Deer Symmetry Art at Attingham Park

I took a picture of the deer at Attingham Park earlier in the year. It was amazingly symmetrical and one of those that just happened more than luck than by judgment. The image is over on my photography blog somewhere but I decided with just a few less deer that it would make an interesting art piece. So this is it, it is quite large, A3 size in pastel.



For those of you that are unfamiliar with Shropshire, the hill in the background is the Wrekin. I don't have much time for making art this week but at least I can share some :)

Cards with a Butterfly Theme

Shock! I have been making a few cards here and there. As always I am always inspired by lovely paper, so when I spotted the Mariposa stack when picking up some art supplies, it gave me the impetus to make one or four cards!







Of course when I started to work with glittery paper, I then quickly moved on to a few Christmas ones too but I will save you from those until September at least, haha. I have also been working on some electronic ones for my Zazzle store too. I knew I would be glad when I took all of those photo's of Christmas baubles and things in January!. I think I should do more with Zazzle but I am so unimaginative when it comes to thinking of things to go in it. I mean do people buy Mugs with dog art on?

On the health front, I finally got my results on Friday. Together with the strained ligaments, the MRI also showed an undisplaced fracture, which accounts for much of the pain. The nerve testing showed normal results and I have been given the go-ahead to drive again. So it is back to work for me tomorrow, so do excuse me if I don't get around to your blogs for a little while ~ I can see me being quite tired initially. I think the pain level will also go up but I am assured that I am not causing further damage, so a semblance of normality should ensue.........you can be sure that the weather will now improve ;)

My Nut

This is my most recent piece completed in pastels, the reference was a lovely photo courtesy of Andy :) I should have more to say but I am in a thinking session this week, I have lots of projects all spilling around in my head with no semblance of order so it is time to go and formulate a plan! Have a lovely week all...

Skywatch - Shropshire Sunset

We have had some colourful sunsets here in Shropshire this week, so I thought I would share one from the other evening with Skywatch viewers. Other Sky pictures from around the world can be viewed here.

Blue Ginger Portraits

As you may know, Andy and myself both enjoy a curry and one of our favourite eating houses is the Blue Ginger in Bridgnorth. In the beginning, I used to tip for great service but as time went on I ended up doing portraits for the guys down there.
Some staff seem to come and go quite quickly whilst others hang in. Most of them ask about my portraits, I think they view it as an honour when I do them, as indeed it is. It is in recognition of the good service they provide :)
So here are Tajul Islam



and Momen Miah



Completed in pastels on Murano, if you see them there, say Hello :D

Rainbow in the Woods

Some days you can go chasing rainbows only to discover that they were in your camera all along ;)

Coincidental Things

Last week I went to look at a local art exhibition, I went last year too. I do enjoy seeing what other people are up to and this exhibition being local made it easy for me. It was put on at St Leonard's church by the Bridgnorth and District Art Society.
I really enjoyed looking at lots of lovely pieces but one or two stood out to me, as often is the case. As soon as I saw this picture, I thought of moving in with Andy and the hours we spent watching the spuggies in the garden so it was meaningful. Also intriguing was that it had been done in coloured pencil, which is not a well known medium in exhibitions!
So I bought it, it is called "The Gathering" and is by a local artist, Sandie Philips.



I waited a few days to pick it up as I didn't want to mess up an exhibition but got to meet the artist when I did. A further coincidence is that she told me these are the railings up by the hospital. It made me laugh as I seem to have spent so much time there this year. She also had some other lovely work and tells me that her rendition of Bridgnorth won the "People's Choice" award too, so no doubt she will featured in the local Journal next week. It is good to see talented people get a little recognition. Furthermore, the other people I met all seemed really interesting. So, hopefully at some point, I may well go along and join in with a few of their evenings. I also have another piece of art for the walls :D

Duckling & a Health Update

Well I was beginning to feel intimidated when I arrived on my blog and saw such a solemn face....
So here is a bit of art!



A few people have very kindly emailed me to see how I am getting on which is very kind of them. Thankfully now all the really bad side effects of the accident have subsided with the exception of knee which remains a pain in the proverbial. My mobility is limited and I would not like to drive or walk for any distance, I am also very slow at anything ~ it isn't the end of the world, just the way it is. I have had an MRI and some other tests and will get the results on 20th August, if indeed they show anything. I do hope so, it would be good to at least have some kind of a plan, even if it is a loose plan...
I am still not back at work because of the driving issue although I have tried to instigate working from home. However, just right now this is proving to be yet another obstacle to overcome and I cannot help but think that the red tape may be the more beneficial to my knee on some sort of splint ;)
In myself of course, I am hugely better, as some of you may have noticed, about the time my sense of humour came back!

A Book Review - Duncan Bannatyne

On twitter I only ever follow people who interest me and invariably this will be because I have come across a retweet and something has amused me. Sometimes this will introduce me to writing or arts that I may not have considered that I would be interested in.



This proved to be the case with Duncan Bannatyne and on one of his book promoting sessions, I asked him why I should read it.
I think I did say at the time, I have no interest in becoming a millionaire, why should I read it? He told me, quite simply that I would enjoy it!
This was almost a challenge especially as I most certainly didn't enjoy the last biography that I attempted to read by a well known entrepreneur. No matter how hard I tried, I simply could not identify with the writer on any level.
However, after reading a few reviews, I considered that I might enjoy it, my Dad likes him after all and he is a damn good judge of character!
As I suspected, his writing was punchy, direct and I suspect pretty factual.
I am sure you are all wondering ~ Did I enjoy it? The honest answer is yes! Unlike my previous biography experience, I was almost surprised when I felt empathy with the writer.

There were some surprising coincidences with the pattern of his life and mine which caught me unaware, then his description of how he felt in such circumstances closely matched my own.
I found myself admiring his stance on spurious claims and laughed at some of the annoyances which may seem quite trivial but are clearly a point of principal.
I liked the fact that underneath the brusque exterior, there is a spirituality and evidence of this was probably the most unexpected aspect of his account.
I have never seen any of Mr Bannatynes's previous charity work, this may seem odd but I spend very little time watching the television.
As I read through, I was almost startled by the compassion, which in fact in some ways was a little presumptuous of me. Inadvertently, I had labelled him as ruthless.
I am quite certain that he does not suffer fools, cheats or bullies gladly but I like that.

Make a million, anyone can do it......I am not so sure! I quickly realised that this man loves the thrust and challenge of business, has a clinical profit and loss type brain and is pretty unfazed by the risk! But, it made for a fascinating read and it is heartening to know that someone with all the indications of having some integrity is making it!