BLOG UPDATE

Walk the Talk - the new blog that I have been writing with my friend and walking companion, Jenny, has been going for nearly 3 weeks now.  We have had lots of positive feedback and over 700 visits!  I thought I would share a few of my favourite photos.

These pictures were taken when we had a guest walker - Trevor, the miniature schnauzer.  He was a quite a handful and started off the walk looking very dapper (see him with Jenny, top left), but ended up looking rather wet and bedraggled, after going through the wet undergrowth!

Jenny used my camera to take this rather arty photograph of a mother duck with some of her ducklings at our local park.

This beautiful shetland pony took us by surprise.  We just saw him through a gap in the hedgerow on a footpath to the west of Shepton.

I have never seen a cow with two black eyes before, but there he was staring at me from over the main road, just a few minutes walk from my house!

DECORATIVE DOORWAYS

I have always been fond and interested in doors.  What lies beyond?  All these doorways are to be found in and around Shepton Mallet.  Yes, these were also taken on my early morning walks.  I have explored parts of Shepton I didn't know existed!

BLACK & WHITE SHEEP

These photographs were taken on one of my early morning walks around Shepton.  I think that some subjects, such as sheep, look better in black and white.  I have sold out of the cards that I had printed of another black and white sheep.  These would also make good cards.  Sheep are the unofficial emblem of Shepton, as at one time, it was a thriving wool market town.  The sheep below is moulded from an original stone sculpture by local artist Jeff Body.  There are many other copies on a roundabout on one of the roads into Shepton. They have become a local landmark but being in the middle of a busy roundabout they are hard to photograph!

SCARECROW CARD

It is amazing the effects you can do with the photographs these days, with just one click.  I altered a picture of my scarecrow, to make this card for the 90th birthday of a friend who is still a keen gardener.  He grows his own fruit and vegetables, and whenever he has some to spare, lovely fresh produce comes my way!

CHRISTMAS MONTAGE

I put together this montage of Christmas decorations from photographs I took on one of my early morning walks in Shepton Mallet.  This year we have fantastic new silver and red street decorations and new red and blue lights on the large tree in the market place.  My walking companion reckons that in the distance some of the overhead lights look like lacy knickers hanging on a line (see top right photo)!

I wish to thank everybody who has visited my blog.  I have enjoyed sharing some of my ideas and projects during this past year.  A HAPPY CHRISTMAS to you all. Here's hoping that 2015 is going to be a successful and creative year.  I am looking forward to starting another exciting on-line course with Jane Davies early in January.....

JERSEY JAUNT

My husband and I have just come back from a few days in Jersey, enjoying warm and sunny weather.  We stayed at one of the best hotels on the island - the Atlantic Hotel.  It was a wonderful experience.  The staff were warm, friendly and nothing was too much trouble.

The interior is a eclectic mix of contemporary, traditional and classical with a mix of artwork.

The artwork shown below is one of my favourite pieces.  It is by Ellie Yannas who was born in Istanbul and brought up in Athens before moving to London to study art. It is called Thoughts and Afterthoughts and consists of eighteen individual paintings that are hung together to form one picture. Her work has a strong three dimensional quality and she uses raw pigments, gesso and natural materials, such as earth and sand. Inspiration for this piece came from the sacred geometry found in nature and is reflected in spiritual symbols across all cultures.  Added to this is script with the texts of poems and philosophical thought, as well as the organic shapes of leaves and shells in the hope that they generate their own language.

WHITE FLOWERS

I love white flowers - they have a sophistication and romanticism all of their own, giving a garden special highlights. They really come into their own at dusk when coloured flowers, such as the blue and purple ones, disappear with the light.  Not so with white flowers - they really glow and shine.  Sometimes I add small white star or daisy shaped flowers to my paintings to bring them to life.

In my garden the year started with a beautiful white camellia and as the year went on there were arum lilies, foxgloves, roses, love in the mist, pelargoniums and different varieties of hydrangeas - all  in various shades of white.  A few of these flowers are pictured above. I would like to go for the simplicity of an all white garden, such as Vita Sackville-West 's famous white garden at Sissinghurst, Kent, but my husband insists on some colour!

OPEN GARDEN

A few months ago I was asked to design a leaflet for an Open Garden event in July that is involving the One Craft Gallery. It is happening just a few miles from Shepton Mallet next weekend. We are having a pop-up shop, next door to a pop-up cafe selling tea and homemade cakes in aid of Macmillan Cancer.  The beautiful gardens are open for two days as part of the National Garden Scheme.  For the front side of the flyer, I especially designed a piece of original artwork as the background and on side 2, I put a montage of photographs of the garden (see below) plus details and a map.

East Burford House and gardens.

There is over 3 acres of wild and formal gardens, a variety of planting, woodland walks, children's playground, sculptures, bog garden, herbaceous beds, walled garden, lake with shell beach, rills, pagoda, pavilion, wisteria pergola and loads of plants for sale.  Admission is £4 (free for under 16s) and is in aid of charity.

As the gallery is a co-operative we are taking it in turns to set up our shop and man it for the two days.  We are looking forward to the event and are hoping for good weather, but luckily if it does rain, we are situated under cover in a light and spacious garden room.

NEW YEAR, NEW START

This is the time of year for reflection on what has been achieved in the past year and looking forward to new projects.  Every year I try and set myself new challenges.  Last year it was to have a presence on the web which I have done through this blog.  Next year I want to have more interaction with others doing mixed media, so I have signed up for a workshop over the web starting in March. I also have invited a friend who is a very good artist, to come to my studio and try some techniques which are unfamiliar to her and create some mixed media art together.

I also want to do more with my photography, using photoshop elements, to create digital collages.  I need to use my 35mm digital camera and tripod more, instead of taking the easier option of using my small everyday automatic one.  To illustrate this post I wanted to go out and take pictures for a montage of wintry weather but, as we have had so much wind and rain lately, I have used photographs of my house, garden and the centre of Shepton Mallet from a few years ago, when we did have a white Christmas!

And finally more decluttering and organisation is needed in the studio. Trouble is while I am doing that I can't create!  Happy New Year to all who read this.

HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS

Now I am home again, I don't want to bore you with too many of my holiday snaps, but I thought I would share a few more photomontages.

Me with Billy at his hotel and the bay opposite where we began the swim.

One highlight was swimming in an extremely rough sea with Billy Voskanis, the fittest man on Kefalonia, who with his delightful family, own and run the friendly Pelagos Bay Hotel, just up the road from our hotel.

Fishing boats at Katelios.

Things that caught my eye around the resort of Skala.

HOLIDAY SNAPS

Above is the lovely contemporary hotel, the Tesoro Blu Hotel and Spa, where  we are staying and below are signs I couldn't resist photographing.

ARTIST AWAY

Last Thursday, I went on holiday to the Greek Island of Kefalonia for a week of sunshine and relaxation.  I didn't take my sketch book and art materials, only my camera, a small notebook and my iPad.  My creative outlet for the week, apart from reading trashy novels,  is making photographic collages and grids using the free apps I have downloaded. Here is one I did on my first day here.

SHEPTON SHOW

Yesterday was the our local country show, known as the Mid-Somerset Show or locally, the Shepton Show. It is one of the largest free shows in the area with over 15000 expected to attend. The best thing of all, it is within walking distance of my home!  It is a show with plenty to see - horse jumping, rural and agricultural displays, livestock, dogs, birds of prey, arts and crafts, bees, pets, classic cars and vintage motorcycles, shopping, food and drink stands and lots more with many events and things going on.

For the first time the One Craft Gallery,  the makers co-operative that I belong to,  took a stand in the shopping and craft marquee.  We felt that, as we are based in Shepton,  we would like to raise our profile with local people and show them what we can offer.

We had a successful day.  The sun shone, there was a bit of rain but that encouraged more people into the marquee!  We met lots of great people - some of our loyal regular customers came to see us and we met some new friends - including Nyra, this beautiful Eurasian Eagle Owl.

In our marquee my favourite stall was this lovely one with loads of lavender wreaths and products.  It wafted wonderful scents in our direction.

Some of the beautiful animals at the show - photos by Dawn Porter

CORNFLOWER COMMISSION

Photographs by Dawn Porter

This hot spell of weather has brought out loads of wild flowers.  They seem particularly abundant this year and welcome to see after our bitterly cold spring.  During this time, I have been working on a commission that requested a cornfield full of red poppies and blue cornflowers and incorporating the words - love, peace and harmony.

To get me in the mood, I viewed the wildflower photographs taken by my friend Dawn Porter, who is known as the 'duck whisperer' on Flickr!  As well as flowers, she takes wonderful pictures of the ducks and wildlife surrounding her home. I also took some photos and did sketches before starting the picture.

The artwork consists of many layers, to give the illusion of looking through the cornfield at the wildlife and flowers.  It is bright and summery - a reminder of our mini heatwave!  It has now gone to its new home and I hope it is a cheerful reminder of the hot and sunny weather.

'Love, peace and harmony' mixed media on board (56cms x 90cms)

CAMERA SHAKE

Paths through different woods

I have started thinking about taking interesting photographs again.  Most of the winter I have just taken pictures of my artwork and haven't really been out with my camera to explore the environment.  I have been looking back at some pictures I took last year when I deliberately moved the camera as I took the photo.  No you don't need to adjust your screen, they are meant to be this blurry!  I like the way my  eyes are not quite comfortable looking at them.  I feel it gives them mystery and movement with an air of tension.  I want to use some of them in my artwork or at least as inspiration.

These photographs were taken in my garden

A trip to another wood

   

FLOWERS IN FOCUS

Last saturday it was a beautiful sunny afternoon so I went to the historic Kilver Court Gardens with my friend Dawn. Not only is she a fellow mixed media artist and businesswoman, she has a growing reputation as a photographer.  After the cold, slow start to spring  it was great to be able to go and photograph some spring flowers. She had the macro lens on her camera and took these fabulous close-up photographs.  There was a wedding party in this beautiful setting that had been blessed with good weather.  In the sunshine we were too hot in our winter clothes but the bride and female guests in their summer outfits looked fine. They would have been frozen a week earlier!  

Dawn in action