Final Peacock

This is the finished picture of the Peacock, once the water had been added.

Bridge with shadow

The sun came out!

Peacock progress

 

   Initial shading for the 'Peacock', using CARAN D'ACHE  Supracolor Soft watercolour pencils,   without  water at this stage.

First stages in building up the details, still using the pencils dry.

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Rustic Bridge

Would you enjoy a game of Pooh sticks from this bridge?   It would be fun.

It's been an interesting picture to paint and whilst I found the choice of colours  used for the Silver Birch tree strange I like the result..

Probably my next project

Many colours can be seen,
Mainly blue with tints of green,
He walks so very tall and vain,
As he struts his way around again,

Rustic Bridge

I seem to be taking ages over this picture but here it is again, having added more trees and given depth to the foliage.

Bottles again.

A first attempt at sketching using pastels.

Holiday Sketching

A few days away gave me an opportunity to practice my sketching.

Snow Scene

In the bleak mid winter.  Essex looks much like this this morning!  A day to stay indoors in the warm.

Happy Christmas

Welcome to the Village.

Christmas is coming.

Ding-dong  Merrily on High

Christmas is coming.

More cottages are showing their Christmas Lights.

Christmas is coming.

'Twas the night before Christmas,
No-one was stirring, not even a mouse

Christmas is coming.

Silent Night Holy Night,
All is calm, all is bright.

In the Village

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All lit up for Christmas.

Christmas is coming.

Christmas will soon be here, the villagers are putting up the lights and
have put up their crystal tree.

From a Terry Harrison Creation

The second stage of Terry Harrison's 'Rustic Bridge' picture.  I used two of Terry's 'special' brushes but as I did not find the instructions for executing the picture very helpful I am using my own ideas.  So far so good but I've already needed to wash out an area of river as a result of getting carried away with the greens.
It may be some time before the picture gets finished due to my  taking a few days holiday.         

Lambeth Walk

The verdict was:  A Brilliant Show'   Surprised that it lasted three hours but thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing.  Seats gave an excellent view of the whole enormous stage. Wonderful!!

What a Spectacular

Sue and Mark saw the 'Christmas Spectacular' at Thursford yesterday afternoon, whilst w had fun caring for their Poodles. We hope they enjoyed the show also their visit to Holt. Now they just need a good journey home.

Woolly Visitors

We have two beautiful Poodles staying with us for a few days.  They are so playful and full of fun..
Mini is on the left and Cooper on the right.  You'll gather that Mini-Coopers are a family favourite.
They are here whilst their 'mum and dad' alias Sue and Mark have gone to see the Christmas Spectacular in Thursford.

A quick sketch

Doing this sketch provided a relaxing few minutes yesterday evening. Watercolour pencils are invaluable when space and effort are limited!!

Fascinating Colours

There were fascinating salt patterns on this wall, changing the original brick colours dramatically. It gave me yet another water-colour challenge to enjoy.

Stormy Weather

There have been severe weather warnings for the whole of today with people being advised to stay indoors. A wise move!

A Happy Day Out in London

I went up to Harrods today with two friends, Jean and Lee
The restaurant was very Christmassy, putting us in the mood to enjoy our Christmas dinner.
The food was beautifully displayed. We found it difficult to make our selection. In the end we had an excellent meal and ate far too much.

Finally we went up to enjoy seeing the Christmas lights in Oxford Street.

Italian Village

This is my latest watercolour picture, painted in my art class under the guidance and supervision of Steve Cook.

Visiting Witches

These two 'Wicked Witches' arrived at our door, on their broomsticks, this evening! They sang their witchy song for us:
'A funny little lady in a pointed hat on my doorstep, rat-a-tat-tat,
When I went to open it she was not there,
But off on broomstick way up in the air.'

They deserved their 'Magic' sweets and went off home, with their nan, very happily.

Nerines

The Nerines in my garden have been lovely this year. They are almost past their best now but I managed to find these this morning.

Yew hedge with some small adjustments.

Since showing the last version of 'The Hedge' to my art tutor, I've made one or two small adjustments. I think they have improved the end product and I'm definitely not doing anything else to it! It's going in a frame this evening!!

The Old Yew Hedge at Holme Lacy

Here is my completed picture of the hedge at Holme Lacy. I honestly didn't think it would ever be finished. I was happy with the early stages and then lost confidence in my ability to do the foreground without spoiling the whole thing.
As it turns out I am pleased to have persevered as I'm really very happy with the end product.
My next subject will be less of a challenge.

Where is this Hedge?

Visit 'National Garden Scheme' for information about getting to see the hedge in grounds of Holme Lacy House.

Not again.

I had no intention of making this such a long, drawn out exercise but I think it's almost finished now.

Hedge,yet again.

I decided to try painting a watercolour picture of the first hedge photo that has the 'faces' in the intricate design. Here is stage one, using a light yellow wash before applying the greens in order to leave some of the yellow wash exposed for the sunny highlights.



This is the second stage of that hedge showing how sections of the hedge are being defined in more detail. More work still to do.

Tinted hedge

You will realise by now I am fascinated by the hedges at Holme Lacy. It seemed a good idea to try putting a wash over the sketch, now I'm not sure. The actual picture looks better than the photo so all is not lost!

Flower beds at Holme Lacy

We had a lovely holiday at Holme Lacy and particularly enjoyed exploring the grounds. This huge hedge, fashioned into contorted shapes was particularly impressive. How many years has it taken to reach this stage I wonder?

Gardens at Holme Lacy

I was fascinated by the Yew Hedges and was tempted to try some sketching.

My attempt at a pencil sketch of the hedge.
The result is a shadow of the real thing but was great fun to draw.

Hampton Court Castle, Herefordshire.

Just wanted to let you see the castle.

September Holiday

We have been away for a few days, in Holme Lacy. Whilst there we visited the Hampton Court Castle near to Leominster. This Hampton Court was established earlier than the one most people know, on the Thames near to London.



It's in a beautiful situation in the Herefordshire countryside and the gardens have been beautifully renovated, as this view of the water feature shows.



It was a peaceful, sunny afternoon and as we wandered around we spotted this little Sparrow having a wonderful time bathing in the Rill.

Rainbow Snouts!

Rainbow Pigs, Marilyn Allis' style.

Wild animals

We're going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo,
You can come too, too, too......to see the Meerkat!



Tiger, tiger, burning bright.

Contrasting Giraffes

Whilst drawing this Giraffe the other day I was reminded of another project which also included a Giraffe. It took many more hours to create than this little fellow!


This is a needlework sampler I made, as part of my City and Guilds course in Hand Embroidery, almost fifty years ago. It was based on cave drawing designs and included a wide variety of stitches.

Autumn Colours

Autumn leaves are falling,
Floating to the ground,
Colours are magnificent,
Reds,
Yellows,
Golden Browns.



I painted these leaves, after Steve Cook demonstrated the technique.

MacMillan Coffee Morning

Rainham Bowls Club once again supported the annual MacMillan Coffee Morning fund raising event. Dennis and I went in support and this picture is of Dennis, together with my friend Pat Brown, who has raised a huge amount of money for the charity through organising similar coffee mornings. Well done Pat!