six inches deep on the new bed (which needs it as it’s very clayish).
The painting is of some richly coloured Beech leaves with, I think, a Hornbeam leaf in the middle.
#151 a painting a day by Alison Warner on her lemon a day art blog
Autumn leaves Lilac, Cherry and Lilac – a painting a day
Click here to purchase size 6 in x 9 in, 15cm x 24cm
There are good times of year and bad times of year. This is not my favourite in many ways; the hour has changed and we all feel it. Meals feel necessary earlier as the stomach clocks are struggling to adjust. The weather is mild which is a bonus, the house is warm all day following a short blast from the radiators in the morning, which is a vindication of the warm roof insulation. I love the air and the light at this time of year. There are times when the colours are brighter than anything spring or summer can offer. Hence the leaves in todays painting. There are rows of trees on the drive to school every day that are just glowing at the moment.
I did do a painting yesterday but when I showed it to DIY Dad he asked which way up it was supposed to go…all very well if you are an abstract artist but I’m not.
The nasty neutral magnolia paintwork on the walls in this room did not scrub up well, we therefore repainted it. The walls are still neutral but the carpet will be bright or dark. I know carpet is not fashionable but we have solid floors and carpet is warmer. In fact the floors are the least ecological part of this house as they are only insulated in the kitchen diner. A good carpet will have to stand in for insulation in this room. The walls are now a very pale grey with a warm tone to it. The name is a marketers dream…for a certain section of society…’Egyptian Cotton’. It is not the colour of calico or unbleached cotton or indeed bleached cotton, mind you I have yet to see a Magnolia flower that is the colour of magnolia paint. ‘Its not magnolia’, I think they could call a paint that and do just as well.
Mainly its done(the room that is,apart from the carpet). I ,being mindful of the age of the children ,asked for everyones views on the carpet,No2 son wants a sample very like the old carpet (stupidly pale and neutral),no1 son cannot see the point and thinks the old carpet should be patched (possibly using the samples from the carpet shop?), husband thinks red would be nice but not so red it looks like we are expecting the Queen. I want aubergine but I know that it too will show the dirt. Like all consultation processes on the modern era it will be a scam, I will go back to the carpet shop and choose what I like, come home and point out a) all their ideas had flaws,yes they were rubbish, b) in two weeks they will have forgotten what colour it is and will have covered it in sweet wrappers anyway.
#150 a painting a day by Alison Warner on her lemon a day art blog
Blueberry has the most extraordinary red and yellow leaves before they drop.
apple leaves in the garden
Autumn flowers- a painting a day
This painting has been framed and is for sale at Burgess Hill Open Houses see blog for June 4th
size 6 in x 10 in 15cm x 20cm watercolour on heavy weight rag paper
Life or the ongoing maths test that masquerades as life is changing. There was frost on the windscreen back and front this morning. The plants do not seem to be affected so far. Just to be on the safe side I brought in the most tender fuchsia “Thalia” and some Echeverias and the Baster Kobus which comes from Namibia and will probably cope with quite bit of cold but not damp cold. The Kalahari is surprisingly cold at night in the winter, seven or eight blankets and a husband were not enough. We used to wedge the baby between us on the coldest nights, for his sake- not ours obviously.
For todays painting I have changed the background by using a yellow pillowcase; I wanted the daffodil sky look. It’s not there yet but the colours Gauguin used are clearly findable in my world. It is very easy as a Northern European to get bogged down in drabness. I remember a painter in Cyprus, Neocles whose painting were the essence of a sun drenched day on the beach and looking at my painting realising that I was still on a non- Mediterranean dull palette. It took a conscious effort to do a painting in a better colour set for the climate. I was working in oils there as I had the space in a barn of a rented house on the Green line. Being on the line reduced the rent a bit (not enough to compensate for the Turkish Commandos crawling through the back garden one night after the Cypriots had nicked the Turkish flag on a stormy night for a laugh….well they were only kids, teenagers with large guns ….probably only a year older than No1 son, which is a very scary thought.) A full international incident was avoided because Panikos who was very short and very goofy was on guard that night, I asked him what he had done when the commandos climbed out of the dry riverbed into my garden, “ Shit I was scared” he said” I put down my gun quietly and I hid, they crawled off that way” he pointed downstream. Thinking about the spending cuts he could probably teach the British Army a thing or two about how to get by without using any of that over expensive ammo stuff.
I think the Government should simplify and declutter…stuff all the complicated spending cuts that pick on the employed middle class parents and the sick and unemployed, the coalition has already shown they can break promises with aplomb, just put up Income Tax and keep it dead simple, but put the resources into checking up on the people who hide income and dodge tax (like the occaisional MP ). No, we haven’t forgotten.
#145 a painting a day by Alison Warner on her lemon a day art blog
Pear Precoce de Trevoux -a painting a day
Day One hundred and thirty three
size 5 in x 5 in 13cm x 13cm watercolour on heavy weight rag paper
Today I am considering the subject of my blog, I have been asked to do some Morning Glory, I quite fancy doing an outdoor picture but it will probably rain on me, and then again there are flowers and apples in the garden which I like but haven’t put in a blog painting yet…some days to have plenty of choice seems a luxury and on other days it is too much. I have decided upon one of the stored pears ,you can tell its been stored its gone a little crumpled.
I made a big tray of apple sortofshortbread this morning for the weekend, but it smelt so lovely that when my neighbour popped round to look at the builders progress on their house( getting there) we got stuck into it with a cup of coffee. Apparently her daughter K. reads the blog which is lovely to hear.
The shortbreadsortof is an attempt to pass off more apples on the family in an acceptable form. I made a mix half way between shortbread and pastry using butter and stork and plain flour (1lb flour,3/4 shortening,1/2 sugar,1 cup raisins, two large aromatic eaters diced,pinch of salt…I used the Ellison’s Orange, but Cox or anything suitable for a French Tarte au Pommes would do. It’s quite crumbly but tastes good*. There are many opinions on what should go in a real French Tarte au Pommes, something like Calville Blanc d’Hiver apple is classic, it has a very strong flavour and thin slices cook but do not break up, however modern writers including French recipe sites suggest Golden Delicious or Granny Smith ,these will look right but they will not have the intense flavour of the older apples which are used by better restaurants in France. If you tend to think that Tarte au Pommes is OK but a bit insipid I suggest you seek out one made with the sort of apples around which the recipe was created. I wonder how many old recipes we miss the point of as we do not have access to the right varieties of fruit and vegetable to make them special. Ellison’s Orange is actually a cross between a French Calville Blanc d’Ete and an English Cox so it probably is a good candidate for a proper Tarte au Pommes. The apple can seem dry as soon as it starts to overripen , but that I think is the sort of characteristic required.
Last night I put apples in the salad and in the pudding and the night before I made Bolognese sauce with fresh garden tomatoes ( they thought it was marvellous…no of course they didn’t they moaned that it was different from the standard brew).
Method for recipe if you would like to try:
Put the flour and the shortening and the salt into a food processor, blitz until it is mixed and starting to stick together in lumps.
Mix in the raisins and the diced apple, press into a lined tray bake for half an hour in a medium oven or until it is firm and beginning to brown in places. Cut up when nearly cool and eat, but you could guess that bit.
#133 a painting a day by Alison Warner on her lemon a day art blog
Ceps for tea – a painting a day
size 8 in x 12 in 20cm x 30cm watercolour on heavy weight rag paper
There are two sorts of fungus, no three, there are those that are interesting because you can eat them, there are those that are interesting because they look extraordinary, and then there are the bbj’s (boring brown jobs ) that are just not interesting in any way, well not to me.
It’s like bird watching, the bbj’s are quite common but owing to their nondescript brownness they are at once boring to look at and difficult to identify. I did a lot of bird watching when I lived in the prospecting camp in Botswana (there was not a lot of entertainment laid on), but I knew that I was not a serious twitcher because I couldn’t be bothered to nail all the boring birds just to increase my list of sightings. I was more than happy to take a daily look at the pair of white faced owls that lived in the knob thorn tree over the tent, and to follow the squabbling buffalo weavers soap opera type existence lower down the same tree. I likewise know my limitations with mushrooms.
Returning to fungi, today I offer a painting of the beautiful sculptural ceps, they boast spectacular curves of the sort mostly found on women with large hips and bums. The photograph is of the more sinister and lumpy boletes that were in the lawn. These come up every year but there are more this year. Thinking about it they would have made a good subject to catch the eye of the judges for the Threadneedle prize had they been growing on an urban dual carriage way.
#124 a painting a day by Alison Warner on her lemon a day art blog
These would grace the mantelpiece of Fungus the Bogeyman, I had to remove them as they were big enough to trip over and the lawn mower would have been ill on them.
These are DIY dads DIY new tomato varieties.
It looks as though someone has inserted a pink LED into this one.
Three strawberries – a painting a day
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lemonaday size 5inx6in 13cmx15cm watercolour on heavyweight rag paper
The strawberry theme continues although there is some background here. I have made this very loose and applied the paint wet on wet and then in some places flooded it with oxgall.
Today I put out a big group of Tiarella seedlings in the shady area that got flattened recently following the build. The soil is very patchy; there are areas where I was digging holes and then throwing into the hedge base the yellow lumps of clay that I dug out. At least if I scrape around there are bits of soil to be found in places. I watered all the young plants very well and top dressed with a mixture of mulch and chicken manure pellets. There were one or two little seedlings of some species geranium that had emerged from the compost after I pricked out the baby Tiarellas. I hope they don’t mind shade.
I also went looking for patio pot survivors from last year , this was quite productive, I have four white fuchia Annabel, four fuchia in shades of pink trailing which made it indoors overwinter, several Erigeron Profusion which is trying to flower, two diascias, several rooted cuttings of Pelagonium on the kitchen window sill plus three parent plants and lots of trailing nepeta which is also starting to flower. In addition there are two good plants of fuchia Thalia indoors still. One or two pots that I have dragged out from shelter have some interesting looking seedlings too. I only really need to buy some lobelia as I have one e-bay pack of mixed hanging basket plants being brought on.
Things are really moving fast in the garden, lots of big hitters are out or ready to go any minute . The clematis Montana is almost out , the honeysuckle Dropmore Scarlet likewise. There is a delicate bush honey suckle opening with pink flowers L. tartarica I think .
My star bit of permanent planting is at its peak, here is a sequence of photographs. First shows the tulips still in bud and yeaterday there they are open in the sun. You can just make out the striped leaves.
The art exhibition was better than expected although it was clear that another class had had one really good project that exhibited very well and looked like they had enjoyed it.
Alison
#35 a painting a day by Alison Warner on her lemon a day art blog
A sweet strawberry – a painting a day
Sold 4.5″x6″ 11cm x 15cm watercolour on heavyweight rag paper
I was out of order here as I could have bought some English strawberries grown under plastic but they were the favourite with the growers Elsanta and they always disappoint on taste. I suppose they last a long time on the shelf and work better for the supermarket, but a strawberry is nothing without taste and perfume. So unless I require something sturdy and scarlet to decorate a cake or display I shall not buy Elsanta; it is ruining the reputation of strawberries everywhere.
This strawberry filled the studio near me with its perfume which was quite a task as the garlic from yesterday is still there.
Today I went to Sheffield Park a very beautiful garden belonging to the National Trust near here. I took my paints but there was too much there for me to settle and find a small subject for a quick small picture. The highest of the lakes was covered in waterlilies and something with oblong leaves and pretty frilly white flowers. I should have liked to try that but it would have been an all day task. A swan crossed the lake perhaps thinking my painting bag contained crusts.
There were dogwoods with big flowers, soft deep purple cones on low growing firs and more azaleas, magnolias and rhododendrons than the mind can take in easily.
At home the plants are finally going into the area formerly known as the Somme. Last night husband transplanted the magnolia, I know it’s very late but there is rain due at the weekend. It will need cosseting with regular water all summer now. Two of the bamboos went in and most of the rest of the planting it placed on the surface…the gaps are huge as this will be an area of big plants providing screening and a backdrop. It’s going to look rubbish for a couple of years at least. I am also going to have to find a cheap and cheerful temporary groundcover plant.
It will be No.1sons GCSE art exhibition (the one he forgot to mention) this evening . A must see, my friend and I wish they would put the boys and girls stuff separately as we can’t help expecting that the girls will have done so much more.
Alison
#34 a painting a day by Alison Warner on her lemon a day art blog
Hellebore -a painting a day
FOR SALE ON:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/45822346/hellebore-775inx6in-19cmx15cm
7.75″x6″ 19cm x 15cm watercolour on heavyweight rag paper
This is the middle plant of three hellebores which came as a free offer with a plant order, it is a lovely pink with a hint of peach. Actually I nearly did not get them, the company tried to fob me off with a substitute ….begonias corms…..excuse me but where do begonias come equal to hybrid hellebores? I complained and they said that if I reminded them the following year I would get my hellebores….I don’t know quite how but I did remember and have a glorious row of three which have now self sown for the first time. One is tall and white, one is green and double and this one is as you see. It flops in water a bit. Another theme to try again. There is also the big job of teasing the seedlings out of the ground and potting them up so that they all get a chance.
Alison
#8 a painting a day by Alison Warner on her lemon a day art blog
Lemon a day 
