Valtari Mystery Film Experiment

I always love to listen to music when I paint. Recently while listening to Sigur Ros, I stumbled across their  Valtari Mystery Film Experiment. In their words....
 'Sigur rós have given a dozen film makers the same modest budget and asked them to create whatever comes into their head when they listen to songs from the band's new album valtari. the idea is to bypass the usual artistic approval process and allow people utmost creative freedom'
What a brilliant idea!
Short film making, always fascinates me. One day I will get around to having a go. ;)  Anyway I thought you might like to see.  Below are my two favourites. Gorgeous music by Sigur Ros from their new album (there is a link to buy on my side bar)  and magical films. Beautiful, poetic, touching, sad....
                 
Sigur Rós - Ekki múkk from Sigur Rós Valtari Mystery Films on Vimeo.

                 
Sigur Rós - Varúð from Sigur Rós Valtari Mystery Films on Vimeo.

Finishing Touches

I've been busy. I was going to say like a bee, but sadly bees don't seem to have been busy at all this year. Has anyone else noticed the severe lack of honeybees? I've watched this garden for the past 14 years, since we moved here and this year has got me worried.  There have been so few, I spotted this one on the window sill the other day.

 I'm just putting finishing touches to the book illustrations now. Here's a glimpse of some...

  And then I'll be turning these into paintings  for 'The Enchanted Forests' Exhibition at The Green Tree Gallery in West Sussex. 

 Autumn in my little studio, is cosy. I had a tidy up and hung up a twiggy chandelier. 

Here's some more pics from inside ...

Hope you are enjoying Autumn?
  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

Some Colour To Share

It was so very warm last weekend and humid! I'm sure it felt the same as the tropical house in the Eden project!  When it's hot like that it is almost too hot to do anything I always feel. I'm not complaining, I love sunshine in summer, but being born in December I am a winter ice child at heart . ;)
My son was practicing on the church organ, so I went along to listen. The quiet of the church and the coolness inside it's old 12th century stone walls was  wonderful away from the heat outside. I wandered around and took some photo's whilst he played Bach's toccata and fugue.
Colours and patterns to inspire..

 Did you notice the little spider in the picture above?

Sadly the stained glass windows have a grille covering them outside, which spoils the photographs a little. A necessary and permanent addition now though, as last year they were all vandalised and damaged by stone throwing.

Afterwards I walked home and my daughter had been baking cakes. The glitter on top reminded me of the stained glass colour shining. 

 Very pretty, very sweet, and just what was needed with a cup of tea. 

Today the temperature is back to normal.

And I found more colour. This time my favourite kind.

Thirty One Miles In A Straight Line

It seems like so long since I last wrote here... Looking at the date of the last post, it seems it is. Crikey almost a month, I think I must have broken a record, longest time between posts or something like that? (For this blog that is of course) I have no excuse at all, just that days have been passing too quickly and I've been feeling quite wordless and reflective. Happens often I've noticed this time of year and normally indicates my batteries need a little recharging. So Friday was declared a day off and we journeyed just across the border about 40 miles, 31 I believe, if I were to be travelling in a straight line? ;) to the very magical and spiritual Glastonbury.

I love all the interwoven tales connected with this special place, so have to pay a visit at least a couple of times a year. What a beautiful day it was, to walk up to the Tor and gaze out upon the Somerset countryside.

At the top is the most wonderful view. We sat, enjoyed and watched  black velvet crows circle, riding the warm summer breeze. In the distance we could see Wells cathedral and the extreme flatness of the Somerset levels stretching right out to the coast line.

This green and pleasant land is still so very green for this time of year, after all the rain we have had this summer.

                                            Looking down on to Glastonbury town.

In the town we browsed, wandering the many interesting shops and sat in quirky courtyard cafe's decorated with hares, moons, angels, dragons and gold, for mugs of tea, vegetable samosas, and somerset cider.

I brought home lots of incense and an angel card to inspire...
                                                       ***
Back here at home in Wiltshire, I've been busy working on the commissioned book illustrations.  Here is a glimpse.....

Must put some flowers on the window sill on this one..

Have much still to do, I just wish I was a faster worker.

The garden is getting wilder and wilder and being taken over by majoram and fennel.

I was happy to see this bee enjoying the globe thistles this afternoon. In the Autumn I have plans to divide this large plant up and spread more around the garden to attract more bees. 

In fact I have lots more plans for the garden this Autumn. Just need more time or 'Groundforce' to come and help me.

(Are they even still around, or am I just showing my age?) 

x

A Touch Of Golden Light And What Happened Before Concerning A Hare Fox And Owl

The sun rises on a new day. The golden light we haven't seen so much of this summer, glittered through the dew drop dappled windows at dawn, gilding them in July's apricot hue.

Early morning light, the light of magic. Indoors is quiet, folk are still lost in the world of dreams but outside the song of a new day is being composed....
Today the sun shone and the ground felt warm. Bees, butterflies crickets, grasshoppers and all manner of other insects ventured out to enjoy the golden rays that have been so rare this summer.
I picked some flowers to brighten our shady north facing kitchen.

I love the twirly stamens of Nigella ( Love in a mist) It self seeds everywhere here and is so pretty.

 Everything in the garden is lush and green from excess growth and water. Below a patch on the lawn that had to be left because it was much too pretty to cut. Another area that has sprouted yellow and orange hawkweed. The brown butterflies like it too.

I've been busy with the illustrations for the book that I'm working on and in between time have been painting some ACEO's. These are tiny paintings measuring 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches, the size of a collectable trading card. They are based around my painting 'Moonrakers' I started to think about what maybe happened before that moment that was captured in paint. What was the story of the white hare, the fox and the owl? So, I had the idea to do a series of tiny pictures for continuing the characters story. Or I suppose they could be called 'prequels'?

Note the Wiltshire corn circle! You see there were strange goings on that night of cheese raking. ;- ) Maybe I'll do another batch and call them 'sequels'. I suppose it is the Illustrator part of me that wants to continue the story?

Then I did some more..

These were playing with paint really and the wash formed mountains. Mountains that needed to escape on to paper after my visit to Wales and ascent of Snowdon? I really had no part in it, except maybe adding the hares? ;-)

These paintings will all be for sale shortly in my Etsy shop, so if you are interested keep an eye open here.