The Other Owls

This one is a watercolour base. It looks more like a cat than an owl I think!

This one has caught a small rat.

I think this finished owl looks like a woodcut. I am going to try

some smaller and more detailed ones next I think.

"The rising sun silvered the mist lying low and dense on the meadow, where cattle stood on unseen legs. Over the mist the white owl was flying, on broad soft wings. It wafted itself along, light as the mist; the sun showed the snowy feathers on breast and underwings, and lit the yellow-gold and grey of its back. It sailed under the middle arch of the bridge, and pulled itself by its talons into one of the spaces left in the stonework by masons. Throughout the daylight it stood among the bones and skulls of mice, often blinking, and sometimes yawning"

From "Tarka the Otter" by Henry Williamson. It is one of my favourite books. It is written without sentimentality and with great knowledge of the life of the animals who's story it tells.

I have been doing lots of these recently...

In between an early Saturday evening-on the way to the pub-shot, and a late, on the way home one, are some pictures of my latest obsession (well one of them!)-oil pastels. Sgraffito-the Italian for 'scatch'. A fun, quick and slightly messy technique if you get the little shavings on your laminate floor (or your cat does!) I have put pictures of the whole process on the owl picture-I have more which I might put up tomorrow.

This was my first one, complete with scribbled notes about how to save a photoshop file-my Mum is teaching me to use photoshop which I have never got on with. Already I have learned loads.

I wanted a change from faces so I have used a Dover book-a really good one, '1300 Real and Fanciful Animals'. It has a great owl page. Recently I seem to have seen loads of owls around in blogs and elsewhere and they have got into my head. I liked drawing them as they have such smooth and flowing shapes. Some owls here, here and here. And here, here and here!

Stage one-sketch him in..

Stage two-colour over the different areas in black pastel-I think you should be able to buy boxes of just black-it is already half the size of all the other colours!

Stage three-scratch away! I used a palette knife but anything scratchy would do.

Then I thought I would see what happened if I covered it in gesso and painted on that.

You can still faintly see the scatching marks. I used watercolour paint for this part.

Finished! He has a nice bumpy feel in real life. I have done three owls so far. I fancy doing a zebra as that would lend itself to scatching. I have also started Misty Mawn's portrait class which is fun. I want to have different ways of drawing faces and not to get too stuck in a rut in the way I do it.

Today it did not get dark until about 4.30 which felt really lovely-like a little glimmer of Spring to come. Though I have a feeling I always think that at this time of the year and forget how long January and February really are! I have been buying a few little pots of bulbs-little Muscari, more Hyacinths and some little tiny Daffodils. I have not checked what is coming up in the garden yet but can't wait to do so at the weekend-when I am here in the light.

This is a very scary looking bus I think! It reminds me of the night bus in Harry Potter. Or something from the film Jacob's Ladder. All those indistinct heads on the top deck. We got a taxi home!

Shadow Shot Sunday

Last Sunday I made a banana cake. I loved the colour combination of the eggs, box and bananas.

The week before I had to go to Bermondsey to collect a parcel for Andy. This is the strange little industrial estate I went to. It is van land I think-where the vans go to sleep at night, before setting off on their travels the next day.

Thanks for the comments yesterday-and thanks Lisa and Tracy for pointing out Hearts for Haiti-an Etsy shop to raise money for Haiti. Here is a link to that.

For more shadow shots, visit HeyHarriet here.

Have a lovely Sunday!

This Week

This week I have not felt like blogging as everything pales in comparison to what has happened and is happening in Haiti. Today it struck me that I have been on the sofa a lot, watching with horror the awful things that people there are going through. I am in awe of the bravery of people and the way they have the capacity to deal with terrible and unstoppable events in their lives. At least in the modern world we can react as quickly as possible to disaster and do the best in bad circumstances. Well hopefully anyway.

Journal pages and old scans I had forgotten

I had the sofas and the gold there already. The stamp was from a thank you letter from our nephews-they always send one for presents and we love getting them. I scanned the stamp to enlarge it for the December page, then had the idea for finishing my next 'on the sofa' page. Once I had stuck on Mary and Jesus then the gold reminded me of angels.

Some fun things from December. The bear is a napkin from New Year-Andy went shopping with Alwyn and they had instructions to choose festive napkins(only part of a very long list!) The blue paper is from a Cafe Nero bag from breakfast at the Eurostar station-it contained a delicious almond croissant-no wonder I don't lose any weight! The bag is such a lovely deep blue.

Below are three scans I had forgotten about and liked when I saw them again. Mints

Lino print

Gel pen drawing.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Really sunny Sunday last week. The reflections of the handles on the cupboard had their own shadows.

A little rose tree now stands where the Christmas tree was. Long woman of Woolwich this week. My shadow falling across the corner of base camp in Forest School. Base camp is such a dramatic name isn't it-but that is what we call it! I call out 'Everybody back to base camp' loudly when it is time for our snack, drink and chat. I am not starting Forest School until the 19th. I wonder of there will still be snow then. It has melted a lot today and the met office have withdrawn their severe weather warning. So it looks as if it will be school as normal tomorrow!

For more shadow shots, visit HeyHarriet here.

Friday Meanderings

Snow continues to dominate. I have been dreaming about it each night (proper in my sleep dreams-not just day ones!), the news is full of it, grit is running out, past years snowy winters are recalled and people express strong opinions on whether schools should be closed or not. Yesterday the two closest schools to us were shut but we were open. The buses are running ok so people can still get in. Our head did thank us all for getting in this week despite it being difficult.
In nursery we have interviewed parents of new children until today, when the older ones returned. This morning nursery had 10 children and this afternoon 8! It was lovely-quiet, and with time to really get into what we were doing. Some built a snowman, then later a snow castle. We rearranged an area of the classroom that is not working well, and this afternoon I worked with Ronnie and Michael as they made junk modelling castles. We had hot chocolate and biscuits too (not healthy I know, but cosy-and left over from the party last term!) Is it a salt? Is it a sugar? No it is a snow. (silly Ali G film about science on my mind here!)

Cute isn't she with her little multilink eyes.

Wondering which fabric to use for a doll, and also wondering whether to take part in One World One Heart this year. I would love to but it is coming up very soon and I don't know if I can fit in making something for it. Hmmm.

This is the door to the hall. I have fixed two hooks into the frame and hung up this fleecy fabric curtain to cut out the draft from the front door. It has made such a difference already! We should probably get an actual door there, but I like this solution for now.

I made another little lantern using stick on tape-it took about five minutes and looks pretty I think. I stapled a doodle into a cylinder too to make another one. So quick-suits my impatient nature. The third one is just plain.

My trusty sewing machine in action. I have had it for about twenty five years I think, though it went for a long time not being used. I am making two more tall skinny cloth dolls to keep this one company. If I get on with it quickly enough I will do OWOH. If not then so be it.

View of the shelf in my, what shall I call it?-studio-ha ha!, spare room, junk room, guest room-again ha ha! Back room. Sewing room. Box room. (I have an oil painting of boxes hanging on the outside of the door-from a charity shop years ago. So maybe box room is the best-it does have a lot of boxes in it) Crafty stuff storage room. Who knows, but if I didn't have it I suppose I would have to store the crafty stuff elswhere so I am grateful! I love these see through boxes. They stack, are pretty sturdy, and can be crammed quite full. I do dream of storage such as that found in this catalogue though.