Hares, Colour and Some Sea Air

If I had to sum up this summer with one word, it would be colour.  I've really appreciated the brightness of colour this year. I think more so than normally. The deep jewel tones and shades of green from mossy to emerald. 

More green has been brought inside. It was time to say goodbye to the rather boring white on the window frame. I'm hoping to finish this later today? It's a large bay window and what you see in the photograph is only half the size. It's always a mission painting and cleaning it! 

For the first time ever, this year I grew some Bergamot. I love the shape of the flowers. The seed packet said that bees would adore it, but to be honest I've yet to see any bees on the flowers. They are much preferring the other plants in the garden.

The pond plants are doing well now and look rather like a miniature forest. 

Sulphur shades of fennel dominate the garden on this last day of August. 

 Mr owl was finally given a home on top of the old gate post that we converted into a plinth. 

I think he rather likes it here? It's as if he's keeping watch over the garden.  Mr Blackbird has taken a liking to sitting on top of his head. It's actually a candle holder, so I will take a picture sometime at dusk and see if his eyes light up?

With it being the last days of summer it's time to share the Spring /Summer hares! These were finished a month ago or more, but I just haven't got around to adding them to the shop yet.

So that's what I plan to do very soon, infact on...

                ****Monday 2nd September at 7pm****

One of the reasons it's taken so long to get them ready for sale is because I have been umming and aahing about adding them to my Web Shop this time instead of the Etsy Shop. It's a decision I made a while back to get another shop going, as Etsy, although being fantastic for me, has made rather a lot of changes since I began selling on there 11 years ago. Some of them are not so good for me personally, so it was time to get another shop up and running. It has taken quite a bit of work and will take a lot more, but it's a start. I will keep Etsy as well, but am planning to sell the originals in the Web Shop. Anyway we shall see how it goes? If you were one of the many folks that asked about buying wholesale (cards) for your gallery or bricks and mortar shop, then I've also set up a system for this which I am testing. Just pop me an email using the contact form on the website. 

These hares were inspired by what was in the garden and around me this summer.  

                                                     Meadow Hare ~ Viola, Forgetmenot and Bee 

Meadow Hare ~ Starlight, Clover and Glow worm

Meadow Hare~ Viola, Herb Robert and Bee

Hedgerow Hare~ Starlight, Honeysuckle and Moth

Meadow Hare ~ Starlight, Self Heal, Clover and Glow Worm

Meadow Hare~ Green, Viola, Herb Robert and Bee

I hope this summer you have found a little relaxation and escape from the stress and worries of the world wherever you may be?  We ventured for a short while to Clovelly a village on the north coast of Devon. Away from cars and noise and down to the sea.

 The only traffic on these old cobbled paths are donkeys (the donkeys are more for show these days and don't do hard work like years ago thankfully) and sledges, which folk use to carry their shopping and other essentials down to the cottages. 

 

Looking down onto the harbour.

We stayed right by the sea, just behind the white building nearest to the sea, in the little beige stone building to the right.

There was sunshine and showers and not very many people around. Bliss.

We did some coast path walking, beach combing, found angels and places where Devon pixies dwell.

And we watched the sea change her salty cloak from turquoise to grey as the storm clouds gathered.

But mostly we just listened to the song of the waves on the pebbles. And each night with the bed next to the window, the melody flowed into our dreams.

Karen
x

Six Nights Away

Do you have a list in a forgotten notebook somewhere of places you want to visit and things you want to see? Are you ticking them off gradually? I hope so.  Some people call them bucket lists. I prefer to call them wish lists. This last week I got to tick one of mine off. ...A visit to Wistmans Wood.

Wistmans Wood  has been on my list of places to visit since I saw the wonderful documentary 'Earth Pilgrim' several years ago by Satish Kumar. 

Ancient stone and twisted oak trees are clothed in moss. Ferns grow from branches their spores snugly taken root in the deep green.

Lichen adorns the twiggy arms like sleeves on a mottled coat. Some look like hair growing or little nests.

The only noise here is the noise of nature. Water, wind, earth, animal, and us as we move. Snap of twig, scuff of shoe on stone.
Do you see the tree pointing?  I see a crone. Wise old woman of the wood?

There are many tales and legends about the wood to read. Too many to tell here, but here is a good place to visit if you want to know more. 

Just below the wood is the west dart river. Picturesque and tolkienesque. 

And here are my two hobbits or Orcs!  blending in with the landscape, well sort of.  ;)  

A beautiful rowan tree on the edge of the wood. I think this tree will get to be a star in a painting shortly...

I would have liked to have stayed longer and visited more of Dartmoor but this was just a quick passing visit on our way down to Cornwall. We camped for one night in Princetown and as night fell a heavy mist descended and the wind made the tree's leaves sing and rain pounded our tent all through the night. The wild weather had disappeared by the morning and the sun shone on our journey over the border into Cornwall and to the Atlantic.

Was it really a whole year ago that my feet were indulged in sea water foot baths in sparkly rockpools?

We camped right by the sand dunes which were filled with these beautiful day flying burnet moths.

 Every where you looked on the grass stems, were the empty pods/cocoons that they had hatched from.

Sometimes I wandered and found jewels while everyone else rode the waves.

On the night of the blue moon we were back in the woods.

This time Tehidy woods, to see the Rogue Theatre. When we saw them last year we enjoyed it so much, that we just couldn't miss this year's 'King Arthur And The Wild Hunt'

An evening filled with fire, mist and magic. If you get the chance to see them, then do. I think they tour, so keep eyes peeled.
On our last night camping, we saw a gloworm. What a special end to a great six days.

Now back here at home, I'm busy finishing off the illustrations for the book that I'm working on and some new paintings in the pipeline, for an exhibition that I'm participating in. There will be  more on that later....

 In the mean time, enjoy your weekend.

 x