It’s rather coincidental that on a day when I have been painting some brooding clouds above Le Conquet (Brittany, where we were two weeks ago), we should have a sky full of our own magnificent clouds. Chris, who is a closet meteorologist, called me out onto the terrace to show me “the perfect example of an anvil cloud”. My painting is in the early stages – there will be two windswept trees in the foreground…
It’s my Study in Grey, an oil painting of Lanildut, Brittany, on a cloudy October day; but it’s not gloomy because the sun found a way through the thick clouds and sparkled on the sea around the rocks in the middle-ground. As you can see from the progression from beginning to near completion, out of the grey came both darkness and light. Aptly enough, today began grey and cloudy here in Dawlish, then rain, sunshine, and now it’s dark – hence the need to photograph in artificial light.
Inspired by the magnificent scenery of Brittany – even on grey days (or especially on grey days) – I have begun a painting of the coast at Lanildut where we went for a marvellous walk last Sunday. There was another painting, still in progress, on my easel but I’m waiting for the sea at Cabbage Tree Point (Queensland) to dry so I exchanged it for a new canvas that beckoned to be painted in shades of grey.
My two new paintings, unfinished as yet, couldn’t be more different from one another; one is moody and grey whilst the other is blue sky and white sand. I’m thoroughly enjoying painting both but think I’ll carry on with my “Study in Grey – Lanildut” tomorrow morning.
Sorry about the slight lack of clarity in the photographs but it’s completely dark outside and I was using my mobile phone camera in artificial light.
I did say it would be finished by Tuesday!
Have a look at my new painting of Cabbage Tree Point, a little known unspoilt beach between Brisbane and the famous Gold Coast, and see how is has progressed. I want to keep it simple, all the same, I’m going to add some children in the distance and perhaps a nice blue bucket in the foreground. Hope to finish it on Monday (that usually means Tuesday or Wednesday!).
Just thought you might like to see one of my latest paintings, part of my new Australian series. This painting depicts the beach at Wellington point, a favoured spot that holds many happy memories for we Porch children (now all with grown children of our own); I remember Dad taking us for exciting walks on the cliff path above the beach. “Trust me, I won’t let you fall,” he used to say holding out his hand; and he never let us fall. I recall the last time Dad and I went there together, a few years before he passed away; we sat on the big roots of the same enormous tree, the boughs of which had carried we intrepid climbing Porch children while Dad stood watchful below, and decades later we felt nostalgic for the old days; and marvelled at the tree and the passage of time.
Wellington Point; happy, sad – mixed feelings; Australia, England – you don’t know where home is. But home draws you back, and back again.
A wedding gift.
“Can we have some paper and pens Aunty Sally?” asked the children when they arrived here on Sunday morning, which happened also to be the day that, later on, baby Rosie made her entrance into the world.
My nieces and nephew sat around the dining room table and amused themselves with the drawing game similar to “Consequences”, where everyone draws a head, folds the paper over to leave just the hint of where the neck should be and passes it on for the next person to draw the torso, and so on to the legs…
The next morning I found the pens and paper where the children had left them, still on the table; this morning I ironed out the folds and photographed them. Below are the consequences….
If I have the time I do like to give personalised birthday cards to loved ones. It will be our youngest daughter’s birthday on Wednesday so I have been busy this morning. Thanks to Holman Hunt (of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood) for his painting of a girl sketching – Bobbie is an accomplished and up and coming young artist (link attached) – and Photoshop I thought I had come up with an appropriate card for Bobbie.
“What do you think?” I asked Chris.
“It’s nice… but doesn’t it make her look a bit old?” my husband queried.
“Old? Really? Maybe it’s because you like long hair worn down,” I responded, a tad crestfallen myself.
“Oh, don’t change it. It’s probably just me…”
Half an hour or so later I had produced another version, this time depicting Bobbie’s own hair loose. I have a feeling that Chris may have been right. What do you think?
From Bobbie’s Facebook (to see more just click on the link below or go to Google and enter SoulBirdArt)
