Posts Page

We woke up late this morning and opened the curtains to a really miserable day. Not looking like a day for the planned gardening. As we sat in bed drinking tea, the rain started to clear and a strange light appeared down in the valley. Slowly it spread up into the sky and, equally slowly,… Read more: What a Day

I happened to pass the window where the camera phone is set up when there was a rush of birds. Some bits are speeded up others slowed down. Originally they were there for around six minutes after I pressed the button.

Angela at the Shelley Art Group I go to said the other day that we should enjoy it when we work on something. Very wise. This when everyone else was painting a bit like Monet, while I just messed about. Previously, I’ve tended to expect to produce a finished product when I start painting or… Read more: Permission to Play Painting

That picture is serious. Scientists have discovered that chimps adopt self decoration fads and crazes like grass in the ear. This first bit of our art history covers a nice vague stretch from ‘the beginning’ to some time over three thousand years ago. As the latest indications are that hominids and probably Home Sapiens have… Read more: Art the Early Days

Ignoring the lists, categories, reviews and other opinions I once heard a Blackbird imitating the ‘Captain Pugwash’ theme music, because it had been played so often on on a friend’s personal pirate radio station. The Blackbird didn’t call it Art, but many humans would have no hesitation in calling their own efforts at such imitation… Read more: The History of Art

Last night we had a session at Shelley Art Group with Anthony Barrow. He was very inspiring but threw a lot of information at us while painting rapidly. I work fast and free mostly but had to stop trying to take in every word to concentrate on transferring the ideas to the work. I thought… Read more: Acrylic as Watercolour

I’ve been to the Sculpture lounge before to make sculptures with Mick Kirkby Geddes and David Mayne but this last weekend highlighted just how good they are as guides through this creative process. Four people with different levels of experience and all of us guided through the choices very capably and skilfully. On the second… Read more: Sculpture Weekend

After a complete absence last year all the apples and pears have swung into full production this year. A pity that I no longer make alcohol and neither of us like crab apple jelly and that’s just one tree.

Sadly one of our cherry trees had become dangerously likely to split because of bark inclusion. It generated a lot of wood of one sort or another and a pile of wood chip for the garden paths. In amongst that I’m managing to find a toad and lily pads inside the tree remains. To be… Read more: Goodbye Cherry Tree – Hello Toad

After a family e-reminisce about the Old Bear stories, I got a small request about the possibility of extending the life of Old Table, who had served the Gray/Scott side of the family in London and Bristol, in different houses, through many family and friends gatherings and finally out in the garden when a young… Read more: Kintsugi Table

All my life I have admired people who can make marks on paper that capture your imagination in some way. I watched carefully and tried to work out how it was done. That has widened to include other forms of design, like furniture, pottery, sculpture, fabric design, even knitting. I’ve never stopped trying to learn… Read more: Tricks of the (art) Trade

Dedicated to the dreamer/doers such as David Mayne, Mick Kirkby Geddes and Helaina Sharpley. This post was also inspired by my sister-in-law Jo asking me to do a painting of one of my sculptures. It has a free idea for any of the above artists to use. About 67 years ago when I was around… Read more: Capturing the Spirit

When I was young, in north London, there were extended family gatherings at Xmas. A regular one was at my aunt’s house in Harlesden. All Barrow-in-Furness expats would gather along with strays gathered in London, such as the actor Peter Swanwick and my older cousins boyfriends. The house was a long thin maisonette with a… Read more: Shaping a Six Year Old Brain

I have been aware of digital art most of my adult life, i.e. since the early 70’s. I’ve made static images, animations, games, manipulated videos and sound. The tools that are available now are astonishing. That said, alongside a phone to quickly capture some aspects of a scene, below is what I use mostly when… Read more: Digital Art

When I was sixteen I painted this image of the patterns made by cars and people at a Zebra Crossing. I’ve always been a bit obsessed by patterns of movement and the paths made through the world. When Shelley Art Group set a fungi challenge, I had a picture in my head but realised I… Read more: Look What You Started

A sidetrack for visitors, find the creature sculptures around the garden and buildings.

After several years of problems with Arthritis, I’ve been having to reassess some of my creative activities. I’ve given up chair-making, I’m less physical in the garden and sculpture may tail off from now on. I’ve been concentrating on painting but until I joined https://www.shelleyartgroup.com/ I’d been a drifting a bit. Here’s one on Fungi… Read more: Renewed Creativity and an Ending

A clumsy fingered mistake edited to remove some gaps in activity.

Some flowers on the edge of going over, some here, some on the way. Time for planting out the more hardy, tidying up paths and edges and sitting enjoying the shapes and colours.

A collection of what has been found in our garden over the years. Ruth is always there somewhere.

Shelley Art Group had a session with Cath Brooke yesterday evening and I had a go at making a copy of an etching I did nearly 60 years ago. Everyone produced some interesting work.

When people are taught to paint landscapes, they will often be told to make things further away tend towards lighter and bluer. Unfortunately sometimes people tend see this as a rule, rather than a painting trick to emulate the effects of distance and atmosphere on colour saturation. There are lots of similar guidelines that can… Read more: Art and Vision

In one way or another, I’ve been studying and doing art and craft for more than sixty years. I’ve also been involved with performance of various kinds, crossing art boundaries. For more than a decade I’ve taken people round the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, on the historic West Bretton Estate and talked to every sort of… Read more: Why Art, What Art

We’ve had snow, sun, storms and the surprise appearance of new rails in what was the shunting yard. Firstly storm Darragh versus Ellie the wind vane a tenacious trunk tale. They have been slowly removing more remains from the yard for years, then trees grew up, then they were cut down and the last rolling… Read more: Winter winds and rails return

Ruth is visiting her Grandchildren and I am pootling as usual. A few flowers are still hanging on and the Winter Jasmine is coming into its own. We didn’t get round to picking the apples on the slippery hillside tree, so we are getting near the end of this year’s store. We had a few… Read more: December 2024

This is quite a shock when the woodpecker arrives alongside the little birds. This Acer is always spectacular and changes quickly. Some of the trees have lost all their leaves and the Maple and Hazel in the background are still changing. At the same time there are still flowers. Elsewhere there are various paintings and… Read more: Woodpecker, Autumn and a shunting yard without rails

My first short stay on this wonderful island (helped by glorious weather). Day 2 and we’ve walked and cycled loads already. Ruth has been up Goat Fell, while I walked round Brodick Castle grounds and the local area. We’ve been to see the Stone Circles at Machrie and Ruth walked to the Kings Cave, while… Read more: Arran Day 2

For a lot of people part of the joy of a garden is wildlife. Ours is certainly built to attract it, though the birds always seem to ignore the bird boxes in favour of the scruffy hedgerows. We also have bird feeders. The arguments for and against are difficult to balance, but we have them.… Read more: Garden Birds

A short trip round some Scottish favourites, with time for some sketching.

November 2023 and it has been wet, but today it looked good. Ruth, Simon and I set to. First off was reducing the lawn yet again and planting some grasses, kindly donated by some friends. The other two are currently planting spring bulbs in the middle of that lawn. Next up was to re-fix a… Read more: The rain stayed away

Amidst a chaos of building work, a day of path clearing, pruning and bed sorting alongside a harvest that was edible and one that spreads plants to other gardens.

Ruth was away for a couple of weeks, so I was in charge. These are some of the photos I sent her as updates. The weird mixture of rain and drought has led to some giant plants, virtually no apples and an absolute glut of red roses. The Heron surplanted the usual crows and magpies.… Read more: A Strange Year

In the beginning there was landscape, then came life, then life developed rituals (Dogs going round in circles before lying down, Elephants visiting the remains of dead relatives), then creatures made things and altered the landscape (nests, burrows, display sites), then humans started taking these things a lot further. We have been altering the landscape… Read more: Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Thanks to Ruth, a couple of days away before an operation. For me a chance to paint and a bonus swim.

Although most of the leaves have now gone, some are still clinging on to green. The weather is cool and damp, rather than cold and the sun was so warm the other day that I couldn’t leave milk outside while we had a cup of coffee. There are quite a few flowers around, some early… Read more: Flowers linger into December

The strange weather continues with some trees going into leaf drop routines early and others late, giving an extended display. We have a confused hazel that has green leaves and catkins, when most trees are now bare. Fungi all over the place, as usual and I improved a table top in time to match the… Read more: Weird Autumn

A short trip to Ambleside Manor Vegetarian guest house. Some sketchesfor me, walks up big hills for Ruth and some lovely meals at Zeffirellis.

I’ve been doing the equivalent of ‘no mow May’ for a very long time, by leaving patches with daffodils, snow drops, daisies and buttercups, but for the past few years Ruth has been working more seriously on meadow planting sections of the grassy areas. Yellow Rattle is one of the ingredients of this style of… Read more: Waiting for Rattle

Winter is here, so it’s time to sort out structures, prepare for next year and enjoy the subdued colours. The platform down the hill has a new floor and roof, the old sycamore is becoming a totem with an owl at the top. Paths and steps have been repaired, beds have been weeded and mulched.… Read more: The Doings of Dull Days

Addendum to the text below. Since this I have had all sorts of nuisance health problems, such as a failed hip replacement, but I now know that practice has enabled me to ensure that I generally make a better fist of painting such as this example. So the heading is even more apt four years… Read more: Keep on Trying

It has been a funny year of course but work is well underway preparing for winter and next year. 100m of hedges cut, trees trimmed, meadow beds cut, scarified and extra perennials and seeds added, more cuttings started. Manure has been hauled and is waiting to rejuvenate beds, pumkins have been collected and stored, late… Read more: This Year

Designing a garden, painting or sculpture, or even looking at one, involves choices. Do you open everything up to view straight away or do you keep some things temporarily hidden? Do you make it obvious or do people have to make an effort? Today I had a quick wander round YSP to see some spots… Read more: To See or not to See

End of the season and these sunflowers have decided to hide