print or paint

preparation for lino print  - colour pencil on tracing paper over initial pencil sketch

I've been tempted to move away from the rather pared-back style I've had of late (see Morston Quay, Pied Wagtail and Oystercatchers) by the verdant lushness of the garden. Encouraged by much of the falling-from-the-sky-wet-stuff and my lassaiz faire attitude to weeding, most parts of the garden are looking pretty crowded, and I do like it that way. I was quite put out the other day when a bloke knocked on the door and offered to cut back my weeds sweeping his point through the cow parsley, self-seeded aquilegia heads and ox eye daisies poking through the tall grasses.

Miraculously in one corner of this chaos I have managed to sustain a small group of artichokes from last year and one has a pretty good choke on it already. This little group have provided the perfect subject for a more complex piece of work. I've photographed and sketched and now have a colour-coded plan (see above) as the basis for a 3-colour print, but I am wondering if I shouldn't tried it in watercolours instead...

belated welsh post

This blog post is so tardy I might as well have sent it on the post card ... second class ... from a remote postbox ... on a bank holiday. Well better late than never so here goes...

This little pied wagtail arises from a recent break in Wales, where we learnt that rain sounds a lot heavier when you are inside a caravan and that it is possible to barbecue in light drizzle, but only if you are prepared to be the starter course for the midges.

As always I carefully packed watercolours, sheets of lovely paper and even remembered the brushes this time but some how the chance to paint just didn't arise. I did however get around to a little embroidery doodling ...

The  rhododendrons at Beddgelert were in full bloom so with this unplanned palette of slate grey, deep pink and found wool (with the "bits" washed off!) I felt quite at one with the landscape.

This is how far we reached up Snowdon...

We poked around in search of gold but this find was treasure enough.

And we built a rather spendid castle...

[Pied Wagtail is available in my Folksy and Etsy shops]