Have a lovely weekend everyone.
Friday, 23 July 2010
Labrador in Pastel
It is the first time I have ever used pastels for a pet portrait. I have used them in the past for people portraits and quite some time ago, it must be more than twelve months. I had forgotten how much I enjoy them, although wearing a white top for the project was probably not one of my better ideas ;)
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
A Second Butterfly Collage
I created a butterfly collage a couple of months ago and put it on my photography blog. in fact, I liked it so much, I also put a copy on the wall in the kitchen, it is so bright and colourful. It is along side a gorgeous photo that Andy took in the Spring, which was a lovely blue sky looking up through some wonderful white spring bulbs. Here is my second incorporating butterflies seen in the last couple of months.
Friday, 16 July 2010
Tabby in a Tree
I thought it was time for a little art....Thanks a lot to Shane Lewis for the photographic reference. Sometimes it is good to work from images that were not your own, it makes for variety which is both challenging and interesting from an artists point of view!
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Damsels
I find dragonflies and damselflies quite hard to identify. As far as damsels are concerned, I realised early on almost everything I saw was a variation on a common blue ~ well that's what I thought anyway!
In fact much of what I have seen lately is a little different and when you start to look a bit closer, it gets a little easier ~sometimes!
However, this one wasn't too difficult, at Attingham park last weekend, there were loads of these bobbing up and down along the river. I knew without checking that these are banded demoiselles. I confess to sitting on the river bank and just soaking up the atmosphere.
I watched the damsels seeing off other damsels and was convinced they were chasing emerald damselflies. Andy bought me a field guide for my birthday, all became so clear when I got home and consulted it. My emerald damselflies were in fact female banded demoiselles! Doh!
Last week, Andy finished work a littler earlier one of the days and we both went to the pool. I took my macro and took photo's of these:
I think this is an Azure dameselfly.
.JPG)
And, I think these are blue tailed. However, I was also lucky enough to spot a very different one in the meadow (when I didn't have my macro on) which I am told is white legged.
I just think they are beautiful, I am nor sure I will ever manange to identify them at a glance though. If damsels and dragons are your thing, my recent dragonfly sitings can be found here.
In fact much of what I have seen lately is a little different and when you start to look a bit closer, it gets a little easier ~sometimes!
However, this one wasn't too difficult, at Attingham park last weekend, there were loads of these bobbing up and down along the river. I knew without checking that these are banded demoiselles. I confess to sitting on the river bank and just soaking up the atmosphere.
I watched the damsels seeing off other damsels and was convinced they were chasing emerald damselflies. Andy bought me a field guide for my birthday, all became so clear when I got home and consulted it. My emerald damselflies were in fact female banded demoiselles! Doh!
Last week, Andy finished work a littler earlier one of the days and we both went to the pool. I took my macro and took photo's of these:
I think this is an Azure dameselfly.
.JPG)
And, I think these are blue tailed. However, I was also lucky enough to spot a very different one in the meadow (when I didn't have my macro on) which I am told is white legged.
I just think they are beautiful, I am nor sure I will ever manange to identify them at a glance though. If damsels and dragons are your thing, my recent dragonfly sitings can be found here.
Monday, 12 July 2010
A Trip Around Skiathos
Today has seen the first rain for quite some time. Although the garden is sorely in need of it, dull skies are a bit of a dampener. It actually feels quite cold and if I thought my knee was improving, the damp has proved otherwise!
So I thought it would be good to have another Skiathos post and unlike my other, where I have concentrated heavily on wildlife, this is just good old fashioned touristy stuff.
Every time we have been previously, we have been determined to get to the north of the island and for one reason or another, it just hasn't happened. So on a calm day, we made out way to the old harbour and took a round the island boat trip. The first stop was Lalaria. The water is crystal clear and I am sure an incredible colour normally but on the day we went, it was a little overcast to start with.
It is lovely and I can imagine it being even more lovely when there are less people, there were a number of boats on the day we went. The clarity of the water was amazing and me being me, I couldn't help but be picking up bits of quartz and examining them and then collecting bits of driftwood ~ yup, I know Andy has a lot to put up with!
We then moved on to Kastro. This looked to be fascinating, the old town is at the top of a cliff and there is an old monastery visible at the top. I would have loved to have taken a look but only an hour was allocated and in deference to my knee, I decided it would be a better idea if I sat that one out in the taverna. Andy, decided to join me which was rather lovely of him, we have wanted to go there for so long...but as he said.....we will get another chance.
As it happened, the taverna proved to be a wonderful choice, I can honestly say it was delightful. It is an entirely rustic collection of all sorts, with chairs and tables sort of hammered together and check out the worry beads hanging above the hatch :)
This eclectic mix of shells, bones and curio's simply makes for a lovely atmosphere and we sat very happily soaking it up and people watching.
The views weren't too shabby either! As I sat there with my Mythos and a bag of oregano flavoured crisps, I didn't feel too bad that I didn't get up to Kastro, we will make it another day ~ we just need to go back again, haha. Meanwhile after getting ready to leave, we both decided to use the facilities. I couldn't help grinning, I told Andy to take the camera when he went, I mean it's not often you get to "go" in a loo like this.
Isn't it amazing? No, you don't need to worry, there is nobody much around, the herbs smell nice...
Meanwhile, we continued our trip around the island and stopped off at another beach for some lunch. It was lovely and very quiet, clearly a little bit more difficult to get to than some.
Here we decided to go for a shared lunch, as we often do.. I think this was the first time we had tried Cheese Saganaki. I am not sure why we have never tried this before, we both like cheese and it was delicious.
The entire trip was finished off by a call in Tsougria, I was so hot that I just jumped into the sea but earlier posts and images can be seen from last year here in one of my wildlife posts.
Finally we made our way back to Skiathos harbour. I was going to include a tour of the town in this post, but perhaps that one is for another day....some of you are on dial up!
It doesn't seem to matter when you take images of the old harbour, there is a different scene or a different mood depending on the circumstances, ever changing! If you found this interesting, there are further posts about Skiathos a few back and there is also a post about Kolios beach and the associated wildlife on my wordpress blog here.
So I thought it would be good to have another Skiathos post and unlike my other, where I have concentrated heavily on wildlife, this is just good old fashioned touristy stuff.
Every time we have been previously, we have been determined to get to the north of the island and for one reason or another, it just hasn't happened. So on a calm day, we made out way to the old harbour and took a round the island boat trip. The first stop was Lalaria. The water is crystal clear and I am sure an incredible colour normally but on the day we went, it was a little overcast to start with.
It is lovely and I can imagine it being even more lovely when there are less people, there were a number of boats on the day we went. The clarity of the water was amazing and me being me, I couldn't help but be picking up bits of quartz and examining them and then collecting bits of driftwood ~ yup, I know Andy has a lot to put up with!
We then moved on to Kastro. This looked to be fascinating, the old town is at the top of a cliff and there is an old monastery visible at the top. I would have loved to have taken a look but only an hour was allocated and in deference to my knee, I decided it would be a better idea if I sat that one out in the taverna. Andy, decided to join me which was rather lovely of him, we have wanted to go there for so long...but as he said.....we will get another chance.
As it happened, the taverna proved to be a wonderful choice, I can honestly say it was delightful. It is an entirely rustic collection of all sorts, with chairs and tables sort of hammered together and check out the worry beads hanging above the hatch :)
This eclectic mix of shells, bones and curio's simply makes for a lovely atmosphere and we sat very happily soaking it up and people watching.
The views weren't too shabby either! As I sat there with my Mythos and a bag of oregano flavoured crisps, I didn't feel too bad that I didn't get up to Kastro, we will make it another day ~ we just need to go back again, haha. Meanwhile after getting ready to leave, we both decided to use the facilities. I couldn't help grinning, I told Andy to take the camera when he went, I mean it's not often you get to "go" in a loo like this.
Isn't it amazing? No, you don't need to worry, there is nobody much around, the herbs smell nice...
Meanwhile, we continued our trip around the island and stopped off at another beach for some lunch. It was lovely and very quiet, clearly a little bit more difficult to get to than some.
Here we decided to go for a shared lunch, as we often do.. I think this was the first time we had tried Cheese Saganaki. I am not sure why we have never tried this before, we both like cheese and it was delicious.
The entire trip was finished off by a call in Tsougria, I was so hot that I just jumped into the sea but earlier posts and images can be seen from last year here in one of my wildlife posts.
Finally we made our way back to Skiathos harbour. I was going to include a tour of the town in this post, but perhaps that one is for another day....some of you are on dial up!
It doesn't seem to matter when you take images of the old harbour, there is a different scene or a different mood depending on the circumstances, ever changing! If you found this interesting, there are further posts about Skiathos a few back and there is also a post about Kolios beach and the associated wildlife on my wordpress blog here.
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Sunny Bridgnorth
A bit of a change for me, apart from the Blue Ginger oil painting I haven't done any scenery for a little while. This one was painted in gouche, I liked the sunny mood of the photo, which has made for a colourful rendition of Low Town.
Another similar piece of art can be found on my wordpress blog.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
White Admiral
On arrival back in the UK, I was almost disappointed at the general lack of photo opportunities. It seemed that all of a sudden everything was dull, despite the weather being lovely. But, there has almost been a lull in colourful butterflies, only skippers, ringlets and meadow browns. Each are very lovely in their own way but I missed that opportunity to spot something different. I had only ever seen a White Admiral butterfly on Ingrid's blog and as she is in Canada, it would be a long way to go ;)
However, as I started to follow my wildlife forum posts again, I realised that we have some of these lovely butterflies here in Shropshire only a couple of miles from where I live.
I got Andy to take me along and was unsuccessful initially, simply because they were flying so fast and high in the treetops. But, eventually I got lucky:
The strange thing is that we never even knew it was there. Just a few minutes from home and it has since proved to be the most fabulous resource for picturesque woodland and a host of dragonflies which are to follow!
Meanwhile, if you have missed my art, there is some over on my wordpress art blog and there are more photographs of wildlife in Skaithos over on my wordpress photography blog.
However, as I started to follow my wildlife forum posts again, I realised that we have some of these lovely butterflies here in Shropshire only a couple of miles from where I live.
I got Andy to take me along and was unsuccessful initially, simply because they were flying so fast and high in the treetops. But, eventually I got lucky:
The strange thing is that we never even knew it was there. Just a few minutes from home and it has since proved to be the most fabulous resource for picturesque woodland and a host of dragonflies which are to follow!
Meanwhile, if you have missed my art, there is some over on my wordpress art blog and there are more photographs of wildlife in Skaithos over on my wordpress photography blog.
Sunday, 4 July 2010
Dragons and Butterflies of Vromolimnos
We have never been to Skiathos in June and we were immediately struck by the colours. Not only was it very green but also very fresh and plants that hitherto we have never seen were in full colour.
We were almost glad that last year we did a lot of walking around the Kanapitsa area, we had previously found some lovely places to visit and we didn't want to have to walk too far this time. Not only would my knee become a restriction but on arrival in Skiathos, the temperature soared making it very hot for getting about. Last year we discovered Vromolimnos which is a very pretty beach but the short walk to it is also very beautiful and so were the butterflies this year.
The swallowtails were amazing and I confess that the first time I saw these, I had a tear in my eye, they are just so incredibly lovely. Not only because they look so nice but the sheer size and the way they fly almost takes your breath away.
The area around Vromolimnos is very unspoilt with few buildings and large areas of olive groves, pine trees and a big reed bed with a pool.
On my short trips to and from the beach, there were loads of wild flowers and I was lucky enough to spot lizards scurrying away, some wonderful birds and even a large snake winding it's way across my path.
If you have never been to Greece, especially Skiathos, it is hard to explain the heady smell of pine trees combined with wild herbs that grow throughout the island.
Over three days in a very small area, I counted more than 20 types of butterfly including three different species of swallowtail , which is quite surpising for such a small patch of ground and shows the beauty of leaving areas of ground unspoilt.
Greek Clouded Yellow (I think)
Zebra Swallowtail
Painted Lady
I overheard more than one tourist exclaim at the reed pool by the beach "Oh my goodness, a harbour for mosquitoes". Well, yes it is and there are an unusually high amount of them at the minute follwing quite a lot of rain during May, currently despite any amount of repellent, you are still likely to be bitten. However, the pools also harbour some very beautiful predators of "said" mosquitoes. These migrant hawker dragonflies patrol the water with their powerful flight, they are about three inches long.
Watching their wings glint in the sunlight never fails to capture me, how perfectly they are put together for such a voracious insect. I spotted others at the edge of the pool like this scarlet darter, which is rarely seen in Britain.
Also this fabulous blue eyed one in the waste ground by the side, which I am still trying to identify. Don't you just love those eyes.
When really watching them, I am almost surprised every time I see those eyes rotate, quite freaky to say the least, imagine being able to look around like that!
And over the top............this beautiful beach!
.JPG)
It also very handily has a taverna to appease that quenching thirst, some wonderful food and a lady called Christina (you don't forget a name like that, lol). She worked non-stop and was really friendly and looked after us very well. She is also a mean wasp swatter! I didn't really say she was "scary lady"!haha
So, if you see her, say Hi. I would love to be sitting there with an Amstel right now!
If you enjoyed seeong some Skiathos wildlife, there is more on my photography blog , the Kolios Version.
We were almost glad that last year we did a lot of walking around the Kanapitsa area, we had previously found some lovely places to visit and we didn't want to have to walk too far this time. Not only would my knee become a restriction but on arrival in Skiathos, the temperature soared making it very hot for getting about. Last year we discovered Vromolimnos which is a very pretty beach but the short walk to it is also very beautiful and so were the butterflies this year.
The swallowtails were amazing and I confess that the first time I saw these, I had a tear in my eye, they are just so incredibly lovely. Not only because they look so nice but the sheer size and the way they fly almost takes your breath away.
The area around Vromolimnos is very unspoilt with few buildings and large areas of olive groves, pine trees and a big reed bed with a pool.
On my short trips to and from the beach, there were loads of wild flowers and I was lucky enough to spot lizards scurrying away, some wonderful birds and even a large snake winding it's way across my path.
If you have never been to Greece, especially Skiathos, it is hard to explain the heady smell of pine trees combined with wild herbs that grow throughout the island.
Over three days in a very small area, I counted more than 20 types of butterfly including three different species of swallowtail , which is quite surpising for such a small patch of ground and shows the beauty of leaving areas of ground unspoilt.
Greek Clouded Yellow (I think)
Zebra Swallowtail
Painted Lady
I overheard more than one tourist exclaim at the reed pool by the beach "Oh my goodness, a harbour for mosquitoes". Well, yes it is and there are an unusually high amount of them at the minute follwing quite a lot of rain during May, currently despite any amount of repellent, you are still likely to be bitten. However, the pools also harbour some very beautiful predators of "said" mosquitoes. These migrant hawker dragonflies patrol the water with their powerful flight, they are about three inches long.
Watching their wings glint in the sunlight never fails to capture me, how perfectly they are put together for such a voracious insect. I spotted others at the edge of the pool like this scarlet darter, which is rarely seen in Britain.
Also this fabulous blue eyed one in the waste ground by the side, which I am still trying to identify. Don't you just love those eyes.
When really watching them, I am almost surprised every time I see those eyes rotate, quite freaky to say the least, imagine being able to look around like that!
And over the top............this beautiful beach!
.JPG)
It also very handily has a taverna to appease that quenching thirst, some wonderful food and a lady called Christina (you don't forget a name like that, lol). She worked non-stop and was really friendly and looked after us very well. She is also a mean wasp swatter! I didn't really say she was "scary lady"!haha
So, if you see her, say Hi. I would love to be sitting there with an Amstel right now!
If you enjoyed seeong some Skiathos wildlife, there is more on my photography blog , the Kolios Version.
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Kolios in my Suitcase
We had a lovely time away and this year it was easy to drop a text to a fellow blogger Yvonne and arrange a meet up whilst in Skiathos. There was none of the trepidation of last year, meeting an unknown blogger, we were looking forward to meeting a friend and catching up with lots of gossip and ideas. Yvonne is an artist who resides in London for the winter but has a villa in Skiathos where she spends the summer. Whilst this may sound idyllic and indeed I think it is an enviable lifestyle, it is also a very challenging one for much of the time. I do think there are a lot of balances to be made along with a lot of practical skills, running a business overseas has some very big hurdles. If you head over to her blog, Painting Skiathos, you will normally see posts of Yvonne attending various cultural events, holding a number of painting classes or organising any number of courses for writing, silk painting and other arts. This year, despite the volcanic ash cloud throwing all her plans into disarray, she has also converted the woodshed into a new studio, which is amazingly inspiring.
So this is an image that I really liked that Andy managed to capture, this is a relaxed Yvonne which I can imagine a lot of people don't get to see ;) in her new studio.
Yvonne suggested a meal at a local taverna and we moved on to a lovely meal up at the Diamond apartments where it was very enjoyable meeting Sula and her family. As always we didn't stop talking, the conversation bounced around not only art but anything else that flowed. Andy said we managed to never stop talking for the duration of evening, it was only six hours or so?....
It seemed since last year, Yvonne has become an electrician extraordinaire and is well on the way to becoming an expert in pool management (How blue is your pool now?). We chatted about favourite artists, life, love and everything else!
Yvonne very kindly gave me a beautiful painting for my significant birthday which I treasure. On a serious note, I was delighted and very touched. It is a lovely piece of art and it is also of Kolios which will always be a very special place for Andy and me for a number of reasons.
As you can see, we are in the new studio here, which is such an inspiring place for the different classes, it is also great eye candy...you really don't know where to look first! I have also dressed very accomodatingly to match it ;) *She whispers*..."sometimes, I just want to pull out all the canvasses and be really nosey!"
I really feel sad that we didn't have more time to spend together but Yvonne had visitors to stay over during our second week and we recognised that this was valuable and special "family" time. We did get to bump into them all, albeit briefly in the town. We had heard a lot about her husband, Farouk and I do think that only five minutes banter was a little too short! It was also good to meet Tamara and Tom, perhaps next time we will all have more time to chat.
Meanwhile, I was a little concerned about getting my lovely picture home. But, we wrapped it very carefully and it survived the baggage handlers treatment! Yay
It is a difficult decision for me where to hang a painting, truly. I really do seriously deliberate the best place for any artwork...but the morning after we got back, I woke up and knew exactly where it should go. Our bedroom has an arched ceiling to the one side and lattice type doors to the side which has an almost mediterannean feel to the corner. The light is lovely but has no direct sunlight.In a morning we wake up and Andy and myself smile as we look at it, we love it! We even laugh about the seriously grumpy staff at that taverna in the last couple of years....we hold that beach in our hearts.
We hope the new people looking after the bar on Kolios make a good go of it, it is a very beautiful beach. More importantly, thank you Yvonne, it is very appreciated, we do hope you have a lovely summer :)
So this is an image that I really liked that Andy managed to capture, this is a relaxed Yvonne which I can imagine a lot of people don't get to see ;) in her new studio.
Yvonne suggested a meal at a local taverna and we moved on to a lovely meal up at the Diamond apartments where it was very enjoyable meeting Sula and her family. As always we didn't stop talking, the conversation bounced around not only art but anything else that flowed. Andy said we managed to never stop talking for the duration of evening, it was only six hours or so?....
It seemed since last year, Yvonne has become an electrician extraordinaire and is well on the way to becoming an expert in pool management (How blue is your pool now?). We chatted about favourite artists, life, love and everything else!
Yvonne very kindly gave me a beautiful painting for my significant birthday which I treasure. On a serious note, I was delighted and very touched. It is a lovely piece of art and it is also of Kolios which will always be a very special place for Andy and me for a number of reasons.
As you can see, we are in the new studio here, which is such an inspiring place for the different classes, it is also great eye candy...you really don't know where to look first! I have also dressed very accomodatingly to match it ;) *She whispers*..."sometimes, I just want to pull out all the canvasses and be really nosey!"
I really feel sad that we didn't have more time to spend together but Yvonne had visitors to stay over during our second week and we recognised that this was valuable and special "family" time. We did get to bump into them all, albeit briefly in the town. We had heard a lot about her husband, Farouk and I do think that only five minutes banter was a little too short! It was also good to meet Tamara and Tom, perhaps next time we will all have more time to chat.
Meanwhile, I was a little concerned about getting my lovely picture home. But, we wrapped it very carefully and it survived the baggage handlers treatment! Yay
It is a difficult decision for me where to hang a painting, truly. I really do seriously deliberate the best place for any artwork...but the morning after we got back, I woke up and knew exactly where it should go. Our bedroom has an arched ceiling to the one side and lattice type doors to the side which has an almost mediterannean feel to the corner. The light is lovely but has no direct sunlight.In a morning we wake up and Andy and myself smile as we look at it, we love it! We even laugh about the seriously grumpy staff at that taverna in the last couple of years....we hold that beach in our hearts.
We hope the new people looking after the bar on Kolios make a good go of it, it is a very beautiful beach. More importantly, thank you Yvonne, it is very appreciated, we do hope you have a lovely summer :)
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