Showing posts with label wild flowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wild flowers. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

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

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Sunshine, Flowers and Hares

It appears in summer I become a little flower obsessed. 
But then who doesn't, right? 
Sunshine and colour and little simple things make me happy.
The latest hares reflect the colour and sunny days of the season. I'm happy to announce that a long overdue shop update is scheduled for this Friday 29th June at 8pm (GMT)
Meadow hares and hedgerow hares will be leaping across to the shop and also some of the hares that I did previously that didn't sell at the gallery in Yorkshire will also be added along with some original paintings I've previously shared on posts here.
This time I decided to try something new and use the hanger designs also for postcards. Giving them a page from a botanical book type 'feel'. I think they work quite well? It also allows more people to be able to enjoy the designs, useful if the prices of original art are a little out of your reach. I've packaged them up in mixed bundles of six. Each pack having one of each design. They will be added during the shop update too. 
And it's never too late for some older designs to be turned into cards too. 
 I recently added an old favourite 'Starlight Hare' to the shop. 
Enjoy the sunshine!
x

Friday, August 28, 2015

A walk, a card and some seeds.

A walk on Cherhill downs.
Up here there is peace. Down in the distance the road curves around the mysterious Silbury hill. Up here the cars have been silenced, they are insignificant and unimportant. All that matters is the ticking of grasshopper, hum of bee and whisper of gentle wind in the grass among harebells.
In the sky, the pretty song of skylark calls. The ancient land echoes with it's tales of forgotten people.
My feet on white chalk, this old route, my footsteps following the old ways.
Wild flowers dot the grassland banks and ditches of the ancient iron age Hillfort of Oldbury Castle.
 A sea  of purple and lilac, scabious, knapweed, harebell and thistles alive with bees.
It's a good place to be for the soul up here. I can hear my own thoughts. 
Across the down, on the north side, high up above the fields of barley is the white horse of Cherhill. (Or Oldbury white horse)
How I love these white horses on hills.
Hmm I was hoping to see a corn circle too, but wasn't lucky this time. 
  
                                       “a walk is only a step away from a story, and every path tells.” 
                                                                                              ~Robert Macfarlane

This summer has been too quick for me this year,  just like the bees on the thistles in the pictures above were. I wasn't fast enough to get any decent shots that day, except the one.  Bees have been on my mind quite a bit lately. There seems to have been more in the garden this summer. Not so many butterflies though sadly. 
A couple of weeks ago I was having a bit of a play around digitally, with one of my paintings, which is fun to do occasionally. I'm no expert in photoshop or anything (wish I was)  One of the images was a bee, I played about with layers and added some vintage stock images. I liked it and thought that it would look pretty as a card. So went ahead and made up a batch of cards. 
Then I remembered about the wild flower seeds spare, gathering dust, that had been collected by myself (from my garden I must add, not the wild) and some that friends had given me and I hadn't got around to using them, as many of the plants already grow in my garden and wild nearby. Anyway, I decided how nice it would be to sell this card with a packet of wild flower seeds. After oiling my rusty graphic design abilities here's the little label for the seed packet, which has been attached to a small brown envelope that hold the seeds.
                                          'Sprinkle these seeds to help the bees'

 If you would like a bee card and packet of seeds, you can find them in my shop here.
Enjoy the bank holiday weekend and last few days of August. x

Friday, April 18, 2014

A quiet week

This morning as I write with my mug of tea by my side, the view from my window is gentle on the eye. Still and silver, a  misty beginning. Later I predict the sun will burn through and the day will be another sunny warm one, just like yesterday.  The sky is filled with birdsong. A blackbird is close by on a nearby branch, it's song,  a poem for a new day.
Spring is well into her wild and flowery dance now, scattering her magic throughout the grass. 
On days like this, it's hard to stay indoors. Much better to be outside and to take the time to lay down in the grass and moss and look upwards at blue April skies. 
 And to slow down and enjoy the view on  our journey. 
It's good to be back working outside. I may not have internet connection there, but I have the blossom, daisies and dandelion to admire whilst I quietly work away. I'm busy with hangers again now. The sanding part can be done sat in the sun. 
Sometimes it's hard to go back inside to paint, when the warm sun is on your shoulders,  but at least I can open the doors and let the sunshine in,  which is a good thing.  
I found a birds skull the other day when gardening. What a beautiful elegant thing. I shall add it to my nature collection, which I must remember to show you another time... 
I also came across this fellow hiding beneath a stone in the garden. I think his title is, Mr Toad, assistant gardener.
As the greening takes place  and the new leaves unfurl, the banks and fields are scattered with the delicate colours of Spring. 
On my walk tonight I spotted this little rabbit enjoying the evening sunshine.
New life is everywhere, and it's wonderful to see.
I wish you all a Happy Easter weekend. x