Fish

My latest creation, under tuition from Steve Cook.

Trees at Leonardslea

......and here are the magnificent trees at Leonardslea, resplendent in their Spring colours.

Blooms at Leonardslea

I feel so fortunate to have managed to visit Leonardslea before it is closed to the public and at the perfect time of year to see the Rhododendrons at their best.

Rockery at Leonardslea Gardens

Last week I was fortunate in visiting Leonardslea Gardens, in Sussex. These three pictures show part of the rockery area.
It is so unfortunate that the gardens will close to the public at the end of June, as they have been purchased by an international business man.
The gardens are ablaze of colour at this time of year, from Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Bluebells as well as the vast range of greens in the fresh foliage on the magnificant trees.
I will publish more lovely photo's, taken in the gardens, tomorrow.

A relaxing afternoon!

I met with my friend Pat, who had this delightful photograph of a Giraffe and we decided to have a go at painting his portrait.
It wasn't until I had finished that I realised
how much I'd enjoyed painting it!!

Imperial War Museum

Our visit to the Imperial War Museum proved to be very enjoyable and informative. This was a great improvement on our visit to the War Museum at Chelsea last Friday.


This tank was identified as 'Monty's Tank'








The Spitfires were very much in evidence. It gave a proud feeling to see them again.


There was much more information here, about the Korean War, than we had seen in last week's poor display.

An enjoyable extra was the Beetroot and Chocolate cake on sale in the cafe. I strongly recommend it to you.

Watercolour pictures

The idea for this picture came from a photo on Warley Patk Golf Club's web page.







This is a watercolour painted in one of Steve Cook's classes.

Tree Peony

Success! I planted a Tree peony in the garden a few years ago. Since then it has had numerous mishaps from being trampled down by foxes to being bitten by frost. This year we have a success story, as shown in this photograph.

There are three pale pink blooms similar to this one, no wonder they say gardeners need patience!! It's been worth waiting for.

Newly planted garden bed.

Recently Dennis removed a huge conifer from part of the garden. The ground was very barren so we applied fertiliser, soil improver and multipurpose compost in order to re-vitalise the ground.

During the weekend I have planted out the Lewisias and added three pots of succulents, as well as putting two small evergreen shrubs at the back of the bed. Now I'm hoping the foxes leave them to seettle in and bloom.

Magnolia

This picture is one Steve Cook distributed during a recent class. I have not managed to get to classes for a few weeks, so this is my interpretation of the Magnolia.

Sketch Book pictures

Three more pictures from my old sketchbook.

Pictures from my Sketchbook

Pictures from my sketch book

We were encouraged to study and record natural shapes and colours as part of the City and Guild Hand Embroidery Course

A beautiful Weekend

It was a pleasure to re-visit Fountains Abbey after being away from Yorkshire for many years.
The weather was beautiful and we walked miles through the Abbey grounds, taking photographs as we went. I have one in particular I hope to use as an idea for a water-colour painting.

Harrogate Show Awards

Here is a small selection of award winning displays.

This display was awarded the 'Best in Show' Trophy.
It was well deserved!

Harrogate Show continued

The blooms on display at the show were, as would be expected, magnificent.
Just a small selection is included here.











Tulips











Alstroemaria











Fritillary













Clematis




Orchids