September garden and moon

The other day in the garden, the tiniest grass snake. The photograph is deceiving as it's hard to see the scale of it. But look at the bobbly leaf, that's cat mint/nip. For those of you who know this plant, you'll know that the leaf is only very small. For those of you that don't, I'd say that the snake was about 12 cms long and about 1/2 cm wide. I love finding grass snakes. :)

The garden is wearing her early Autumn gown now. Some flowers are fading curling and browning.

Seed pods are ripe and splitting and the September breeze help them on their journey to start new life.

 'O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained with the blood of the grape, 

pass not, but sit beneath my shady roof; there thou mayest rest and tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe, 

and all the daughters of the year shall dance! Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers' 

– William Blake

Last night we coincided our walk to catch the gorgeous huge moon as it rose up above the hill. 

As darkness came quickly I spied this cow, she had walked alone, on ahead of the herd and was just stood beneath the moon. I'm sure she looked up.

The light was a little dim at this point for my camera, so I've adjusted the exposure. In doing this I have revealed what looks like an orb of light. I know there is much debate to what orbs of light are, but I like to think that there could possibly have been a spirit or unknown presence there as it was an incredibly peaceful special moment. Who knows?

In the shed I've been cutting out wood and trying to use all the scraps up. There are rather a lot of scraps, so there will be pendants on the way among other things...
The first batch are moons that seem as if they have been brought to life from my last painting.
Little 'moonlits'  :)

And she saw in his eyes that all was enchanted between Earth and sky

The title of this post is also the title of this painting below that I have recently finished. A sketch since last year, but like many of my ideas, they often get put aside for a later date. It's painted on watercolour paper. I kind of wish that I had painted it on wood or canvas now that it's complete,  I love how you can build up a much thicker richer  colour and layers and play around a bit on those surfaces. However I chose paper, which I also love.  I like that you can achieve a certain delicacy by not using so much paint which I tend to do when I use paint on paper.
I don't think I will ever be a 'one or the other' person, as I would miss too much whichever one I chose to abandon.
 You may well see a similar painting popping up on wood or canvas at some point in time. ;)

Dandelion clocks, moths, starry blue hare, silvery mist and snippets of gold.  

 I also finished another piece last week, which is again on paper. 'Path of the Ancients'                                                             

After finishing this painting and naming it, I was browsing the web for some words to share with this post on the theme of ancient and I came stumbled across this wonderful poem. It seems so appropriate and surely a definite case of synchronicity?

'The Ancients of the world'

By Ronald Stuart Thomas

The salmon lying in the depths of Llyn Llifon

Secretly as a thought in a dark mind,

Is not so old as the owl of Cwm Cowlyd

Who tells her sorrow nightly on the wind.

The ousel singing in the woods of Cilgwri,

Tirelessly as a stream over the mossed stones,

Is not so old as the toad of Cors Fochno

Who feels the cold skin sagging round his bones.

The toad and the ousel and the stag of Rhedynfre,

That has cropped each leaf from the tree of life,

Are not so old as the owl of Cwm Cowlyd,

That the proud eagle would have to wife.

                                                         

 I've added both new pictures as prints, to my Etsy shop.

                                                                               ***
In between painting, time has been spent as much as possible outside. Garden jobs and harvesting delicious things such as these.

 And noticing things such as these.

On the left, a  rather magnificent caterpillar which has stayed put beneath the porch for the last two days. I think it's maybe going to form it's cocoon? Anyone know what it is? I haven't had chance to research yet.
The other two butterfly chrysalis I discovered hanging from beneath our water butt lid. Not the safest of places to hang. If we get a lot of rain and it overflows, they will be submerged and drowned. What a horrible thought.  I shall be keeping an eye on these two, as it could be another moving job?

Since last writing here I have acquired an Instagram account. Why don't you come and join me if you have it. :) x

She loved The Moon so dearly

I woke up and the world outside was dark, all so quiet before the dawn, opened up the door and walked outside, the ground was cold. I walked until I couldn't walk anymore, to a place I'd never been. There was something stirring in the air, in front of me, I could see more than this, more than this, so much more than this. There is something else there ~ Peter Gabriel

November mists have arrived. In the morning when the day is new and filled with promise they linger until the sun finds strength to burn them away. They return quietly when the fires are lit and the blackbird has a belly full from a days feasting on red ripe holly berries. They stay throughout the night, silently softening the edges of the bright moon.

It's at this time of year that I always somehow feel the unknown close. Beyond our vision, somewhere in the in between places the feeling that there is more than this is strong. I saw it in the hundreds of spiders webs caught in the wind, in a field up on the hill. And in the donkey that in the light looked as if it could be a unicorn in disguise. 

I see it in the white sunlight on thin leaves. 

 And in the birds.

                                                                   ~*~
I am having a little break from making wooden hangers now until the Spring and instead will concentrate on paintings. Below is my most recent work, painted on a slice of wood that I had. This idea had been in my sketchbook for a while and the shape and piece of wood suited it perfectly I felt. 

                                          'She loved The Moon so dearly' 

Prints of this piece are available in my Etsy shop here

Moonrakers

In my last post I told you that I had been working on a painting and that I'd share it in the next post. Well here it is....
                                                            'Moonrakers'

It's for a local exhibition that I'm taking part in this June which will be part of the Corsham festival. The exhibition theme was Wiltshire/a personal Journey, who you are and you're work.  I decided to take on the famous old Wiltshire story of the Moonrakers with a whimsical twist, including my white hare guide that still leads me one step ahead along my path.

And a bushy tailed  foxy friend to join him.

Oh and an owl..

For those of you who have never heard of the Wiltshire Moonrakers, then let me explain.
Many years ago, when wealthy men wore shoes with silver buckles and women wore long gowns, smuggling was rife. Some Wiltshire folk decided to hide contraband barrels of french brandy from custom officials in a village pond. (The location is believed to be the Crammer in Devizes)
One night when the owls and foxes spoke to the bright full moon, they came quietly to retrieve it using rakes to pull the barrels out. In the middle of the act they were caught by the revenue men who asked them what they were doing raking the pond? Pointing at the moon's reflection they replied:
"Why, just trying to catch that big piece of round cheese Sir"
The excise men thinking they were simple yokels, laughed, left them to their business and went on their way.
The Wiltshire men were left to carry on  and I'm sure were very happy with their french brandy!
                                         
This picture is not the best quality as it's just a photo when the painting was on my desk. But, I have plans to get it scanned this weekend and make it available as a print in my Etsy shop shortly.
                                                                        ****
My what a lot of rain has fallen this week. It rained non stop most of last weekend then rained on and off all through the week.  My water butt that was standing dry is now overflowing which I'm most pleased about.  On May 1st the sun shone on May day.I took my camera to greet the new month. This is what I saw.

Rain soaked fields and a river that had burst it's banks.

The old bridge taking strain.

I moved away from the watery world and back amid the little woods to see signs of greening. Wanting to capture something special on Beltane/May day. I was greeted with the pungent scent of wild garlic otherwise known as ramsons, buckrams, bear leek, wood garlic, broad leaf garlic,and bear garlic.

I love this little plant, it reminds me of playing in the woods as a child.
Then I came across another favourite Jack by the hedge.

And Periwinkle.

  Faerie size bouquets of hedge/cow parsley.

And twirling new growth of sticky cleavers.

And such pretty flowers and good for bees, dead nettle and ground ivy.

I took a slip of each and brought the new growth  inside, placing them upon my window sill.
Earth's delicate simple treasures.                                                       

The Love Of Stars

I want to sleep in starry meadows where the hare runs wild as the wind. With a lace pillow of clover petals, thistledown and tom thumb I will lay my head down low, shaded by umbelliferae.  Beside the wild thyme stems and stalks I will dream where the mice and beetles dream. And when the darkness falls glow worm will be my lighted lamp.  Soft rustle of grass sings my lullaby and high above when I stir, the ancient constellations kiss my drowsy eyelashes with stardust. 

 Karen Davis 2012


March has come in like a lamb and I have painted a hare.
                                                                             Lepus

Lepus ....a constellation lying south of Orion. It's name being latin for hare.

I love stars and the night sky as you have probably already guessed. I do paint rather a lot of night sky Maybe too many? Can you paint too many? I don't think so. ;) I was once told by my tutor at Art college to go and paint an article on abortion and that I couldn't make a living out of painting starry skies. He of course was telling me that life is not all sugar coated and twee and encouraging me to stretch myself and make my work more adaptable for commissions which of course was his job. I know that life is not all starry skies, we all know that, but we can choose what we want to include in it to a certain extent. Yes, I could do dark and I did and I still can if I want to. Just to prove it, here is a glimpse of that old  darker work....

I still added some stars though. ;)

My son is a keen amateur astronomer and the other day I tried to take a photograph of the moon through the eye piece of his telescope. While it didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped, I like this photograph all the same.

A couple of weeks ago we visited the William Herschel museum in Bath. William Herschel was a musician and  astronomer and from his residence in Bath, which is now the museum, he discovered the planet Uranus in 1781.

It was very interesting there and I really enjoyed myself.
I wonder if he was a night owl? I am a night owl, a lover of indigo skies, familiar to the creaks of the house in the night when all are asleep. When larks minds are weary mine comes alive.

I am back to painting Peaceable Kingdom now after being distracted and chasing a March hare.
Thank you for the comments about the sketches. I love the idea of a theme being passed around on this. Maybe I could make a page and you can send me anything you create on the theme, pictures writings etc? Just a thought?