Stars for an Old Friend

The eve of December and these beautiful berries on the old tree have pretty much disappeared now. 

All of a sudden when the North wind sends whispers of a frost the birds descend. Blackbird, thrush, pigeon and this year redwing. Maybe that's a sign of a colder winter ahead? I tried to capture them on camera but each time I got near they flew away. They are not as tame as the birds in the garden.  

As usual, we picked our bunch before they all disappeared. The sprigs wait patiently in a bucket of water ready for festive decorating. Unless of course Mr Blackbird discovers where the secret stash is. Having a pane of glass missing in the green house, this could be a real possibility and in fact has happened before. ;-) 

It's been a strange year indeed. I still can't believe that we are heading into December already. I don't have any inspiring pictures to share with you as I haven't been anywhere and have been so busy keeping up with orders.  I don't think a studio mess, piles of boxes, receipts and overflowing waste paper bins would have quite the same kind of vibe, so instead will show you the latest painting. 

It's called 'Stars for an Old Friend' and is painted in acrylics on paper.  I filmed the creation of it in time-lapse and made another film. So if you are interested in watching, click here or see below. It's available in both shops as a print. 

'Stars for an Old Friend'

Don't forget to get your advent calendars out and up ready for tomorrow.

See you in December! 

X  

Yarrow of the Olde Mead

Yes I know it's November 5th, 'Bonfire Night' here in the UK. But, today there shall be no obligatory firework pictures, instead let me whisk you away from November grey, back to the days of summer’s magic, when the dancing moth and healing yarrow decorated the old meadow...

’Yarrow of the Olde Mead’ is a painting I did for the exhibition 'A is for Apple' which has just begun at the Inverarity Gallery. It’s a gathering of different artists and we were all given a letter of the alphabet as the beginnings of our painting.  It's painted in acrylic on wood, and is framed in an up cycled vintage painted frame with mixed media.

Do go and have a look. The painting is for sale here  so if you are after a certain special 

Christmas gift for someone, then who knows, maybe, this could be it? :-) 

  

Anyway, I thought I'd stop by and give you dear blog readers (that are not on other social media) the heads up.
Enjoy your sparklers, toffee apples and baked potatoes this evening.
x

Elixrs and Potions and other Magic in Wonderland

Spider silk and water diamonds drape the tangled hedgerows. Morning mist has stolen the river and the trees have turned to ghosts.The breath of oak and stone whisper memories between the tudor cracks and eaves. And high up, a golden creature on it's lofty spire gently moves, yet there is no wind.

The colours are fading and the damp earthy smells of moss, fallen leaf, fungi and decomposing wood have replaced the perfumes of the summer gone. Although I love the scents of summer flowers, if I look for a perfume it's the musty Autumn smells that bewitch my olfactory system. 

We have had quite a bit of rainfall here so the toadstools and mushrooms are out in abundance. I'm sure the fairy folk will be up to much mischief this evening.

I came across this wonderful being in the garden a couple of weeks ago. After googling it, found out that it's the caterpillar of a Pale Tussock Moth. What an  amazing beauty! The green almost glowed and had a luminescence to it. I felt for a moment like Alice. The garden really is a wonderland if you try not to be too tidy. Leave the leaves, or just brush them to a corner. 

Pop over to instagram to see the video I shared too.

October magic has inspired my work this month. 

There is a new notebook in the web shop

On my desk, I brewed a spell with prussian blue. A Moon Elixr.

One sip daily should be enough to keep you bright throughout these dark nights. ;)

Because I had made one, Hare decided it was time to dust the shelves off in his own room and has been busy making a magical mixture too. I heard a whisper it may be starlight tea? But Robin informed me it could be something more important? 

Wishing you all a Happy Halloween! 

What Was Once There Is Now Returned

After posting daily over on Instagram throughout March things have become a little quieter.
I took a couple of days off and spent them in the garden, soaking up the primrose magic.

The painting I was working on is now finished.
                                   'What Was Once There Is Now Returned'

And is now available to buy as a print and a greeting card in the shop.

With Easter just around the corner, it was time to play with the theme of eggs. Well why not? ;) Miniature paintings with gold leaf. These four tiny originals will be available in the shop after 4pm today.

I've matted them ready to pop into 6x4 frames.

Have a good weekend. x

Painting Toadstools And Jack O Lanterns

October offerings.  

I've decorated my wind fall birds nest with colour, to brighten up the fading days.

On the previous blog post, I had an urge to paint toadstools. I've seen quite a few out and about and some in the garden but sadly not any fly agaric which I was hoping to spot. 

So instead I painted some...

It's good to step away from whatever you are doing sometimes, just to be indulgent and fill the creative urge. I added a robin for a finishing touch, just because... ;)

Sunday's walk lead me to this magical Briony plant twining among the hedgerows. There were some fallen berries, so I popped a couple in my pocket and planted them in a pot when I got home. This would look so beautiful in the garden and would hopefully spread in the wild hedgerows nearby too. Fingers crossed they germinate? Does anyone know if they are easy to grow? 

This evening the little pumpkin tea light holder was lit. It's the first year I think that I haven't got around to doing a real one. I was going to today, but decided to use the time on painting instead.

As a child, pumpkins were never as popular like they are now.

Instead we made Jack o lanterns out of ‘mangel wurzels’ These if you don’t know, are sort of like a turnip or swede. A couple of nights before Halloween us naughty children from our estate would go to the local farmers field and pull our lantern out of the ground. Running home with them in the dark, like a scene from Harry Potter, they looked like stolen mandrakes covered in mud. Once home we would leave them by the back door until Halloween, then we scooped them out, carved a face added a candle inside and threaded string to the lid to carry around. They normally lasted until Bonfire night.

🎃✨Happy Halloween 🎃 Happy Samhain✨ May your pumpkins and jack o lanterns burn bright tonight! x 

Hello February

Here we are with the first month of 2017 gone by in the blink of Jack frosts icy lashes.

Two new works that reflect my hibernation mode this January.
Ideas that began before Christmas, a continued theme from the 'natures treasures' smaller gold pieces that I did. These were put aside while the busy Christmas period was in full swing.

                                                                 'Fox Chestnut'

'Transformation'

I've taken January to gather my thoughts, plan, reflect and enjoy slow time, as well as do my tax return. The sleepy bear in me has now woken up. Outside there are signs that Spring is on her way and in the garden the snowdrops are out to greet Imbolc.

My new holly mug is still in use though, I was pleased to get this one half price in the sale at the end of December. 

I didn't make any new years resolutions,  instead prefer to make lists of little things to do.  Here is a glimpse of some of the things that are on this years...

Paint the wardrobe
Plant the yew tree that I have growing  in a pot. 
Buy a large easel
Pick up more litter
Upcycle some clothes? (sewing is not a strong point)
Put some wallpaper on a wall
Visit more art exhibitions
Go for more long walks
Go on more adventures
Find an old pine table for the dining room
Embroider something? 
Do a lino cut  (haven't done one for many years)
Organise photos
Create new website
Plant asparagus
Sort out all possessions using Marie Kondo method ( link to the book I read in the side bar)
Spend less time on social media. 
Blog more

What about you? Are you a list maker or resolution kind of person?

This image below, Aurora Hare was a small painting I did over the Christmas period. I've made some cards available in the shop using the image, along with the winter fox picture that was on the last post

Happy February! 

May the ground be covered in snowdrops and sky with flurries of snowflakes. Well, just a few. 

I will leave you with a poem that I wrote during hibernation in January. I'm no poet, but do like to 

have a play with words sometimes and felt brave enough to share. 

Star song

Lay your head down
On a pillow of flowers
Or a cold stone 
Listen  
A heart beat rises up from core, through rock
Through mineral, animal and vegetable
Pushing up from tiny cracks, to rise up to the light. 
It sings.
Can you hear? Do you feel?
Something Ancient. A pulse. 
Your Mother. Your Father. 
Earth. 
A song rising up through stem of grass and root
The notes are made of leaves and bones and old stars
Its chorus a symphony heard in the bark of fox and the bleat of a lamb.
And it's words are the dreams of the raindrops that fall 
Breathe
There is no ending
Passing the stardust back and forth forever.
To dance on the wind and swirl in the wild salty seas.
Castor and Pollux make up your laughter 
Orion sparkles in your tears. 

Karen Davis 2017

(Apologies for the tiny font on this post, but Blogger is up to tricks)