Over the hills and far away......

 

 Walked away from work and off onto the hill on a misty moisty morning. Cold wind and dogs full of delight. Cold, sun veiled in low cloud, wind sharp and biting.

No one about for miles, but then we met Jetske and Sarah on horseback.

Homewards we wandered past the blind eyed windows of the ruined cottages at Maes Y Mynydd, so still, so cold, so full of stories.

Back home again I hung  prints from The Seal Children in The House of Golden Dreams.
 

Lists x 2

1. On the beach this morning:

pattern drawings in sand, water and light
golden splinters of shells
reflective dogs
birds over waves like an elegant string of feathered beads, hunting jewel bright fish
clear air, salt on lips

2. On the beach this evening:

stones smoothed by the sea's touch

snipe and turnstone

ancient bones of long dead trees

my children

clear air, salt on lips

And in the woods they climbed the tree, woven by the sea wind, and sat like sprites in its cradle branches.

Back home, supper looked beautiful. Sweet, rich and spiced.

List no. 9, a somewhat prosaic collection of things that need to be done.

1. Make list
2. Hang work in The House of Golden Dreams
3. Pack picture ready for delivery from The House of Golden Dreams
4. Pack dragons for Hertfordshire
5. Stretch paper
about time too. I usualy stretch my paper onto a wooden board, not a drawing board from an art shop as they are so expensive, but some fairly thick plywood taht I have scrubbed first. I use wide gum tape and before I start sretching I get 4 pieces the right length. Then I shut myself in bathroom with paper, board, tape. I have to shut myself in otherwse I have cats supervising me. I soak the paper under the bath tap. You can soak it overnight to ensure that the maximum amount of water has gone into the paper, but this is a bit purist for me. Then I hold the paper by one corner to drain off the excess and when it is just drip drop dripping I lay it on the wood, trying to lower it on so as not to trap air pockets. Then starting with a long side I use dampened gum tape to stick it down. Then I leave it, flat, to dry. Most times it works ok. It is a chore but it means that the paper stays flat when the painting is dry.
When it is dry I brush off the cat hairs and scribble and colour in all over it.
6. Walk dogs along the beach, morning, evening
7. Paint

A parcel from The House of Golden Dreams, waiting to be delivered.

Dream list

1. Dream of unicorns.
2. Dream of pirates, Conrad, and a ship with wings.
3. Dream of riding a horse, bareback and shoeless, by the edge of the sea.
4. Dream of hunting, with cheetahs and hawks, in silks and gold brocade.
5. Dream of river music, warm sun, the scent of honeysuckle.
6.Dream of dancing close on the bridge of stars that arc the earth.
7. Dream of riding the great gray wolf through the dark forest night, in the company of owls.
8. Dream of Icarus, before.
9. Dream of waking into birdsong.
10. Dream of dreaming.

List 8.

On the beach today:

The fragile bones of broken sea birds.

The texture of stippled sand where rain had fallen, smoothed by the incoming tide.

The bones of a great tree washed up by the power of the sea, stranded on stones, smoothed by waves.

And plastic, always plastic; small beads, pots, gloves, splinters and brittle shards in unnatural colours, ropes and crates, pieces of buckets, lighters, lids, balls, all manner of discard.

Back home, there are cats and angels in my window.

 

 

List 7

1. Maintain radio silence on facebook in attempt to find more minutes for painting in.
Failed miserably as drawn into a thread on Meg Rosoff's page.
2. Knit, even a bit.
3.Paint, finish the mother and child piece and if possible the father, mother and baby piece.
4. Sign The Seal Children books for Dubai school trip.
Curiously defeated in signing the correct number as 5 out of 19 books were printed upside down. Note to publisher. Print books the right way up.
5. Go to meeting at school for Dubai trip.
6. Make fire to chase away the cold and damp of the day.
7. Talk to accountant and send off papers in the post.
8. Do blog stuff, including links to John.
9. Draw Evelyn's dragon.
10. Stop making lists. 

Between land and sea, day and night

on the beach this evening

the sea song slumber of rolling waves
billows of foam at the water's edge to pillow a mermaid's tired head
the promise of selkies
patterns drawn in the sand by the sea's hand on the inbetween land
as the land welcomes the dark night while the sea clings even to the very last of the day's light

and words
that come
and go
like the tide's pull
until all that is left is the one word 
washed onto the mind's shore

beauty

then
peace

joy

List 6

 

 

 

1. Finish all four paintings and draw out two more.

( The presses are booked and I have to get the artwork finished for designer to work on otherwise the publication date will have to be moved back. The paintings are all for The Ice Bear)

2. Finish book.

3. Have a bath.

4. Stretch paper!!!!

5. Talk to accountant!

6. Wash up.

7. Knit, even just a little bit.

8. Walk dogs again on the beach at twilight when the tide will be out and the moon will be coming up and the beach will be wide, wide, wide. 

9. Supper for kids.

10. Don't forget to pick kids up from school. 

On the beach today

The unfledged feathers of a mythical trickster.

Perfect waves.

The mournful keening of a solitary sea bird.

 

Tuesday

 

In my old journal I would always start each month with a picture of my desk. This morning, in the dark light of dawn, my desk is waiting. I need to put long hours into finishing this book now, move through to the next one. And then it will be time to tidy my studio and play a little with some of the image sthat begin to crash around inside my mind's eye demanding attention, if they do not wander off to find another artist to make them.

Apart from The House of Golden Dreams there is only one other gallery that carries my work. Reading this blog post by John, at The Imagine Gallery, makes me realise why.

Almost finished The Coral Thief, and today I hope to punctuate my working day by losing myself in the gardens in Paris where a leopard and a polar bear have been taken to the menagerie as wild animals are banned from the streets and the guillotine rules, Lucienne sleeps and Naopleon shares a painted plate decorated with an ibis with a small child called Betsy on St Helena. Mr B's promised history, mystery and the wonders of the natural world and have delivered all and more.