When The Music's Not Forgotten

I am feeling sad and deflated just now which is one reason why my blog is so late. A friend who was treated for lung cancer a few years ago and declared "cured", who lost her husband last year, has now developed liver and pancreatic cancer and has been given months to live. It makes you wonder why life throws so many terrible things at some people and others seem to get away relatively lightly. So here is a song for Doris and all those others who haven't got as long here as they would like.

This is a pen and ink and watercolour drawing I started several months ago and I really couldn't get on with it at all. It all came together this week. Strange to see trees in a boat I know but nothing is impossible.

This is called The Journey Was Long But She Was Never Alone


These are quirky birds from my scrapbook pages which have worked their way into a pen and ink drawing. I think I have the birds the wrong way round though. The red one would have looked better against the black tree.

Although we get some very dull and wet days in winter, there are some days when the light is beautiful. Some of the photos below are recent and others aren't but they are all favourites of mine.

This is a scene taken from one of our walks recently and immediately made me think of the GK Chesterton poem - The Rolling English Road. The first verse goes like this:

Before the Romans came to Rye or out to Severn strode,

The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.

A reeling road, a rolling road, that rambles round the shire,

And after him the parson ran, the sexton and the squire;

A merry road, a mazy road, and such as we did tread

The night we went to Birmingham by way of Beachy Head.

There are another three verses which you can find on Google.

Just when I thought I was finished with hares for the time being - up they pop again.

Jane Ray artwork - published by Roger La Borde. This is the back and front of the card. It is nice to see the full image spread out. Twice as much card for your money.

Andrew Waddington - Return Of The Sun King - published by Art Angels in their Printmakers collection.

My family brought me back a lovely collection of artists cards from Cornwall some time ago and in amongst them was this delightful painting of a goose by Suzy Sharpe. Isn't it beautifully spontaneous and fresh. More of Suzy's work here.

I saw a piece of craft created by Jan Guest in a well-known magazine recently and was extremely impressed with her work. Jan is based in Bosham and uses reclaimed coastal wood and sea pebbles to create her lovely marine themed plaques, wall hangings and free standing pieces. Her fish and little coastal houses are lovely and make me hum "I do want to be beside the seaside". You can catch up with her website here.

Rock Pool Wreath With Fish

Harbour Cottages

A Swell Day

I love the delicate, lacelike tracery of these winter trees at Harefield, but you have to remember to look up because sometimes the magic is above your head.

Mary Fedden has long been a favourite of mine and I was delighted to find this little book at a car boot sale back in the summer. Seems a long time ago, now doesn't it? It only cost around 50p and I couldn't resist it. Nowadays her paintings cost thousands to buy. Mary is a very well known and popular English contemporary artist in the naive, expressionist tradition. She doesn't observe the rules of perspective but paints what she likes, when she likes and doesn't pay regard to the opinions of others. I like that. I also like all the lovely birds she paints and the texture she gets into her work. You can find lots of her work if you enter her name into a search engine.

Oystercatcher

Chaffinches

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Park Birds In The Snow