Thistle and Butterfly

Thistle and Butterfly, originally uploaded by KatherineJFT.

I just came across this beautiful piece of work by Katherine, who is such a talented CP artist. I just love the vibrant colours and almost fantasy feel of it, an instant fave for me.

Alfies Posse

Hi all,
         I hope that you UK dwellers did not suffer too much in that dreadful heatwave that we had yesterday ? I have just been away for a short trip to spend some time with me mum and yesterday I returned travelling by train, and I cannot tell you how glad that I was to get in, drop everything grab a long cool shandy and a shower...don't get me wrong I love the heat, but not like that, it was way too much for me.
     The picture above is the one that I blogged about in my last post and here it is finally finished. This does not do it just justice as I had to photograph it and I am useless at that when it comes to art, with the size being 16 x 20 inches, just too big to put on the scanner.I know the dog personally a labdoodle, hence all that nutty curly fur, and a bit of ladies man when it comes to girlie dogs. He is adorable, full of fun and mischief, but also quite nobel looking which I hope was caught here in the picture with his two human grankids.

     

Pug Cross rework

Hi all,
         Another busy week has gone by and the decorating/sorting/cleaning up are in the final stages which I have to say I am very pleased about. Yesterday was aimed at downsizing again, and we went through boxes of stuff being very harsh on what to keep and what not, and although it was a little painful for me to part with some things it really needed to be done as I am a bit of hoarder. Over the years we have lived in properties of various sizes, and collected huge amounts of stuff which at the time was all well and good, but now we feel it is no longer needed so has been given away or donated to charity shops. As we are now in  a good sized I bed bungie, which is an ideal size for us to manage given the ongoing health issues, I feel a lot happier and in a round about "cleansed" of toot. The idea of living with what we need rather than what we would like is quite refreshing and in the current financial climate makes good sense to us.
         The picture you see above is of a Pug cross called Darcy and what a beautiful little dog he is. As most of you know going to the dog shows throughout the summer is something I have being doing for many years and have collected a huge range of photos and met some great dogs/people, this dog being one of them. It was back in 2008 that I met this little fellow and just took a few shots of him but for some reason did not manage to connect with his owner. To my surprise and delight at a local show a couple of weeks ago he comes trotting in owner in hand, looking exactly the same although a little grayer around the face. I recognised him straight away ( always the dogs first and owners second ! ) and finally was able to spend some talking with his owner, a lovely lady called Anne. It was done some years ago and I got it out of storage giving it a rework and touching up the colours which is a more truer rendition of this cute little mutt.

Dog Show Saturday

 

    Hi all,
        I know I have neglected my blog again, but I am still tied up with getting sorted in my new home and any art I have been doing has been aimed at one specific large picture which is almost completed now, and that I hope to show later on this week. I did not get anything done on Drawing day either as I was in the garden cutting back trees and bush's which seemed to take forever. When you have health issues doing any kind physical stuff can be very tiring, so having a break in between bouts is the best way to go but obviously takes longer.
      I did manage to get up to a dog show at the weekend and took some lovely shots of these dogs above, and they are most defiantely on my list to do...arent they just gorgeous ? I have a soft spot for the bottom one as he is a Bedlington Terrier and as most of my readers know Blubees is a cross from one of these cuties. These dogs are also part of an obedience/dance/heelwork group and have to say that they put on a great display.

Back to normal.....?

Hi all,
    Well it has been a while since I have updated my blog, but if you have read my last few posts then you will know that I have recently moved and as we it know it can be a stressful experience ! The move itself went ok but there has been much work to do at our new home which has really taken time and is still ongoing, but I do have my desk up and running, but still no new artwork to show yet !  Not all my equipment is unpacked just the immediate stuff I need to finish off some ongoing work, but once that is done I can to get grips with getting organised a little better. All things being equal I hope to share that one picture with you next week some time as it is a special picture on a very large size,16 x 20 to be exact.
        Today is also the universal Drawing Day which just gets popular every year, use the link to read all about it or grab a pencil and join in. I hope to get a little sketch type zentangle done myself today which I shall show here on my blog and perhaps in a few other participating places.
        The photo above is of my little werewolf Bluebell who found herself a little spot in the garden jungle to rest in...so funny watching her as she flattened the grass around her and settled down for a little sleep, as she would not come into the new place for most of the day. Have to say that she loves this new garden as there is so much going on in there as we have a few trees for her to play hide and seek around, which in turn brings lots of little birds to watch and Frogs. Yesterday was a saga as she had found a frog in the garden and having never seen one put her paw on it for close inspection, I got the shock of my life as it started squealing and I myself have never heard anything like that. She had not hurt it but obviously froggy was very scared of her and was hopping acrosss the garden in attempt to escape. It was a very high pitched squeal almost like a baby, and as I cannot stand for anything to be hurt I managed to pick it up and give it my neighbour who has a lovely big pond. Apparently this one was a Marsh Frog, smallish and green in colour but a few weeks ago we came across another one that was big and orange in colour, very vibrant actually...thank god she did not see that one !