More Works In Progress.

Here are some more of my current works in progress.

This one is finished really but was a test to see how an idea I had would turn out. I was trying to get the effect of silhouetted flowers and dandelion heads against a twilight sky.

This is my painting of my cat Rusty transferred to fabric. I'm going to sew on it to make some detail and texture.

This is another experiment. I wonder if you can work out what it will be? 😊

These are swirls I made with copper wire which I'm going to sew to my rusted fabric wall hanging.

I've added some hand embroidery to it already and I hope to show you the finished thing soon. 😊💖

The Cat, the Mist and the Moon.

It's been really wet this week and Boots has been coming in a very soggy moggy. I've had to wipe him dry over and over again. He likes to "help" me with my work sometimes, mainly by lying on it and preventing me from continuing. 🐱😄 Here he is "helping" me with a painting:

Here he is again - well, his paws anyway - "helping" with a drawing:

Boots isn't the only one who's been getting wet in all the rain, my flowers have too, which gave me the opportunity to take more photos of droplets. Yay! 😏 

These are two of my crocuses:

Here is a leaf with what I think is a perfect droplet on the end:

I know I've shown you pictures of droplets before but I just think they're so beautiful I can't get enough of them. 😁

With the wet weather has come a lot of mist. It was so foggy the other night around my area that we couldn't see very far even with the street lights. I took this photo in the hope of showing how foggy it was:

When we've had clear nights the moon has been quite bright and beautiful and I couldn't resist taking a few photos. This one was taken with a slower shutter speed for night time photos but I didn't have a tripod to keep it still. I think my hands might have moved but I quite like the effect:

This is another photo taken with normal shutter speed. You can see the halo around the moon looking very mystical and ethereal:

Well, that's what's been happening for me this week; wet cat, wet garden and wet everything really 😄 but I'm hoping to get a few more bits of work in progress ready soon. 💖

Howard Hodgkin

I was going to write about something else today but when I heard about the death of Howard Hodgkin, I thought I'd just show a few of his paintings.

Howard Hodgkin

I quite like Hodgkin's work, the colour is beautiful and the shapes interesting. I had photocopies of a few of his paintings in my sketchbook for inspiration while doing one project during my textile course.

Howard Hodgkin

Hodgkin was a painter and printmaker who began his work in the 1960s and became well known in the 1970s. He was inspired by the colours of India and created works that were semi-abstract using blocks of colour.

I love the blue in this one:

Howard Hodgkin

He painted memories, feelings and sensations focusing on an exploration of life and all its emotions. However, he could take years to finish a painting, saying he hated the actual process.

Howard Hodgkin

Howard Hodgkin was one of the great painters of the 20th century and was at the heart of the British art scene.

I love the colours here and the shapes at the centre:

Howard Hodgkin

Howard Hodgkin

Howard Hodgkin

Howard Hodgkin

I'd love to try to paint in a more abstract form using colours like this in an expressive way. I might give it a go soon.

Happy St David's Day!

Happy St David’s Day! Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus!

Here are some photos to celebrate my national patron saint’s day today. Beautiful daffodils – the symbol of Wales - with droplets on their petals and leaves. I love droplets on things, I think they look so gorgeous like little jewels shimmering in the light.

I wondered if you might like to know a bit about Saint David (Dewi Sant in Welsh).

He was born around 5oo AD but no one is sure exactly when. It is said that an angel foretold his birth to Saint Patrick 30 years before. His mother was Saint Non, daughter of a Chieftain and his father was the son of a king. David was born on a clifftop in Pembrokeshire during a storm and apparently you can still see the handprints of Non on a rock. At David’s birth a bolt of lightning split the rock. Non later became a nun and near the site of David’s birth are the ruins of St Non’s Chapel. A new chapel has been built nearby and there is also St Non’s well which is said to have healing properties.

Stained Glass Window of St David.

(Artist unknown.)

Saint David was taught by Saint Paulinus in Carmarthenshire. He became a teacher and preacher, a bishop and later an archbishop, founding several monasteries and churches in Wales. A monastery he founded in the Glyn Rhosyn valley became St David’s Cathedral. He was at the centre of the Welsh Church in the 6^th century and went on pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome.

Saint David’s symbol is a dove and he is also patron saint of vegetarians and vegans. I’m a vegetarian so he’s my patron saint twice over. This is due to the fact that he only drank water and ate only bread, vegetables and herbs. He also taught his followers not to eat meat or drink beer and as well as that, the monks had to pull their own ploughs instead of using animals. He lived simply and encouraged monks to spend their evenings in prayer, reading and writing. Apparently though, some monks were not happy with the austere life he insisted on and they tried to poison him. Saint Scuthyn knew about this and travelled from Ireland on the back of a sea monster to warn him. (I’d love to have seen that!) David blessed the bread he was about to eat, ate it and was all right.

The most famous miracle associated with Saint David was when he was preaching in Llanddewi Brefi. Such a large crowd had gathered that not everyone could hear him. In order for him to be heard and seen, the ground rose underneath him forming a small hill. As the late historian John Davies commented, it was quite an unnecessary miracle considering how many hills there are in Wales!

In the late 11^th century, a book called Buchedd Dewi (Life of St David) was written by a man called Rhygyfarch. It contains the traditional tales that we now have about St David and is said to have been taken from documents discovered in the archives of the cathedral, though it is believed to be more legend than truth.

Saint David is said to have lived for 100 years. He died on 1^st March and it is also said that the monastery was ‘filled with angels as Christ received his soul.’ His last sermon, according to Rhygyfarch, contained the words,

‘Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about.’

‘Do the little things’ (‘Gwnewch y pethau bychain’ in Welsh) is well known in Wales and is about simplicity in life.

David was buried at St David’s Cathedral in St David’s, Pembrokeshire – the smallest city in Britain. It was, and still is, a popular place for pilgrims and visitors. They say that four journeys to St David’s is equal to one pilgrimage to Jerusalem and two to Rome. (If that’s the case, I’ve been to Jerusalem at least once and to Rome several times considering the number of trips I’ve taken to St David’s.)

His shrine resides inside the cathedral, containing relics that are meant to be his bones. It was restored and re-dedicated in 2012 with five icons painted by Sarah Crisp. They were made with egg tempera and gesso and are displayed in niches around the shrine. St David is in the centre, St Patrick to the left, St Andrew to the right and at the back are St Non and St Justinian, a contemporary of St David.

St David by Sarah Crisp.

St David’s Day has been a festival since the 18^th century, though sadly still not a holiday, but we love celebrating it. An Eisteddfod is usually held in many schools with competitions for poetry, singing etc. and lots of girls wear traditional Welsh costume consisting of a tall black hat, shawl, pinafore and red skirt. Many of us wear daffodils pinned to our chests. Men sometimes wear leeks though – the other symbol of Wales – and our flag with the red dragon will be flying. We may also eat lots of Welsh cakes!

You can find more about St David and the Cathedral by clicking stdavidscathedral.org.uk

I hope you’ve found some of this interesting. If not, I hope you’ve liked the photos. Whether you’re Welsh or not, have a lovely day.