Painting paper

I have in mind a fabric and paper journal so I have been painting paper to use as backgtounds. I now have multi coloured fingers from the ko-in-nor paints or dyes or whatever they are.
Some were using those and some regular paints and some using acrylic inks, Some are sprayed as well, everything is grist to my mill at the moment and they all have different qualities.
I like this corner of my sun room and the clothes horse is a useful place to dry papers as well as clothes.
Not much else done today apart from shopping etc, I did cut out the stencil for the poppy heads.
From hot and windy to cold but dry, we are well into silage making at the moment, much too early. Perhaps we will get lovely rain in October.

Seal pup

I have had a very busy few days, the weather has been pretty ordinary too, with gales, wind, heat and rain. finally today I managed to get 2 wheelbarrtow loads of weeds done, so the front is getting a little bit more respectable, but there is a lot more to do.
I sat and sketched this baby seal on one of my breaks before going out to do more. Not a lot of time for sketchbooks or paint I am afraid.
Sunday was the day I looked after Mason all day while Gaby and Celina rode at the mounted games, I was the driver! So a 5 am start and it was well after 5.30 pm before I got home, the girls had a good time I think and I can still drive the car and horse float.
Mason is very good but nearly 3 year old boys can be very busy and a handful. I was really pleased when he finally had a sleep. A busy showground with trucks, floats and horses is not a good place for small boys to wander and keeping him in the car was rather a struggle.
Yesterday the gale force winds kept me mostly inside, although the washing was dry in record time, and then ironed and put away. Trouble is it is hay fever season and so I tend to feel rather 'off'.
I am also tidying things up and clearing away. Spring cleaning I suppose, just hope the body survives.
I really want to get on with the Silk screen on line class I am doing but I need to clear a space before I can start! I had been playing with some mono printing so this is the next step.

Stacked

I sat tired last night after a day in Adelaide and picked up my pen and this is what came about.
Sometimes I wonder about the things that go on in my head. It was fun looking around the room and deciding what to stack ontop of what.
I have had a funny week, 3 new foals, so early rising to check that all is ok, a trip to Adelaide, well really Port Adelaide to meet up with P and we went to a demonstration of the use of Derwent inktense pencils and blocks as well as shiva sticks, I know about shiva stiks but wasnt sure about the inktense blocks but decided to buy some as they are nice to paint with. We were the only 2 there so we had a lovely time but very disapointing for the art shop, although I think I made up for it by buying a silk screen as well and a brush.
We then had a wander around the area, took photos, went to a gallery and had lunch overlooking the river at a nice little cafe.
I left at 8.30 and was home about 3.30 so a longish day and I am fed up with feeling tired at the end of it but I suppose I will have to accept the fact that age is catching up with me and I must remember to take things a bit more slowly.
Having said that I am going out to cut back a few things in the garden.

Savoy cabbage.

Oh dear I am not terribly happy with the colour that the scanner has come up with, there actually is a lot darker green and a lot less yellow.
things dont always go to plan.
I have been buying these wonderful cabbages at our farmers market, photographing or painting and then eating them! Delicious, lightly cooked with butter and a touch of soy sauce.
I have not had a lot of time for sketching, a lot more walking and sewing going on as you will see from my other blog here.
the weather is thank goodness damp and cold and we are slowly getting a few more millimeters of rain, but it is slow and then we get the odd hot day and a north wind which dries it all out again. Here we like to keep being damp until at least October so the paddocks have time to grow and be turned into silage or hay.
We are also in the midst of foaling, so far 2 fillies and 2 colts and 1 still born, lots more to come.
Life is never dull, but sometimes my sketching gets put on hold.

Barry Smith leaf, making lino cuts

In my mail box yesterday this wonderful leaf, metal tag and card from Barry Smith metal work recycler extrodinaire. Barry lives in Maleny Queensland and I couldnt resist ordering this leaf from him. If you google barrysmithart.com I think you will find his website. He recently had an eshibition and showed the leaves and some wonderful bowls on his blog. I want more!!
I have been playing with making a few more simple stamps and ezycut lino type things, stamping, spraying, using stencils etc on some small books I have been making. Fun simple things when I am feeling a little 'off'. I dont need things I really have to think about.
We had a wonderful walk this morning which helped, photos on my other blog.
Thank you Barry for brightening my day.

More Junk book and wisteria

Here are a couple more pages from Junk mail book 2 and a very washy rendition of some wisteria which is flowering at the moment. I am not finding a lot of time to paint or sketch or draw, so I had to scratch around to find something.
As spring is coming fast in the garden I am trying to get some tidying up done, but I am afraid it is very slow as I am still trying to work out what I can and cant do without paying too dearly for it the next day.
The weather goes from unseasonably hot to thunderstorms and a bit of rain, but not enough to cold and windy which isdrying the soil out more.
There is talk of silage making quite soon.
I really dont want another bad season, I would just like 5 good seasons to set us up again, for what? probably retirement, John will be nearly 80 then!!
It doesnt bear thinking about.

A few pages from Junk Mail Book 2

I have been slowly getting this little junk mail book together, these are not all of the pages and really you need to see how they all mesh in together, well most of them do. I will put up the rest tomorrow.I have had a lot of fun with these but think I am a bit predictable with my drawings.
The first is the cover but I havent got the next pages rightso you can see how it works. Now I am looking at the photos up I havent managed to get all the flowers etc in the right places. I really did try hard this time too.
I havent had time to do much sketching or painting, it is Adelaide Royal Show time and Sarah and the girls are up there with some of the ponies, my show hunter got 2nd in a strong class, very good!
I am struggling to get the medication I am on right, not as easy as I thought so a bit of going up and then down is being done and it is making me tired.
I was at the show yesterday and you may like to have a look at my other blog as I have been keeping that one up to date as its a bit slow on this one.
The weather was unseasonably warm yesterday but today it was blowing almost a gale, and very hot and not at all nice for me as it is this time of the year when most of my allergies seem to strike. So I have avoided going out, only to the market this morning and not being outside for the rest of the day. Now it has calmed down a bit so I need to do the feeds and check some mares.
Have a great week end.