Still here.

Hello! I'm still here if you were wondering where I had got to?... Time really ran away with me this last month and I can't believe I haven't got around to posting on here since February. I haven't really felt talkative to be honest, no reason, just that sometimes there seems so much talk, gossip and babble going on in the world that sometimes you feel silenced, need to step back, be quiet and get away from it all online. I'm sure others feel the same?
Spring has arrived here in Wiltshire. The snowdrops have said their goodbyes and now the banks are dotted with the sunshine coloured faces of shining celandines. Primroses are popping up everywhere in the garden.

Thy smiles I note, sweet early flower,
That peeping from thy rustic bower
The festive news to earth dost bring
A fragrant messenger of Spring. ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Birds in the garden are busy with nesting although some do have time for afternoon snacks of sultanas. 

I haven't seen my Robin friend in a while. I last saw him a few weeks back with another robin, he came very close but wouldn't come onto my hand. He was very noisy chirping a lot at me. I like to think he was telling me he was very busy and explaining that if he got on my hand I don't think his partner would be very happy. I'm hoping he may return after nesting season is over but if he doesn't then I feel grateful that I had some wonderful special moments with him. 

                                                                         ~*~

I've been working on a commission which will be used as a dvd cover for a very talented irish lady that dances. I'm sure she has magical feet.  Here's some snippets of the painting to show you.   

I'll share more about the dvd when it's out and for sale at a later date. 

Another painting that has recently been finished is 'I am Earth'

 I was playing around with designs for my wooden hare hangers and these words popped up. I didn't want to wait to put them on a wooden hanger so painted them into a picture instead. I shall be making this available as a print to buy in my shop very shortly. 

Enjoy the sunshine! :)

All made of Stars

Not so long ago, you may remember I drew a sketch, of this half animal, half human. I played around with it digitally and promised I would return to it. So now I have. This is a painting on wood.
                                                                  'All made of stars'

I also returned to other sketches done at the same time.
I often write words down, in a little notebook I keep. Random words that sometimes pop into my head and  sentences that inspire a picture, especially like to creep into my head in the dark hours past midnight when I should be in bed asleep,  instead I  find these are the hours where most of my ideas for work appear.
Words from my notebook....
                                                  Most can see, but many are blind
                                                  Many can hear, but most are deaf
                                            "Remember to open your eyes" said the fox

                                                   'Remember to open your eyes, said the fox'

Or...  'From the light we all came' ?  I'm not decided on the title of this piece yet?........
 I will be making prints of these very soon. First I will have to get them scanned in town though, as my scanner is broken and I haven't got around to buying another yet. (another job on the 'to do' list) Hopefully I should get them done by next week.
In the garden already nature is making preparations for next years fruit. The catkins are decorating the hazel tree.

There are still leaves that are not ready to fall. After all they were late arriving this year. 

 And only 25 days, until the days begin to get lighter again.
I will leave you with a song that I had on repeat whilst painting these pictures.  Beautiful video too.

The End Of A Summer.

As summer draws to a close and the song of Autumn begins I sit in the quiet times past midnight and wonder about what I have seen on these warm days and cricket chirping. bat swooping moonlit nights.

Mackerel moon lighted skies and shooting stars during the perseoid meteor showers a couple of weeks back.  Moths found alive and dead. Whenever moths pitch on the window or I sadly find them dead as the one in the top left picture, I always imagine they are Princes.  Tiny Princes wearing tiny cloaks. I must paint one soon!

 Butterflies and yet more butterflies and green green grasshoppers.

Inspired by butterflies I painted these on a hanger that I was working on.

 Then a couple of days later I was paid a visit by this beautiful little creature. Synchronicity? :)

I've been working on a large batch of wooden hangers that will arrive at my Etsy shop in September sometime.. Various creatures, this is one of them. A crow with the universe in his wings.

I liked this concept, so I also used it for my donation piece to the 'twitter art exhibit' exhibition. Postcard sized original pieces, by artists on twitter. They all sell for a certain price and all proceeds are donated to charity.

The other day I popped out in my lunch hour again and visited the latest photographic exhibition in the local museum which is such a beautiful old building.

 I really liked the pictures by Deborah Parkin.

Especially this one, very wonderland-ish (although they all were) and it  reminded me of a project that I did myself when I was at College many years ago.

Although the mask that I made was a fox, rather than a rabbit. :)  Remind me to show you the pictures one of these days.

I love this time of year when the birds begin to sing the song of September and the thistle down  blows on the wind. 

And the gentle sunsets remind birds that it will be time to move on soon.

I shall leave you now with sadness in my heart.  The badger cull is taking place now as you go about what you do wherever you are. As the moths tap on my window unknowingly and I type this. Please sign this if you haven't already.....and if you live outside of the uk you can sign this. Every signature counts even at this late stage.

I will be closing my Etsy shop for a short spell as of Friday evening but will be back in September.

In the meantime I'll leave you with this, that is just simply adorable.    

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.