a bit late....

but here are some images and some music from the final day party for h art at the bridge at wilton....the sun shone the music played and we even sold some paintings.

i had fun....
listening to the music of jazz fusion


seeing the beautiful garden going down to the river wye


even the carpark is fantastic


meeting a big fan of pink birds


and engaging in an art (or possibly cider) related discussions

thank you to all that made it a lovely day...see you next year x

i'll take you there

i'll take you there

today has been beautiful, sunny, warm

i have painted sunflowers

thinking of the south of france, of bali and of greek water...so my sunflowers are warm islands floating in cobalt teal seas

cobalt teal is my new favourite colour...

acts of courtship

one of the paintings that have found a new home this week is this one



its one of a series...acts of courtship...a series title suggested by a friend one evening when we were putting the world to rights...every now and then an act of courtship makes all the difference

a romantic painting, going to a romantic new home

pink birds

the story so far....a lovely lady who purchased one of my paintings from the summer cafe many years ago got in touch...she still likes her painting very much and would like another...so far so good.

the new painting was to be a triptych....based on pink flowers, chrysanthemums ...it shows how long this has been in progress...they were in bloom last year at this time when we first discussed this piece!
I have been thinking a lot about this painting...and i also had a dream about it....always a good sign..see here for another painted dream....i dreamt about a fluorescent pink bird flying in a turquoise sky...and here he is.

detail from pink birds

instead of three pieces there are 4
the pink birds are japanese anemones...the spent flowers are stars in a turquoise and cobalt hubble inspired universe
back on the land the pink flowers are growing abundantly....when i painted this it was warm and sunny....i felt like i was back in my beloved bali
i love this painting and would be very happy for it to live in my newly decorated sitting room
but i know it was painted for someone else.


pink birds

gold

yesterday I spent the day in the cotswolds visiting galleries and enjoying a day out. the sky was grey but occasionally the sun came out and the landscape glowed....unfortunately this rarely happened when i could stop and take a picture!
not that it matters really...i am always just as...or possibly even more interested in the hedgerows and verges. the contrast between the gold bleached grasses and flower heads and the still green hedge is a subject i return to every year in my painting.

when i came home i spent a little time at my favourite spot in the forest. the silver birches are changing colour and the place twinkles with quivering gold leaves.

today was spent printing...ian and i have developed an interest (or in my case slight obsession) with cutting lino blocks..here are our latest efforts... i did managed to get some gold paint in...you can never have enough gold....thats what i say :)

think pink thoughts....

phillip and i have been to chepstow....to think pink thoughts...and drink too much lovely coffee
we had fun and went to see our friend at art on the railings
they hadn't had as much coffee as us so their thoughts weren't as pink :)

dartmoor

yesterday i went down to the brownston gallery in devon. instead of coming straight home i spent the afternoon on the high moor.

autumn seemed to have arrived early in dartmoor. in the late afternoon the sun and the rain fought it out and the ponies and i were treated to rainbows that looked near enough to reach out and touch.

i want to paint all this...and i want to go back...soon.

but before i do i have a flower painting commission to do...today i bought lots of new colours to try.....including these




i hope the lady commissioning the piece meant it when she asked for pink!

take two paintings

English Lavender

a couple of weeks ago i visited the lavender farm at snowshill in the cotswolds. a storm was gathering and the sky darkening. the harvesters were working trying to beat the impending rain.
these paintings painted in the studio later show two approaches to the subject.

in the first i am exploring perspective...the rows...what makes this blue field distinctly growing lavender... how to make this a lavender field that isn’t baking in the southern sun...the light on a distant field...and the wild flowers growing on the edges of order.

the second painting is more about actually being there...it’s a field lower down the valley...in the moments after the storm had moved off in a different direction.....a time when everything looks bluer, softer, more at peace. the last evening before the crop will be harvested in the morning.

from a painting perspective it’s been wonderful to explore a new subject especially as i haven’t been painting as often as i usually do.

from an emotion point of view it’s been cathartic...the evening at the lavender field followed the memorial service of a loved and much missed friend.

Lavender Evening

birth

this is the view from my window...very early this morning.
the sun is rising over the Forest, hands wave and clap as my new blog is born!
a blog about a meadow deep in a forest, about painting, about creating, about celebrating art, writing, living things and life.....at least I think that’s what it about but time will tell.