DRAWINGS FROM NATURE

2012-01-30T00:06:00.000Z

Yesterday we woke to a white frosty world. The views were amazing and it was a day not to be missed, so off we went for a walk. It was a chance for me to try out my new camera, a surprise Christmas gift from my husband. So all the photographs today are taken by me, as I take you along with us on our uphill route. A chance for me to share more of the views of my village as we take the footpaths through the fields.

It is a steep hill and we are heading to the top of the brown hill in the distance

You can see the snow on the top of Scafell, the Lakeland hills.
Next through the old stone stile

By this time I am puffing and panting as we have reached the old stile, realising how far we have come and looking up to where we are going.

The white building on the right is the village school, we came through the field next to it.

We are walking to the top of the brown hill, something white is just showing from behind the hill.

We leave the fields and walk up the lane with high banks and hedges. I found the rosehips and snail shell along here and I carried them with me for the rest of my journey.

You can see the estuary and the snake like tidal river where I did my walk for my shore project.

We are now on the Moors and the brown hill covered in the rusty coloured dead bracken. It is here that the Slate is quarried, evidence of the stone is everywhere in the village, especially the stone walls and buildings. It was actually on the television this week, as Michael Portillo arrived by train to our village and visited the quarry last year.

The quarry workings, just across from where I am standing.

I needed a rest by now, a time to catch my breath and eat my snacks and take in the views. Then the steep path to our destination, the mystery objects behind the hill.

They look small.

THEY ARE HUGE. The red speck is my husband.

It was worth the walk for the views down to the estuary and the open sea. We can see for miles.

And right on top of the moor in the heather we found the little oak leaf in my picture. It took us one and a half hours to reach the wind mill, there are twelve of them on this piece of moor. This is a place we used to came to as children, run and play in the bracken, picnic, paddle in the clear waters in the streams and enjoy the views. We followed the river as it too made its way back down to sea level.

Down the muddy cart track and through the gate and home down the steep country lane. We called for a cup of tea on the way down, and later arrived home tired and hungry. We had walked from our home at sea level to around 800 ft, all uphill. It was a beautiful day but chilly on the moors with puddles of water iced over, so it felt lovely to arrive home to a cosy fire.
So here is my little picture from the day. Rose hips reflecting the time of year as they are frosted and blackened and split with the cold. The little oak leaf that had blown on to the moor and the pale snail shell found on the lane and to finish a piece of blue pottery found in the mud.

Hope you enjoyed the walk and my picture. And I was pleased with my first photographs with my new camera. Thank you for your comments. Millyx

2012-01-23T17:32:00.001Z

I went for a walk across the shore on a beautiful bright sunny day and collected a bag full of objects. Since then the weather has really changed with a drop in the temperature and some stormy days. I am preparing to work on a page of beach objects in brown inks. On Sunday I chose the oak leaf, piece of fern and the two red berries from this collection and added the skeleton leaf for this little composition. This beautiful leaf was in my garden and I picked it up as I walked down the path to my door and I knew instantly I had to draw it. As I have been playing with my new "dip in" pen and ink I decided this was a perfect subject for the fine nib of the pen.

I drew the shape of the leaf with all the intricate lace patterns with a pencil and then started to fill in the lines with the pen and sepia calligraphy ink. I loved the detail and tried to capture all the tiny lines, and although it was a very slow process dipping in the pen and using the ink it felt really nice and relaxing. I had my head down for many hours engrossed and eventually I managed to complete it adding a little grey ink with a fine paintbrush.

Then I used my acrylic inks to paint the oak leaf, a curling piece of fern and two berries. I used green, sepia, grey and red to mix my colours. I used the ink pen to give outlines to them, and also on the veins of the oak leaf as I experiment with pen and ink.
It was quite a stormy day, I could heard the wind whistling through the house and hailstones showers peppering the glass at the windows, with a really dark threatening sky. I was content to draw all day. Late into the afternoon, I realised the paper looked whiter and brighter, as I looked up I noticed the room seemed lighter too. I thought the day must have improved and the sun was showing through the clouds. To my surprise as I gazed out of the window I saw the most wonderful rainbow, a double one. So I thought I would share it with you, the view from my garden.

I have now reached page three in my square book. Meanwhile my other new book is home to many different pens and drawing pencils in brown and sepia tones, as I experiment with them. If you use inks or sepia, do you have any hints, a particular brand you could recommend? I will let you see how I progress with my sea objects in sepia as soon as it is completed.

Hope you like the leaves.

Thank you for the lovely comments. Millyx

More exercise on a sunny day

2012-01-15T22:50:00.003Z

I have started the year off well with lots of exercise. My Tai chi class and then a yoga evening class and now a long walk around the village with the up hill section that always gets me puffing and results in a red healthy looking complexion. It was a lovely day and so we set off in the sunshine and I thought it was a chance to find something for my next page. It seemed quite strange hunting in the hedgerows as I spent last year on the shore collecting my objects. I saw so many snail shells, lots of different colours from pale blues to dark brown and many fragile broken cases with holes pecked by the birds. One made its way into my drawing. The hedgerows were all very neat and tidy, someone had given the whole village a good cut and so I didn't find many red berries. I did snap off the little branches with the green lichen from a favourite tree near the shore and you can see the berries are now suffering, no more bright red glossy berries on this tree. I was amazed to see some pretty pink campion flowers still flowering through the winter. One of my favourite plants, Lords and Ladies, was growing fresh green healthy leaves and as it is a plant I love to draw when they reach the red berry stage I will try to remember where I have seen them. I passed the big oak tree which spreads its branches across the road, and resisted collecting the leaves as most were stuck in the muddy verges. I found the sycamore leaf in one of the muddy banks by the road, the minute I saw it I knew it was going in my page. It was so interesting with all the torn and eaten areas and I immediately picked it up along with other remnants of leaves attached to it. It was very fragile and it lost little pieces onto my mitten as I carried it home. I have always loved drawing aged and worn leaves.

Along the way we passed the old flattened ruins of homes, this is where my parents first lived when they were married, this is another place we can find pieces of china as I saw several in the field by the muddy gateway. Our village is made up of many different little hamlets, clusters of houses, and in days gone by I guess everyone just discarded their old broken pots in the fields or rivers or at the bottom of their garden. There were village rubbish tips where people took the household and garden rubbish but no collections at this time. It seems we have china in our little rivers, in fields near the houses and on the shore. We actually have one little river that runs downhill past cottages and eventually to the shore that my husband and I have nick named China River. I think England has many similar villages and towns where china can be found. I must photograph my collection to show you!

So here is my finished page. The leaf was so lovely to draw and paint and I am really pleased with it and the shapes and patterns it contains. The berries were added next and the snail shell to finish the page. I have added the colours of ink I used for you to see. I have bought some dip in pens and a variety of nib sizes, so hoping to have something in sepia ink to post next week after I have experimented with them.
Yesterday was such a beautiful day that we could not resist a long walk on the shore, even more excerise, and of course I collected lots of objects so I might try them in sepia. Watch this space. Hope you like the page for this week.

Thank you for all the lovely comments on Week 52. The winner of my give away is Martinealison. Please can you send me your address.
Due to my lack of technology ...I am sorry to say I did not receive the emails that were sent via the contact! if you did sent me an email please could you send it again. (the link is not live, so using your own provider.) Thank you. Millyx

A walk around my village

2012-01-10T14:29:00.000Z

Happy New Year to everyone. I have been thinking about what I might do this year and then decided to not make huge plans and just have fun and enjoy. Last year I bought lots of new colours in the acrylic inks which I want to try, colours I am not familiar with and so that will be something new for me. I also really love the concertina books and have plans to work in one of them again. The most exciting plan I have is to work in sepia and brown inks, fill a book with only brown drawings, using dip in pens with different sized nibs and paint brushes. I love old drawings in browns and after drawing the dead crow I was reminded how I love using ink pens. It will enable me to draw and record greater detail in my work. So who knows what it will bring, what I will draw and where that will lead me. I have been looking up and reading about different sepia inks, which is made from Cuttle fish, now there is a link from my shore project. I hope to try out different kinds of browns and experiment.
I have bought two new Sketch books, one for the ink which is the same size as the one I used last year and the other is a square book which is the same as I used in 2010. So here is the first page for my new square book. We went for a walk around the village last Saturday. I have to admit I was glad I did not have to venture on the wet grey and gloomy looking shore. It was drizzling and there was low grey mist hiding the view of the hills. Instead we walked a loop around the village which included a footpath through the beck fields,( a beck being a small river). It was wet and muddy but I love this walk as you follow the beck as it winds its way from the hills to the sea. I spent a lot of my childhood here happily paddling and fishing about collected bits of china from the beck and learning about wildflowers and insects. Today it felt damp and dreary with empty hedgerows and we slipped along the muddy ground with places like a mire.
I picked up the oak leaf and then the red berries on the little branch with a single leaf. This piece did not make the grade for Christmas but I will have it. A new section of footpath looked neat and tidy, it was the first time I have walked on it and then I spotted the pile of earth dug up and the little pieces of china poking through the soil. Several blue and white pieces went into my pocket. The hedgerows yielded the blue snail shells and I knew that was to be my first page in my square book.

I painted it with my acrylic inks and a number 3 sable brush. It felt strange changing the size of my page. So whatever catches my eye will be recorded throughout the year in this book. Now off to start having fun with the sepia drawings. Watch this space.

Thank you for the really lovely comments about my Shore project. I will eventually answer you all if you have a link. I did not realise just how many people were following along until I have had over a thousand views since I posted week 52, from all around world, so thank you again.
Please join in the Give away...leave a comment on Week 52.....I will pick the winner on Saturday 14 th January from the comments on the post Week 52. The winner announced on Sunday 15th January.
Millyx

Week 52....... my year completed

2012-01-03T16:49:00.000Z

Here is my week 52 page and my year long project completed. I have also completely filled my sketch book and was actually on the very last page. I wondered what I would find as I entered the shore through the gate from the railway station. I wanted to find something interesting and even felt a little nervous about what I would draw this week. It was Saturday afternoon, New Years Eve, and I was about to finish off something I started at the beginning of this year. It is hard to believe how quickly this year has passed as I am going for my last walk and collecting objects to complete my project.
We turned right and walked what is usually the end of our walk. We turned right to see our old friend the swan who we had spotted from the window. The day before she was struggling to find shelter behind the banking on such a cold stormy day. As we walked towards her we heard the geese and very quickly the image was captured by the photographer. There was a larger flock of geese flying over the estuary early morning, calling out their familiar sound.

The geese flying overhead

I collected some seaweed and found the cockle shell from the tide line close to the railway fence, the high tides had reached the fence and left huge puddles on the grass. The swan was sat on the bank and just looked at us as she was photographed.

I found the fresh piece of seaweed with three different coloured Mermaids purses, they had a young fish inside so we left them. The ones I find are always empty, like the one on my page. To see these three was a rare find and interesting to see how they attach to the seaweed with the twisted threads and had fat smooth swollen cases, all brand new.

It was a grey day with low clouds blocking out the views of the hills. We saw a group of ramblers enter the shore to continue their walk along the foot paths up the coast, they had not chosen the best day as it was rather grey damp and gloomy. I thought about the swan. It seems such a harsh place to have to live on a day like today and that reality confirmed by seeing several dead birds along the way. The sea continues to cause erosion as more of the banking falls away.

The usual place for finding the pieces of china yielded quite a treasury, we only picked the blue pieces and I loved the deep blue crackled pieces as soon as I found them. One piece had little gold decoration, I recorded it on my page. Did I want the fork my husband asked, how could I refuse! Later he also found an interesting round stone marble in the soft sand.

There were lots of birds all waiting for the tide and something to eat. We saw a pair of Curlews with their long curved beaks standing at the edge of the water.

The tide coming in.

We wandered back along the river bank and the sea was creeping up behind us. I had lots of objects in my bag, my mind was selecting and arranging the page. We were getting a little cold and hungry so we made our way back towards the station gate, my eyes still scanning for other things. My husband was up ahead and suddenly shouted for me to come and see this. The fish. I felt a huge surge of excitement seeing the fish, it was as if it was there just for me, the last page of my book. He photographed it and we left it there. Then we began to wonder what it was.

I knew I wanted to draw the fish. That evening we searched for pictures to identify it and we found that it looked like the Grey Trigger Fish. This search took me to someone taking prints of real fish, a Japanese technique called " Gyotaku", it was originally used to document species and sizes of fish. I was really taken with this, thought about it and decided to have a go. The next morning my husband brought the fish home, still complete if not a little smelly. I washed it and then using all my old printing skills just went for it ! I tried different papers but eventually managed a fabulous print on a piece of cotton. So this is what I did on New Years Day.

I was really thrilled with the print of the fish, the beautiful patterns on the skin and of course the size and shape. I must also thank my very very patient and understanding husband ! I just made it before it poured down with rain. It reminded me of my teaching days, printing with a class of excited children.
I then went on to finish my last page with the fish, and as I was painting the texture I knew the crackled blue pieces would just have to be there too. I then decided to add lots of the china and the lovely yellow ochre mermaids pures and the seaweed. I finished off the page and the book with a single red berry. All painted with my acrylic inks and fine sable brush.

Thank you to all the people who have followed me over the 52 weeks, it has been fun. I have learnt so much about the shore and the tides and the nature here. It has been a surprise each week seeing what I find and then drawing all the objects. It has taken a lot of time and it was a big commitment.  Now I have a wonderful sense of achievement that I manage to complete the year with my weekly posts and I never ever felt like I wanted to give up. This is a true record of the year, every object was found and drawn in that week.   I hope you enjoyed it.
As a celebration I will have a give away......leave a comment. I will pick a winner on Saturday14th January.
I am still going to blog each week, I hope you will follow along and see what I am doing.
Happy New Year to everyone.          Millyx

Lots of love to the photographer. I am very grateful for his encouragement and time xxx

Week 51

2011-12-28T22:39:00.000Z

Here is my page for week 51. At a very busy time of the year I planned to take my walk on Sunday. It worked out fine, the dinner was busy cooking in the oven, everything prepared for our Christmas meal so we took ourselves down to the shore. It was a grey gloomy dark day and a very high tide in the morning so we knew it would be wet. So out of our good clothes and we dressed for the shore in waterproof, windproof and warm clothes and our wellies. I was glad to see others out walking their dogs and looking equally well wrapped up and we waved and exchanged our Christmas greetings. I had a small collecting bag, as I decided to limit myself to one page. It was really hard as I found so many things that I would happily draw. It was very apparent to me that it was Christmas as I found holly, ivy and fir branches amongst the tide line. The little branch with the two cones was the first of my finds to go into my bag. I guess they blow about and end up on the shore, some are left overs or blown from bushes but it seemed very festive. I found red berries but I wanted to see how many had still managed to stay clinging to the Hawthorn tree on the shore and couldn't resist snapping off a little branch which appears on my page. The leaf I chose is a Laurel and the brown spots influenced that choice. The red Hawthorne berries are suffering in the weather and you can see the contrast of the bright red berry which is all smooth, red and shiny like brand new!

My bag of finds, the leaf and red berry can be seen.

We walked along to the boulders and to the shore where I searched for finds. I did not enjoy the sloppy wet sand as my feet slip and slide, but I did find the sea weed with the barnacles and some pretty pink shells.

The shore was very wet, the banks show more evidence of erosion and the sea water has left large puddles and flooded areas on the grassy shore. The high tide had reached the railway fence again as it left behind the wavy bank of tangled grass and objects. I had enough in my bag but you know I can not leave the mermaids purses, they will keep for another drawing. We saw the swan earlier but only found a few of her soft white feathers blowing in the breeze, she had gone again.

As we turned to walk back to the railway station we saw a familiar character, Bare footed John out for a run. He stopped to chat, then off he went with his trusty running companion, his dog. Yes he was bare footed. We returned home to the delicious smell of the turkey, we enjoyed our Christmas meal. My page had to be completed over the next three days in little pockets of time between other things. But at last it is finished and I really like it.

work in progress .

The finished page and the real objects

The piece of china was a little find by my husband, an unexpected gift so I had to add it. Painted as usual with my acrylic inks and a fine sable brush and I used a black ink pen for the lower thin stem of the black sea weed. Hope you like it.
I did intend to post more photographs but Blogger is not helping tonight!
Hope everyone enjoyed their celebrations and had a lovely time with family and friends.
Next week My 52th week and I will have completed the whole year...So I will have a little giveaway.
See you soon. Millyx

Week 50

2011-12-20T23:33:00.001Z

Here is my week 50 page. We had a surprise when we woke up to snow last Friday. Huge snowflakes were falling and it all looked like we were going to be a snow scene. Thick clouds covered the hills. As the morning progressed it stopped snowing, the clouds lifted and the views were spectacular. I wanted to photograph the day for my blog and decided this could also be my collecting walk, so off we went. The photographer took the first photograph from the top of the temporary railway bridge. Meanwhile I dashed down the steps to the shore, feeling like an excited child because of this.

It was just so beautiful walking with the blue sky and the sunshine on this crisp clear day. The Lakeland mountains looked like a postcard. The oyster catchers and gulls flying over the water. We walked up to the stony beach past the limestone barrier. The sand was very wet and sloppy but it was here in the little puddles that I collected the tiny pale coloured shells. The huge white Mountain across the sands seemed to rise up out of the ground with such majesty with its clean white covering and the mist clinging to the lower valleys. The sky looked so blue, it felt so still, so calm, so beautiful.

Slowly the tide crept across the shore. We pottered around like a pair of children as I collected my shells and bits of seaweed and my husband enjoyed capturing the day. Several trains rumbled past us, faces look out of the carriage windows. The sand was really soft and sloppy, as my feet sink into the sand I felt the panic, childhood memories of the sinky sands, back onto more solid land!

We walked back along the edge of the tidal river as the water slowly filled into the estuary, now the highest tides are over it was a gentle calm movement contained within the river banks. I saw some extra long lengths of seaweed, up to six feet and too big for my pages! Then we found the large pine cone washed onto the shore. Each week I always wonder what will I find, each week something new and exciting is delivered for me. We left after two hours, the sun had gone, clouds again building up and the day turning darker and a drop in the temperature. Last photographs as we left about 3 pm.

So here is my page for week 50. I did a pencil drawing of the large pine cone and lots of the little shells. Then I added the seaweeds and finally the five red berries. The pine cone is a pencil drawing and the other objects I have used the acrylic inks and a fine brush.

just the berries to add

Hope you enjoyed seeing the snow, it has mostly gone now, I am glad we captured the day. Hope you like the page for week 50. Thank you for the lovely comments. I would like to say to all my readers, "Happy Christmas and have a wonderful time".
I will be down on the shore collecting at some point in the weekend! Millyx

Week 49

2011-12-13T23:27:00.001Z

Here is my double page for Week 49. I have spent many hours working on the detail of the objects but I am really pleased with the finished pages. After the walk on Saturday I sat by the warmth of the fire and started by sketching the six mermaids purses and the green piece of seaweed with lots of wavy roots. I thought I would give you a glimpse into the workings of this week when I discovered I had been captured on film! I sit curled up in the chair balancing my board on my knee and the chair arm whilst also juggling the plate with the inks as I am drawing. The washed objects are placed on another plate for me to observe. I listen to the radio and at times join in when my memory triggers off an old favourite from my past. It feels so nice to just sit and paint and watch the work develop across the page. The wind whistles off the sea and the hailstone showers bash against the windows but I am totally relaxed and engrossed in my drawings, the hours fly by.

The objects were all washed and then chosen and added to my pages. I had six different Mermaids purses, each one a different colour and shape, the really pale ones were transparent and their long coiled dangling strings always fascinate me. Often when I find them they are tangled up with other objects and I often have to pull them apart and unravel the threads. I was equally fascinated with the mass of long thread like roots on the sea weeds and the barnacles growing on the stem of the piece of seaweed.

There was another plate full of objects that I had collected, it was hard to choose, but somehow they made the decision for me because of how they looked together. I loved all the red berries which had rolled into the corner by the green holly leaf....a real festive look. Then the darker shapes of the two brown leaves just looked lovely next to the tiny delicate pink shells and the blue mussel shell, perfect for finishing the page. I spent three days carefully painting and I do like the interesting shapes and it turned out just as I hoped it would.

So, when it was time to photograph the work for the blog I have to search for the brightest place in these dark and gloomy days. Here I am on the floor arranging the objects hopefully for some good interesting photographs to be taken by the ever so patient photographer.

I will post a few more of his pictures of Saturday showing the sprinkle of snow on the hills and the dark clouds which gave us the hailstone showers later on. We were well wrapped up and enjoyed the walk and I found so many things to draw. We saw the black rooks pecking at the ground, a curlew fly over and the many gulls. My husband shouted me over to see what he had found, it was the eel which I am holding and he also discovered some more pieces of blue and white china for me. I picked up every red berry I saw, they are now a deeper colour and many are looking quite damaged just as the holly leaf has pieces missing. The little pink shells seemed to be scattered all along the sand and I was pleased to find a mussel shell. I could have collected so many beautiful leaves but I just chose two and I won't tell you how many feathers I collected!

As we are leaving the shore at 3pm Saturday.
Hope you like Week 49.

Thank you for the comments, it is always lovely to read them. Millyx

Week 48

2011-12-05T17:35:00.003Z

As I sit here posting my week 48 I am listening to the hailstones lashing against the windows straight off the sea shore. We woke up to our first snow, the hills are white and we had a little sprinkling in the garden. I knew how cold it felt on Saturday as I walked along the shore and felt the chill of the wind blowing from the west. The only part of me that was exposed and really felt the cold was my face, it made my eyes stream and tears rolled down my cheeks, and later I knew it had chapped my lips. My head was wrapped in my merino wool buff and the hood of my windproof jacket. My warm lined trousers and wool socks kept my legs and feet warm. And I thought it was such a good idea to wear wellies to keep my feet dry. A pair of gloves protected my fingers from the cold and off I went in search of something to draw.

I thought I would share the route I walk each week, the photographs show the view off the bridge as I enter the shore, then to the left in the direction of the open sea where I go first.

At this point after the barrier of limestone boulders I reached the sand and land out to the open sea. I found the two bones here, the only remains of an animal, probably a sheep. It is here that I often find other objects trapped between the rocks and in the sand. So I picked my way up the beach only to get a nasty surprise as something sharp pieced through the rubber sole and my sock and into my foot. I thought it must be glass but I could only find sharp jagged rocks, the slate which is quarried in the village. I sat on a huge boulder and examined my bleeding wound and wrapped it up with a clean tissue. With my bag of bones I bravely carried on.....thinking at this point that I have probably lost the plot....try explaining this to the Doctor.

As I walk back towards the railway station the sky looks very dramatic, some shafts of light from the sunshine look amazing. The view is always changing, I think that is one of the reasons I always love this place.

After the high tides I see all the wavy tide lines lines with all the little pieces collected in the tangle of grasses. I collected a crabs claw, a sea sponge, feathers, two mermaids purses and a long thin piece of seaweed with little white barnacles attached. My page is sorted, I have plenty to choose from. It makes me smile seeing all the objects as I wander along my way, a lost shoe, a full family packet of crisps, a huge red buoy, a bright yellow fish crate, toy balls, a golf tee and so many other objects all landed here on our shores.

The sky is getting darker, a few little squally showers, more drifting our way and after two hours it is time for me to leave.

Here is my week 48 pages of my objects. First the piece of sea weed, painted with a fine Number 1 brush and green and sepia ink.

The two bones, a mermaids purse, and piece of sea sponge. The bones made an interesting subject. As I was drawing the page a friend dropped in and told me they are parts of a shoulder and a leg. He knows about bones as he is a radiographer, and he wasn't in the least bit surprised to find me sitting drawing bones on a Sunday afternoon! I used yellow ochre, sepia, white and grey inks to mix colours for this page. Hope you like it. I am so pleased, just 4 more weeks and I will have completed the year!
Thank you for the lovely comments, I love to read them and welcome to the new followers. Millyx

Week 47

2011-11-28T17:30:00.003Z

Here is my page for Week 47. I had a little break away and visited my best friend in Wales, we met at teacher training college in Liverpool nearly 40 years ago. It was so nice to see her and catch up. On our journey home on Friday, we ran into a massive hailstone shower and the sky was so black. The wind was blowing and bringing a real wintry chill to the day. When we arrived home I was not expecting to see the high tide and I was quite shocked to see the shore flooded. The wind was whipping up the waves and white spray and it really felt so cold and stormy. I was not able to take my walk on Saturday as the shore was totally covered in water, it was raining and blowing a gale and dark and gloomy and dangerous. Besides it was my birthday and I had presents to open, visitors and lots of cake to eat.

the view as we arrived to start our walk

I checked the paper for tide times and found it was full tide at 12. 30 on Sunday and due to be high again. So on Sunday morning I wrapped up well and we headed down to the shore before the tide came up. It was really windy and cold. The photograph shows the view from the high railway bridge. The sky was blue and it looks like a beautiful day. We walked up the waterlogged grassy shore, trying to avoid puddles but it was mostly wet swampy ground with gullies full of water left from the last tide. We could see the water had reached the fence next to the railway line.
I pulled out my plastic carrier bag, only to have it whipped out of my hands and blown away. I quickly followed it and I was able to reclaim it as it was caught on the fence where I also found the huge heaps of strawlike grass full of tiny shells, snail shells, leaves, berries, crab legs, and sea fragments. It was so difficult opening my wind blown bag and trying to place objects into the billowing bag. I had to choose my path carefully or risk the water pouring over the tops of my wellies, at least I had dry feet.
We walked our usual route and witnessed the sea quickly rushing in and pounding the boulders, so close to the railway lines.

On our way back towards the station I found the toadstools, all bent over with the grass, after being washed and totally covered in the sea. To my surprise they were still attached to the ground. I picked the group as they were growing together, all four of them survived their ordeal. Another lovely surprise was seeing my swan, swimming in the newly formed pond on the grass. The sea rushed in as we watched from the safety of the railway station. As we left my husband photographed the full tide, from the temporary bridge, a great view to see how close the water was to reaching the station.

The view as we were leaving after our walk

a rainbow

The day gave us another lovely surprise, a rainbow and I loved the way the red berries glowed on the tree against the murky sea water. Hope you like the photographs of the day and can see how it looked.
In my mind I had already decided to draw the group of toadstools, they managed to arrive home if not a little bruised and battered. I added some of the snail shells and red berries, you can see a tree they are blown from in the photographs. I painted using my number 3 sable brush and the FW acrylic inks. The colours are all mixed using yellow ochre, sepia, sap green, flame red and rowney blue and a little white.

Hope you like it. Thank you for the enthusiastic comments about last weeks posting of the crow. Always nice to read comments and an email too. Millyx

Week 46

2011-11-21T12:54:00.001Z

Week 46 is a drawing of a dead bird. We think it is a Carrion Crow.
I was wondering what I might find to draw as we closed the gate and stepped onto the shore. The light was poor as the blanket of grey clouds shielded the daylight. The days are getter darker and often we need to switch on a lamp in the afternoon. The tide was low and not due until later so we wandered along the banking with just a thin winding river. I could trace the height of the tide by the patterns in the sand. It seemed that there were only small fragments of seaweed and a few tiny shells stuck in the sand.
I could see a dark object in the grass, as I walked towards it I saw feathers scattered all around and knew what I would find. It was a dark bird, on its back with its eyes pecked out and revealing patches of pink flesh on the head. The feet were contorted and made a dramatic shape with the sharp claws. It was very much dead, perhaps shot or savaged by another animal. I am quite used to seeing dead birds, drowned sheep and other signs of death, skulls and bones seawashed and the many crabs in the estuary.

We walked on and reached the boulders. The vast expanse of sand looked slippery and sloppy with deep footprints to prove it. The boulders at sealevel are now very green and slimey, leaves were stuck to the surface and trapped between the cracks and crevices. I collected some black leaves, a few tiny shells and small pieces of seaweeds. I looked out to sea and realised how low the grey clouds felt.
I found some black feathers, my mind returned to the dead bird. I felt that was my page but knew I couldn't take it home, so we returned and photographed it and I studied it long and hard before we walked on.

We wandered along my usual route. The place reflects the time of year, dead dried plants, a silence and a greyness. The birds are few and far between, not much life here any more. The sea like a garden seems to have its seasons, and at this time of the year there is little to show for the tides. The trains thunder past with lights on, each sends out a blast of air. I felt a shiver with a slight chill to the air. There is much activity as the workers sand blast the old metal bridge. I nervously crossed the very high temporary bridge but stop to see the views from the top. My head is trying to work out how I can best draw the bird.

It was a fascinating subject as I worked from the photographs, my observations, memory and knowledge of feathers. I used the fine black ink pens, Uni pin by Mitsubishi, point 1, 2 and 3, which are water and fade proof pigment ink. I am not advertising, just answering the questions I usually get about what materials I use. I really enjoy working with ink pens, I love to draw and had forgotten how much I love working with pens and how lovely they are for recording the fine details. Hope you like the bird. I recorded two of the black feathers I found on the second page.

I really like how it turned out. Hope you do too. Now just six weeks to go in my year recording my weekly shore finds. I will need to be thinking of a new project.
As always thank you for the kind people who leave a comment, I always enjoy reading them. Millyx

All photographs by my husband. If you wish to use my drawings, please ask and please respect my ownership and be kind enough to link back to my blog. Thank you.

Week 45

2011-11-15T19:04:00.001Z

Week 45. We had our first frost last Monday night. It made me realise I still had bulbs to plant, so I quickly organised a trip to buy some spring bulbs and get them planted before it gets too late. After a busy session and lots of gardening I am hoping to have a lovely display of colour in Spring 2012. There is still a lot more to plant but they are going in pots and can be done later. Then we have had many nights with disturbed sleep due to the new railway bridge, more on that later.
My double page has been hard to complete due to the poor light and my tired eyes. On Saturday I was busy with more jobs and left it a little late for my walk at quarter to four in the afternoon. The sun was really low and I realised it would be dark very soon. I felt a sense of urgency as I walked briskly along the banks of the tidal river. The sun was in my eyes and it was hard to see as the reflection in the water was very bright. The sun was a beautiful buttery yellow and the sky had long wisps of creamy coloured clouds. The sun was so low, it cast long thin shadows across the shore, mine was about ten feet long. When I turned around and had the sun behind me I could then search for things to draw. I found feathers but what a tatty selection of specimens they were, but all the better for drawing I thought. The seaweeds were equally worn and torn. It reminded me of when I was drawing the hedgerow objects, the way the leaves and plants all start to decay at this time of the year.

Our bridge wrapped up like a parcel. It is a dark sky over the shore.

It was getting darker by the minute as the sun sank out of sight. The sky was a pale pink and the town across the estuary looked like a little toy town as it silhouetted against the sky, the tall church spire standing out so clear. The grasses on the shore seemed to glow, the shapes of their pale cream stems and drooping leaves suddenly stood out in the greyness. I walked close to the fence by the railway line as I made my way back to the railway station. A loud train rattled by with its lights on and as I glanced across I caught sight of all the structures of the plants and seed heads as they silhouetted against the sky. I reached and picked several different stems. I met a local dog walker with his three dogs, as we exchanged hellos he remarked it was not so easy with three black dogs in the dark. The lights were bright on the station. We have a new temporary bridge whilst our old metal bridge gets repaired and painted. The new bridge looked huge, a huge towering structure which has taken many nights to build.
The men worked through the nights on a bright floodlit station, to make sure we are safe crossing the lines. The little lights twinkle everywhere in the darkness as I glance around the dark dark estuary.

painting the dock leaves

I have used my acrylic inks and a fine number 3 sable brush. All colours mixed from sepia, yellow ochre, green , brown umber, red and a little white. Hope you like it. It feels like a true reflection of the time of year and a few more wobbly lines because of the poor light and my poor eyes!

As always, thank you to the kind people who leave such lovely comments. Millyx

Week 44

2011-11-07T20:58:00.004Z

Week 44. On Saturday we had a beautiful day, a day to just slowly stroll along the shore and take in the views. The grass looked so green, the sky a soft shade of blue and the sun brightened up the day. The daylight seems to quickly pass by, I guess if I was young I would not complain as it was Bonfire night and the evening can't come quick enough with the excitement of fireworks and bonfires.
It was enough for me to have a clear blue sky to look up to. Before the afternoon was over we sat on the grass banking as the reflection of the sun twinkled in the water, it sparkled and I had to close my eyes from the glare. It was such a clear day, and as the day turned to night, it was perfect to view the displays of brightly coloured fireworks in the sky, all around the estuary.

Most of my finds were brown, the hornwrack seaweed, leaves, a mermaids purse and I was thrilled with the duck feather half brown and half white. Just two red berries today and one sycamore seed. I loved the old bottle washed up on the sand no doubt by last weeks high tides.

The birds were enjoying the sunshine too.

I picked the dried seedheads from the side of the railway line, most of the wild flowers and plants are dead and brown. I decided to use just brown inks for this weeks drawings, as I am going on a pen and ink day on Tuesday. I thought I would experiment and play with different ink pens. The acrylic ink was diluted with water and used in an old fountain pen, it flowed smoothly. I used the PITT drawing pens with sepia inks and a little bit of paintbrush work with my acrylic ink. I also dipped the nib directly in the jar of ink. It was interesting to see how the white paper shows through the ink, all the white is the paper. I had fun experimenting with different lines, strokes and marks using the sepia inks and I do like the different results, even with wobbly lines using the pen nib just dipped in the ink. Of course I couldn't resist doing the berries in red.

Hope you like it too.

Thank you for the lovely comments. I always enjoy reading them.

.....................................................................

Also thank you for the people who sent me messages regarding the fabrics. It was through this blog that Kimberley Bell, a talented interior designer contacted me and asked if I would like to work with her. I was delighted to draw some different natural subjects which Kimberley has been able to use in her designs to become part of her beautiful range of linen fabrics. I was thrilled to see my drawings translated into fabrics. Kimberleys Website is http://www.peonyandsage.com/

Her new fabrics are beautiful and it was such a wonderful experience and pleasure working with Kimberley and being part of her new venture. I wish her every success with "Peony and Sage".

Photograph from peony and sage website.

Week 43

2011-10-31T19:37:00.002Z

My week 43 double page is beautifully detailed as I worked with a number three sable brush to put in every tiny little shape. We had a huge tide last Thursday which covered the shore. I ran to the station with a camera to record this sight. I could not believe how quickly it crept across the grass and covered the land with water. Then on Friday it came again with the forecast to be even bigger. We went down to watch this tide as it gushed into the tidal pool, burst over the banks and soon covered the grassy shore again. It made me think of the people who have watched their homes carried along by the force of the sea water, to watch its strength and power and speed is to understand how this can so easily happen. It was just after noon when the tide was at its height. It had burst over the limestone barrier and so close to the fence where we stood and watched, the railway line a few feet away.
Later in the afternoon I returned to see what I might find to draw. The ground was wet, flooded areas and large pools everywhere I walked. I traced my path along the banking of the tidal river, I was now walking on places that were totally underwater a few hours earlier. I could hear the constant sound of trickling water, water running back off the banks, water running in many different directions as it drained off the grassy shore. At places it dripped, huge dripping waterfalls, and deep gullies were carved into the soggy sand. More erosion, the once grass banking dropping off into the sand and the sea creeping nearer to the railway line. The need for the limestone barriers never more apparent.

The above pictures were on Thursday. I wanted you to see how close it came to the railway line and the gate as you enter the shore. Now for the tide on Friday with a clearer day to see the views.

As I wandered on the shore I could see it had been swept clean, the places I usually cross and my normal little pathways had mostly been altered and changed by this sea water and all its power. Just like a new hairstyle, the grass seemed as if it had been combed with brylcreemed waves, this wiped away my familiarity and I had to choose new foot paths on my walk. I found a jelly fish abandoned by the tide and larger clumps of seaweed ripped from their roots. The pieces I collected were left tangled in the grass right against the fence on the boundaries of the shore. I liked their details, they seemed so small from out of the vast sea. I choose them for their shape and I gave them lots of time as I recorded them over the next three days.

I used black Indian ink and a little white acrylic ink for the feather. The orange, brown and yellow made the colours of the seaweed and black Indian ink and green for the other piece. I don't know if you are supposed to mix these inks with the Indian ink but I did. I worked carefully, I felt they deserved to be treated like special treasures after witnessing their life in the sea.

Hope you enjoy week 43. Thank you for your lovely comments.
I did actually draw the little branch of the red berries and will try to find more shells, in reply to the comment. Millyx

Please go and see the beautiful website of http://www.peonyandsage.com/ and see some of my drawings on the fabrics. See my side bar.

Week 42

2011-10-25T18:16:00.002+01:00

So week 42 and I really enjoyed this one. After a busy Saturday at a craft fair I went onto the shore on Sunday morning. It was a rather grey day with a strong wind blowing from the east so it was hats and windproof jackets.   We knew it was going to be muddy and wet after high tides and stormy days. I didn't mind , just glad to be out in the fresh air after missing the bright sunshine on Saturday. As it streamed through the windows at the fair I did think I would venture out when I got home but it was really too late in the day as now it quickly gets dark.
We walked towards the sea, the tide had gone down and lots of birds were on the sand.   It was very slippery especially on the green slimey algae which covered the rocks,  our feet sink into the sloppy mud and we had to watch where we were walking.
I was thrilled to find the mermaids purses, six different ones, and I knew that they are going to be part of my page as I was already arranging them and placing them in a row in my minds eye.   Every red berry I found went into my bag and some interesting leaves with fascinating colours.   A whole collection of objects came home with me, you can see them all in the photographs.  I loved the piece of seaweed for the colour and shape and the delicate toadstool poking through the grass which I placed safely in my hat and carefully carried home.
My husband found all the pieces of china, little presents which made me smile, he knew they would. The line of old posts from the long forgotten jetty is where they often appear, a place where boats collected the slate from the village quarry. After a long walk I have all my treasures, my fill of fresh air, rosy cheeks and an appetite, so we wandered home for lunch. Then I started my drawings.

I started with the toadstool before it collapsed to nothing,  and then I added some red berries.

All the objects are washed....now to choose. What would you choose?

I line the mermaids purses up and catch the details with a fine brush and acrylic ink.

On Monday evening it was the long piece of seaweed that finished the double page

The finished page and the objects. As I was drawing the different specimens I realised just how fragile the stalk of the toadstool was, and how delicate the stems of the berries are. The long thin twisted strands of the mermaids purse were very tangled, some were snapped and others missing, whilst the body often had signs of wear and tear as they too had been battered in the rough seas and the elements. In contrast I was pleased to find the almost perfect length of fresh seaweed before it, in time, would have become damaged, broken and started to decay. In the house it has become dry, twisted and changed colouring. They all make interesting subjects for me to draw, and share with you.
Hope you like week 42, just ten weeks of the year to go.

The old jetty, where we find the pottery shards

Thank you for the lovely comments, I do enjoy finding them. Millyx

Week 41

2011-10-16T19:58:00.001+01:00

Week 41 and the most beautiful day on Saturday morning. I could not believe it, after last week, as I stepped onto the shore to enjoy the sunshine and the views. At first it seemed I had the place to myself as I headed towards the water to walk along the edge of the tidal river. It was so good to see the colour blue and feel the sun as I walked in this vast open space. Not a breath of wind and everything seemed so quiet and still. Then I started to see some shapes, people bending and moving by the waters edge, my thoughts were of others collecting objects. As I approached I realised there was a boat on the grass, with my eyesight it was hard to see. It turned out to be three members of the same family, three generations each with their own boat, different sized canoes. The youngest was already in the water and shortly afterwards Dad and Grandfather followed suit. I captured their adventure with my camera as they paddled along the river out to sea, and then waited to catch the tide coming in so they could return in the tidal water as it swelled the river and flowed into the estuary.
A train thundered past, one of the old diesel trains with tourists riding along this west coast and it seemed to be full of people. They chose a good day to take the journey. It was a lovely day to just sit a while and watch as the tide came in, slowly creeping over the sand and covered it with water. I watched the three orange boats glide on the surface of the tide and back into the river. It is quite rare to see any boats using this river so I watched with interest.
I found my first find in the sand. I knew the leaf would be lovely to draw, after photographing it I peeled it from the muddy sand. I had a long slow wander, taking in the views and looking at the objects in the tideline. There was plenty to choose from with seaweeds and feathers, leaves and seeds, crabs and shells and lots of red berries. I always collect too much so I tried to just gather a few things that would make an interesting page. The two crab apples went straight into my bag and so did the red berries. I felt reluctant to leave as it was so lovely, so warm I had taken my fleece off and wrapped it around my waist. I watched a man and his dog cross the bridge to the larger shore and wander into the distance. I found I was not alone, I had my shadow to keep me company. Just as I was leaving I heard the jingle of the icecream man, with no money on me I had to pass him by.

I am so glad to have enjoyed the day, looking out now at the big black clouds. See for yourself .

Hope you like my week 41 page, painted with my acrylic inks, the mixing shown on my messy plate.

Thank you for the lovely comments. Millyx

Winner of Giveaway

AQEELA

all 16 names went into a bag, my husband picked out the winner, so Aqeela if you could send me your address at my contact above.

Week 40

2011-10-09T17:09:00.004+01:00

Week 40 and a little giveaway to celebrate reaching this milestone, with just twelve more weeks to the end of this project. I have definitely found an autumn theme in my collecting. The oak leaf, red berries and leaves of the Hawthorn tree and a small branch with the two fir cones all signs of this time of year. Then the duck feather I found blowing in the wind like a little flag caught on top of a grass stem. They are drawn in pencil then painted with the acrylic inks and a fine sable brush. I spent a long time with the oak leaf and then the feather. I sketched the branch in pencil but glazed it with a light coat of white ink so it would not smudge the pages. The light was getting so poor as evening approached so a quick wash on the little leaves. I have been missing painting the red berries and so enjoyed completing them as they dance across the page. I am pleased with it as it represents the day so well.

On Friday afternoon I watched the return of the sheep as they filed onto the grassy shore in a long white line, one behind the other. They immediately started to eat the grass. It was a really windy day and I decided to take my walk because the weather was set to get worse over the weekend. With warm jacket and a hat I walked along the shore with the wind behind me. It was when I turned around I felt the chill of this north wind. So glad I had the hat as my chin and cheeks and my hands felt the cold, a sign it is moving from Autumn to winter.
The sheep chewed the grass whilst I scanned it for things to draw. After the stormy week feathers looked worn, dirty and past their best. The tideline was nothing more than a thin wavy line of tangled debris, fragments of leaves, crab body parts reduced to an odd leg or a broken shell, pieces of seaweed and feathers, looking as if they had all been through a shredder. I picked up the branch with the two fir cones, blown here along with the oak leaf in the storms. The ground under the hawthorn tree was scattered with curled brown leaves and red berries. The branches with pale green lichen are still laden with little delicate stems of the red berries, that also told me what time of year it is. I collected some of the little bundles of berries and knew I would enjoy drawing them. The sheep gazed at me, lots of big eyes watching my every move, these big animals that came here as lambs and left their wool hanging on this same tree.
The sky was full of clouds, pretty shapes which were rapidly swelling to cover the blue sky and threatening to bring us more rain. The days are shorter now, it is only six o'clock and starting to go dark as the sun goes down. The view is always changing, so are the colours, and it makes this place seem so special. I arrived home with colour in my cheeks, and autumn colours in my bag. Hope you like the photographs of my walk.

Thank you for the lovely comments. Leave a comment this week and you will be entered into the giveaway for a little original drawing of the red berries.
Winner will be drawn next Sunday 16th October.

Hope you like week 40. Millyx

Week 39

2011-10-03T20:39:00.000+01:00

This is my page for week 39. I have such a lot of beautiful feathers collected from the shore, but I chose these two grey and white gull feathers so I could also use my new grey acrylic ink. I love drawing feathers, always fascinating no matter how many times I have drawn them it is always lovely to record their shapes and colours. The birds always leave the feathers scattered across the shore and they get washed up by the sea and then left in the tide lines for me to find. I used cool grey and white, with tiny touches of yellow ochre and my pencil. The fine lines were painted with my number 1 sable brush. And the white on white paper, I did the best I could to solve this problem.

This week we have had some really high tides. On Thursday we wandered down to take some photographs. The sea had covered much of the shore and was only a few feet away from the gate. As it was such a lovely still day and the sun was hot the view was lovely. Everywhere looked so tranquil and so still and quiet, and the hills in pale shades of blue and grey. We managed to walk along the edge close to the fence which borders the shore from the railway line. The boulders had been surrounded by the water, and large pools had formed on the grass. We saw a little fish stranded on the grass and it was gasping, my quick thinking husband threw it back into the sea and it swam off. I was a little disappointed that in his quick action he didn't think to photograph it, but I was glad it was alive and well. It is always hard for other people to imagine this shore covered in water when they have never experienced it, so I hope the photograph will let you see.

Hope you like the two grey feathers. Thank you for the lovely comments. I am pleased to tell you that I have reached three quarters of the year this week 39, now just 13 weeks to complete the year.

Had lots more photographs but me and blogger are not getting along tonight!

See you next week. Millyx

Week 38

2011-09-27T21:09:00.002+01:00

Week 38 and My page is this beautiful feather with a white circle. It has been sitting in my kitchen window and I keep looking at it as I am washing up or making a meal. Each time I walk past it I keep thinking I will draw it, I just need to find the time. The dark nights are here, the days seem so much shorter and my days seem full, and now my eyes don't like the evening light. The evening was a relaxing time for me to sit and draw but until I get a daylight bulb it is no good, I just can't see the detail or the colours properly. So after all the other jobs I finally sat down today and raced against time and the light to draw my page. It was photographed as the sun was going down, the camera flashed but the feather is there to see. I used my new grey coloured ink, cool grey, and black Indian ink, white, burnt umber and yellow ochre drawing inks. I have recently stocked up on the FW acrylic inks and have some new colours that I have not used before.
Grey was the colour of the sky on Saturday, it seemed to brighten up late afternoon after the tide has gone down. At about 6pm we ventured down onto the shore for our walk. My husband noticed the erosion of the banking and how wet the ground was, it has been a few weeks since he walked with me. I think maybe he thinks I exaggerate when I tell him about how wet it was on my walks. Another hairy caterpillar crawled in front of me, would it survive to become a moth I wondered. There are so many feathers, I sat on the boulders and examined a find. The view out to sea was lovely, so still and calm and quiet. The grey clouds hang over the hills and the sun is dropping, it won't be long until the light fades. With my hand full of feathers we slowly wander along the crumbling banks and know it is getting darker as the station lights are switched on. As we make our way to the area where my swan usually lives, it so silent and still. The railway bridge has been unwrapped of all the plastic and the wooden boards and scaffolding are gone, the fresh green paint makes it look brand new again. As we make our way back to the station the reflection of the station lights make a line of yellow shapes in the water. The sky has darkened and the daylight has almost gone. It is just after 7pm as I climb the steps of the foot bridge over the railway line, the sky is darkening. As I glance across the shore I can see the lights from the houses on the other side of the estuary. No one will been seen here until the early morning walkers and their dogs.
I place my feathers in the kitchen window, grey and white from the gulls, and they whisper to me, try out your new grey ink....so I did.

Hope you like the feather for week 38. Thank you for the lovely comments which I always enjoy reading. Millyx

Week 37

2011-09-18T17:44:00.001+01:00

Another week and here we have my double page for week 37. As I went for my walk on Saturday morning I was able to draw and paint for the rest of the day and finish off today. It is painted with my acrylic inks and a number 1 and number 5 sable brush. My palette was red, sepia, blue, yellow ochre and white. I will show you some of the work in progress as I painted at the kitchen table.
I was quite pleased to find some new seaweed, the big flat burgundy and pink piece, and also the delicate pale pink pieces, as there was a huge amount to choose from after the full moon and high tides. And a new subject for my page is the hairy caterpillar. Also I added a tiny pink shell and the lovely long wavy maroon seaweed with the bubbly shapes. Of course I collected some lovely feathers and other objects including many red berries but decided on these to make the page.

I went for my walk on Saturday morning, it was fine, so I thought. I had only been there a few minutes and it started spitting! My hood was pulled up and off I went to see what I might find. I saw a huge hairy caterpillar cross my path, the size of my finger. Later I kept thinking I should have had the caterpillar but didn't know how I could carry it. The camera was getting wet, that was in my pocket and I only had a plastic bag. A caterpillar needs to be carried carefully and I really had to watch where I was walking. Water was running off the banks as a waterfall, fast running water as it ran back into the tidal river. Everywhere was so wet and slippery. Where is all this water going to go as the tide is coming in shortly. The sky was full of fast moving clouds, the views were changing, first you see the hills then it all disappears as showers race across the land. Did I mention how wet I am getting, it is pouring down with huge droplets. I pretend not to notice and just keep walking.
I admire the wire fence hanging with seaweed like a piece of art. I watch the birds flock together and land on the piece of sand, obviously not happy in this weather, the screeching sounds they were making as they circled above. Long orange slugs were sliding through the grass and then I found another hairy caterpillar crawling towards the water. I decided to save it, I wrapped it in the chocolate wrapper by making an envelope and thought it could come and live in my garden. Shortly afterwards I found a third caterpillar, this one very wet with big droplets of rain collected on the hairs on its body. So he joined his friend in the chocolate envelope.

My friend the swan looked so beautiful and elegant. I was amazed how clean and white she was on this wet and dirty place. We enjoyed each others company as she followed me, as she swam and I walked. I thought we were all alone but the loud bang of a gun has me jumping, somewhere hidden a wildfowler was shooting at the ducks. No wonder I didn't see any ducks today! The sky was constantly changing, rain and then signs of a brighter day as the blue sky appeared behind the rain clouds. As I opened the gate to leave the shore I had to balance on a stone in a puddle, not that it mattered as I was already very wet. I had enjoyed my two hour walk, fresh air and the glimpse of a beautiful rainbow. I was heading home to my own rainbow of inks to paint my page. Thank you for the comments, it is always lovely to find them. I will leave you with some photographs of my walk. Millyx
p.s. the caterpillars had blackberry leaves for lunch and are now living in my garden.

week 37.

Week 36

2011-09-13T19:15:00.008+01:00

Here is my week 36 page which I have just completed, although I might still need to do a little bit of touching up here and there. It is getting so dark that I needed to photograph before it is too late. The page contains a piece of seaweed and a yellowy mermaids purse, a large holly leaf and a hawthorn leaf and three red berries. I collected many different objects shown above being washed in the sink, but chose these for my page and I am pleased with how the arrangement turned out. They are painted with a number 4 sable brush and my acrylic inks, with brown umber, sepia, yellow ochre, red and blue mixed for all the colours. As the time slips by, two days of painting, the seaweed shrinks and the colours darken and the most horrible fishy smell drifts in the air, the things I do for a good picture!
Last Friday I was invited to give a little talk and show my art work to a lovely group of people at Keswick art society. It really had me thinking about what I draw and paint. I explained that I collect my specimens on a walk, I then choose and arrange them to make the drawing. I realise they are all objects in my environment, familiar to me and yet always interesting to me. I really enjoy not knowing what I will draw until I go for a walk and then find the objects that make the pages. At the end of the talk it was lovely to hear the words inspiring and beautiful many times by different people, so thank you if you happen to be reading this.

We are experiencing some gales and stormy weather, along with the high tides the shore is very wet. I didn't like the look of it on Saturday and eventually ventured down on Sunday, late afternoon after the tide had gone down. I had a real battle on my hands just walking along as the strong winds blew off the sea. I was well wrapped up, only my face showing and at times it was hard to catch my breath as I was pounded by the wind. The water in the tidal river should have been flowing out to sea, the wind makes it look like it is running in the opposite direction.. I was shocked how much of the banking had collapsed with the strong tide, it is eroding the land and creeping nearer to the train lines. The amount of water running off the banks has created deep channels and patterns in the sand. My reward was to see the huge amounts of seaweed, the tideline full of natural objects. I found the two yellowy mermaids purses tangled in the seaweed, one was used in the page. My unwritten rule, always collect the red berries, and of course the many different feathers attract my attention. It looks like a messy tangle because that is what it is, all mixed and mashed by the stormy sea. I used my foot to kick it and roll it over to have a better look. So many things I see which I could draw but with enough in my bag which I am really hanging onto for fear of it blowing away, I am finished here.
The grey heavy clouds are warning of rain. I hurried along slopping and splashing through the soggy ground and jumping the gullies. It started to rain, sharp stinging rain on my face and it feels dark and hostile. The acid yellow lichen glows on the limestone boulders, just the way my red berries did as I slipped them into my pocket for safe keeping. Home to a warm house and I drop my finds into the sink to watch the colours and shapes appear from the tangle, the start of my page for week 36.
Thank you for the lovely comments. Let me know if you are visiting, I would love to hear from you.
Millyx

the tangle of seaweed and the two mermaids purses.

the tideline

yellow lichen

Press pictures for close up.

Week 35

2011-09-05T18:14:00.003+01:00

Week 35 and what a wet grey day to venture onto the shore for my walk. It rained and rained, all day it rained and as the tide came in it rained even harder! I could see how wet everywhere was and I felt like it was even too wet for me. Then at around 6 pm it stopped, quick as a flash I changed into my old shoes and waterproof jacket and grabbed the camera, a banana and some chocolate and braved the day. It was so wet, everywhere I walked the ground was waterlogged and I was slopping around in mud. I followed the bank up towards the boulders, splashing my way through puddles and jumping over water streaming back into the tidal river. I had a little chat to a villager walking with his two dogs and he said this was the second time they had all got soaked. There was no view of the hills, a blanket of low clouds covered everything, it didn't feel too friendly and I knew I would not stay longer than I needed to. The tideline was way back on the grassy shore. On Wednesday I photographed the high tide, it was just a few feet short of reaching the gate through to the railway station. I thought it might have washed up something interesting and indeed a large jelly fish was caught between chunks of the collapsed banking. It was upturned and about fifteen inches across. Not a subject to draw but one to photograph. The sea had also washed up larger pieces of seaweed, red, green, yellow, black and brown. The colours were so bright in the greyness of the day. I collected several different pieces, and would have loved to have recorded them all. The feathers were wet and not in the best condition, yet I still chose a few. I found some strange hairy objects, must draw one and find out what they are, rather like a sea urchin. I found a black mermaids purse which looked really fresh. With more than enough in my collecting bag, very wet feet and realising it had started to rain again I happily headed home. Two men arrived at the gate just behind me, so I held the gate open for them. You go first he said. No, I answered, the bare foot wonders first. He smiled and said, do you mean the bare foot barmies. They really were running in bare feet, that is another story, a regular sight here as people take a course in it. We were all on the shore, all doing things for different reasons, one of us to collect things to draw, some to walk the dogs and others running in bare feet, but I have no doubt we all got wet feet!

My page for week 35 is this lovely big piece of yellowy green seaweed. It was so fascinating with all the little branches, which I could imagine all waving and moving under the sea. I drew it lifesize and just managed to fit it onto the double page. I used three colours of the acrylic inks, Sepia, Sap Green and yellow ochre. I mixed the inks together and painted it with a number 3 sable brush. I recorded a few of the shades in the corner of the page. As the hours went by painting, I watched the wet seaweed dry and change colour and darken to green shades, much different from the original yellowy colours which I tried to capture.

High tide on Wednesday.

The jelly fish

More erosion of the shore

Saturday, no view, hidden by low clouds

Compare with last week to see the hidden view.

Hope you enjoy my week 35 seaweed. The nights are getting darker, it is hard to photograph my drawings as the light is so poor. Thank you for the lovely comments, always love to read them. Millyx

Week 34

2011-08-29T20:39:00.003+01:00

Work in progress, black and white ink and brushes

Here we have my page for week 34. I tried something different this week and used black indian ink and white ink. I added little drops of white to the indian black and liked getting lots of different tones from dark to light grey. I left my saucer for you to see some of my mixing. Above is also my work in progress from yesterday. When I completed it today I also made a little chart of my colour mixing from dark to light. It was interesting using just the two inks, black and white, but a little hard on my eyes with three large feathers to paint with my fine sable brushes. I am pleased with the results as I thought these feathers were so lovely and I wanted to capture them.
I have finished my quilt on Saturday, it felt good, I will post a picture at the end. Whilst I was sewing the binding I kept watching the sky, as it started to build up with big rain clouds. I changed into old clothes and shoes and went down to the shore at 6 o'clock. It was very wet again after more heavy rainy days and nights during the week. This rain water rushes down the hills and swells the rivers, it eventually makes its way to the sea. Although the tide had gone out, the tidal river was full and fast flowing from these rain waters, on their journey out to sea. The waterlogged shore had so much water, it was running in little waterfalls off the banks into the river. Gullies are cut into the sand as it drains away. I kept hearing loud splashes as huge chunks of the sand banks dropped into the water, it reminded me of a programme I watched on the television where we listened to chunks of ice fall off a melting glacier and drop into the sea. As usual I collected my feathers and some seaweed and a shell.
The sky was getting darker and the clouds thicker. I sat for a while on the limestone boulders and watched the rays peeping through the clouds. It felt very atmospheric, with the dramatic changing sky. My last photograph captured the suns bright glow over the water, it made me realise how lucky I am to be able to experience this place, and so I will share it with you too. As I made my way home it was getting much darker. It was a beautiful sunset, red sky behind the huge dark clouds and a few hours later it was absolutely pouring down.

Hope you like my week 34. Thank you for the really lovely comments, I enjoy reading them all. Millyx

Week 33

2011-08-22T11:46:00.003+01:00

Here is my page for week 33. I am really really busy at the moment as I am making a quilt. I spent all day Saturday sewing and pinning the pieces together and kept glancing out of the window at the shore. The day was grey and gloomy and I was torn between working on the quilt and going for my walk . I realised I have never shown you my little pincushion, stuffed with the sheep wool I collected on week 16. It is a rather special pincushion because it has one of my drawings on the beautiful linen fabric. I haven't shown it to you because I promised to keep it a secret, that I have been drawing for a wonderfully talented interior designer who is now about to launch her own fabric collection. Just look at this for a little glimpse of the beautiful fabrics coming on 1st September. So exciting.
I am making the quilt as a Gift of a Quilt, part of the project for the 2012 Olympic games. They aim to have 500 quilts, to give each country a gift of a quilt. I wanted to do this, so signed up to do it last year at the Nec Festival of Quilts when I put my butterfly quilt in the show, now have to get it completed. I have been enjoying using my little pincushion and sewing like mad, just the binding to do and I am nearly done, it is made from mostly recycled shirts and sheets in a pinwheel design.

After the sewing and needing a break I ventured out at 5pm for my usual Saturday walk. It looked really grey and gloomy, no view as all the hills are covered in the low grey mist. As I entered the shore I knew I was in for a soaking. I headed towards the tidal river and heard the noise the birds were making. They were so loud, screaming at each other, sounded like a real squabble, like heated exchanges....maybe they were arguing. It was such a wet damp day, maybe birds get grumpy in the elements. I felt really relaxed, the quilt is getting done, one more thing off my "To Do" list. I liked my walk in the fresh air even when it started to drizzle and I became wetter and wetter. As I followed the tide line I noticed lots of seaweed and feathers, leaves, broken bits of crabs and lots of grassy, straw like tangles. The beautiful full moon has been lighting up the shore at night, it also brings the fuller tides and washes up more debris.

I collect some seaweed, feathers, the pale blue shell and some oak leaves. I walked through the long grass, my toes are squelching with water in my shoes, the water is creeping up my trousers and I can smell their clean washed freshness, now they are going to need washing again. The millions of tiny drops of rain were weighing down the long grass. The same tiny drops rest gently on the feathers with their water repellent qualities. Not another person here, just me, me and my thoughts of my page 33 which I am organizing as I walk. Thoughts of my tea which I have put into the oven, a baked potato and then I will warm the plum crumble for pudding. Not another person, just glimpses of faces from a carriage of the passing train. As I leave the station, close the gate to this silent grey world, my feet clatter over the rusty metal bridge and I notice the same rusty colours of my found oak leaves. The smell of my tea drifts through the kitchen door, I kick off my wet shoes, shake my jacket and wipe the water from my face and dripping hair. Another page, like an Olympic athlete I am well on my way to my goal, the finishing line is in sight, the end of the year, to achieve all 52 pages. Hope you like it.
As always, thank you for the lovely comments. Millyx

Week 32

2011-08-14T23:40:00.003+01:00

Here is my page for week 32. It has been a wet week and the shore was very wet and muddy. I went for my walk just before 5pm and just as I was walking along the edge of the limestone barrier I heard the familiar hoot of the steam train. I quickly grabbed my camera and managed to photograph the train before it disappeared round the bend and out of sight. The birds scattered as the train thundered past, many were feeding in the sand and low waters after the tide has gone down. I kept out of the sand as it looked very soft and sloppy. The tide line was full of feathers and crabs, lots of leaves and some small pieces of seaweed but they were covered in the brown scum. I collected clean feathers, lost by the birds and looking so pristine unlike the ones in the tide line. I found a red berry and I know that soon in the weeks to come I will find many.
There was a fresh breeze which I enjoyed even though I kept having to hold on to my hair from getting in my eyes. One bird also seemed to battle against the elements as she swam across the strong flow of the tidal river. It was my friend the swan. I sat and watched as she twirled around against the rippling water. She swam near to the edge as if to say hello and followed me along the bend to calmer water. As I walked through the long grass I found the little toadstools with their long stems and umbrella shaped heads. So I picked the three you see on my page. I sat for a while and all was quiet, no sheep, no moths, no train, an ideal time to see a rabbit. I thought I heard a fish jumping but it was a huge piece of sandy bank falling into the water.
The rusty coloured water from the hills has reached the shore and pours along the river, after so many wet days, the heavy clouds still hang over the tops of the lakeland hills. It feels more like Autumn, cooler evenings and the nights drawing in. The red berries hang on a hawthorn tree and the blackberries are ripening by the railway line. As I leave for home I can hear the geese in the distance. The sun peeped through the clouds with shafts of light and in moments the water lights up and twinkles, now it looks more like a summer evening.
Hope you like Week 32. Three of the striped Curlew feathers, three toadstools, the red berry and a piece of hornwrack. I washed all the Curlew feathers I found, read last week, so beautiful all lined up.

Thankyou for your lovely comments. Millyx

Week 31

2011-08-07T22:39:00.002+01:00

Here is my double page for week 31. It has been a week of high tides and I was interested to see what I might find this week. On Wednesday I saw a huge jelly fish washed onto the shore, see photograph below. The tides left a nasty brown scum everywhere and the shore has been very wet and muddy. The shore was littered with feathers and crabs and a variety of bits and pieces of seashore objects. The weather forecast gave a really wet day for Saturday so I went down on Friday evening, to enjoy a lovely evening. Saturday was fine so I went again and wandered across the other side of the tidal river to the bigger shore. It did rain and we did get a little wet but we had a really nice walk and saw the geese on the sandy shore. I collected so many feathers, found where the curlews sit and so many beautiful striped feathers came home with me. We estimated about 200 geese after counting 60 in one group and seeing the others. There were two black cormorants, a heron, the curlews, gulls, oyster catchers and two white geese amongst the brown ones. It was such a loud noise when all the geese flew, all honking, the sounds echoing across the estuary. I have added lots of images of the shore.

I am here just about to leave the shore after our walk with my bag full of finds. I chose the seaweed pieces as it is a while since I have really seen any, the lovely blue shell and the blue duck feather. The striped Curlew feather and one belonging to one of the geese. We kept finding where the geese had been sitting, lots of feathers and the pellet shaped poo. The pools and gullies were all full of water and more and more of the grassy banks are breaking up and falling into the sand. We saw two little fish in a pool and heard other bigger fish jumping in the tidal river. A little rabbit sat on the bank and lifted up her ears when she heard us talking, then quickly disappeared down a hole. I found a small mermaids purse and saw little shrimps. The shore is littered with empty and broken crab cases and legs, it was nice to see a tiny live crab moving in the sand.

On Saturday we saw the steam train go through the village again and return later. Here is my photograph from two weeks ago, taken off our railway bridge by me. It is such a lovely sight, wanted to share it with you. I will leave you with some images from my walks.

Hope you enjoy seeing a little more of my walks. Millyx

Week 30

2011-07-31T21:26:00.002+01:00

I have collected so many feathers. So week 30 will be a record of some of the different shapes and sizes of my finds from yesterday. As I started to record this first one I thought you might enjoy seeing the progression of this drawing. So here we go, I started in pencil and then decided to add colour on top. I always draw the shaft and the shape of the feather and then the lines of the movement and texture of the strands. Below you can follow my progress as I add more colour and detail and the feather evolves. Hope you enjoy following this, it took me around 7 hours to complete.
Press picture to enlarge ......

It was a beautiful evening yesterday. I walked my usual route and loved the peace and quietness. It was so still and the noise from around the village seemed to echo across the shore, a dog barking, children laughing, a faint cry of a sheep, birds calling and people outside talking. The trains seemed to shake the ground as they clattered past on the line, every squeak, scratch and rattle amplified and the silence broken as they made their journey along the railway lines.
It must have felt like that to the hundreds of moths as I walked through the long grass and disturbed them. They flitted from place to place, others taking flight as they in turn disturbed others from their resting place. It was like a relay team passing the baton, one stops another starts. I felt like I was being showered in confetti at one point. They replaced the sheep on the empty grassy shore.
The swallows dipped down along the tidal river, oyster catchers called out and a large heron flapped its huge wings as it passed by. The geese are here, and as we counted the fifteen flying and honking above us I clutched tightly to my handful of feathers including some belonging to them.
The hills looked lovely in shades of blue and as we left the shore and closed the gate to wander up the hill home, we knew we still had a lovely sunset to enjoy.
Thank you for your comments. I might post more for week 30 later in the week. Hope you like the feather. Millyx

Week 29

2011-07-26T19:50:00.002+01:00

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon I set off to walk on the shore and to collect for week 29.   I had a wonderful surprise, the steam train was about to pass through our village.   Along with many other people, many armed with cameras and video recorders, I took my position on the railway bridge hoping for a great view. The smoke billowing and a loud hoot hoot had everyone excited as we all watched the beautiful old steam engine approaching and then pass under the bridge. It seemed so appropriate to see this after talking about the railway line last week. I have a photograph, for the moment trapped in my camera, due to a lost connection lead! It is quite an attraction for tourists, locals and the train enthusiasts,  everyone gathers to watch as we have such a perfect view as the train snakes around the estuary.
It was a lovely bright day.   I walked my usual route and timed it to see the tide pouring in and quickly filling up the wide tidal river.   I was amazed at all the feathers I saw, there seemed to be hundreds. Then I found the place at the edge of the bank where the geese have returned to, the evidence left was the many pellet shaped poos, small fluffy feathers and the flat edged larger goose feathers scattered all around. We heard the geese one morning through the week so I knew they had returned although there was no sign of them now. Each morning we hear their familiar calling.
The sheep are also back with the lambs now grown to a teenage size, soon they will catch up to their parents as they eat the lush grass. I kept thinking of my Dad, seeing all the sheep muck which we used to collect with a garden trowel and place in a sack to make a fertiliser for Dads tomatoes. It also reminded me of the mushrooms which grow on this grassy shore in the summer months. A pastime we enjoy each year collecting them.   I don't like them to eat but love to draw them. They grow tall in the grass and have such lovely patterns on the underside.   All alone on my walk I had lots of thoughts of the past, as a child in the school summer holidays when I spent lots of time on this shore, we all did.
Just as I was leaving the shore with my collection of objects...feathers, sycamore, snail shell, a crab apple, a piece of china and some plants .....there it was, a single mushroom. I bent down and picked it,   yes, that will go nicely on my page.
I sat outside in the garden on Sunday and drew it in pencil and then added white ink with a paintbrush. I have tried to capture this lovely opening flower head picked by the railway line, using black ink. I placed it in an old bottle found on the shore last year at low tide. A few other little finds on the page were drawn in pencil and then painted with acrylic ink. Hope you like it. Mean while, I have been washing some of my feathers and drying them in the hot sun today.

Thank you for your lovely comments. Millyx

Week 28

2011-07-19T19:00:00.002+01:00

Here is my double page for week 28. I have had a short break and stayed at Whitby on the east coast. As I am on the west coast it was strange to see how different this shoreline was from where I live. When I returned home it made me look at the shore and make comparrisons. So on Saturday I took my camera and I am showing you some photographs to capture some of the characteristics of my shoreline. It is an estuary and the sea comes in twice a day and depending on the size of the tide we fill up with water. The train runs very close to the shore, the large limestone barrier is to stop erosion and hold back the water so it does not flood over the train lines. The bankings are eroding at a fast pace, huge chunks are breaking off and falling into the sand. The railway is vital, as it weaves its way around the estuary across the bridges over the tidal rivers and seashore, to journey up the west coast. The sea has to be held back, as we have seen it flood at high tides and the damage it causes.
The limestone is now patterned with acid yellow lichen and seaweeds. The banks of the railway line home to so many different wild flowers and insect life. The shore is an area of special scientific interest because of the birds and wild life. As I collect my objects each week I learn more and more about this place where I was born and grew up. It is familar to me and yet it becomes more interesting as I record my weekly walks. I am getting to know it more. A wet tangled up piece of seaweed, so different when washed and drawn on the page. I like the not knowing what I will find, the strange assortment of objects that are found in the tideline and end up together on my page. Hope you do too.

I will leave you with a picture of Whitby, the opposite side of England to me and a very different shore line to mine. I brought home a limpet shell I collected at Robin Hoods Bay, a brooch made from Whitby jet and some nice memories. Thank you for your lovely comments.
Millyx p.s. my husband took the Whitby photograph.

Week 27

2011-07-11T00:02:00.001+01:00

Here is my week 27 page.   It is a strange mix of objects all found on the shore line yesterday.   We went down for our walk about 8pm. It was a cool evening and the light was poor. The sky was heavy with large white Cumulus clouds, all swelling and somehow filling the sky, blocking both the light and the view. The place had an unusual atmosphere, helped by a red hue of the long grass and a stillness.   We walked along and as usual followed the fresh tide line,   I don't know what causes it, but the sea had left brown frothy foamy over a foot deep in some places, and large pieces of it were scattered about.   There were lots of little shrimps, tiny crabs and feathers stuck in or around the tide line and just a few small pieces of sea weed to be found.   I instantly stopped in my tracks when I saw the sycamore seeds and I had to have them to draw. Then, so many different leaves, fresh yellow and acid green trapped in the sandy foam line.   The colours were so bright in this dull light. I collected many lovely feathers, lots of striped ones, my favourites. I found just one black mermaids purse, it has been a while since I have seen any, and I picked up a single tiny pink shell.
It has been a week of mixed weather, hot sticky days and then on Thursday a heavy thunderstorm with thunder and lightning. We have had really heavy rain showers and a strong breeze so it explains how the leaves and seeds could have ended up on the shore.
We heard a real squabble going on in the sky above us as a black headed gull chased a Heron, as  they both shouted back at each other. The swifts and swallows were skimming the water and as usual and the ducks were swimming  near to where they always congregate. We could see the railway workers getting ready for another weekend on our bridge. As we walked back through the long grass I picked two pieces of the coloured stems, which are making the whole shore appear as a red drift. I don't ever think I have seen this before. The evening sky was mostly hidden by the clouds, but as the sun set, thin bands of red peeped through. The huge billowing white clouds sank lower into the gaps between the hills.  The clouds dominated the sky, no stars tonight but the sound of the railway men and their bright lights on the line as they work through the night to finish our bridge.
My page contains some of my finds from yesterday. I used acrylic inks and a fine paintbrush.
I set the task of choosing the giveaway with my husband, he put all 21 names on a ticket, put the names in a hat, and with eyes closed chose    .........Michelle Palmer.   She will get the little painting of the two feathers. Thank you for all the comments and kind wishes, I am feeling better.
Hope you like the page and seeing the real objects.                                          Millyx

Week 26

2011-07-06T18:30:00.001+01:00

So I made it to half a year and wanted to celebrate my 26 weeks. Sometimes life has other plans, mine was to go to the hospital last Thursday to have a wisdom tooth out. I knew I would need a stitch and I was told I would have some swelling. I wasn't prepared for how I would feel and there was no chance of me sitting down and drawing.
On Saturday, we went for a little walk on the shore and I felt rather delicate. It was a lovely bright sunny day and the view across to the Lakeland hills was beautiful. There had been quite a high tide and a frothy foam line left by the water had collected many feathers and tiny crab shells. A pair of socks made me smile, somebody went home without them and the sea washed them here. Food and sweet wrappings have also started to appear as people head for beaches.  We walked along to the limestone boulders and sat down to watch the birds.  The expert kept telling me which birds were there but I was feeling rather fed up with the constant throbbing from my mouth and finding it hard to concentrate on anything.   We sat quietly because usually I am the one doing most of the talking. I found a few feathers but couldn't muster up much enthusiasm.
My husband said he had found me something I would love, but it blew out of my hand just as he give it to me. What was it I asked, he said a ladybird. So I got down on the grass to search and eventually found it. I wrapped it in a tissue, didn't realise it was damaged until I drew it. I picked up the black feather because I wanted to put them together, black and red.  Each time we go on the shore I get little presents of pieces of china, I am always discovering them in my pockets. This is how the page formed, a little at a time, my head dictating and only allowing me to concentrate for a while.  Little fragments of my walk.
The swan was sitting by the edge of the water on the muddy bank, she has a bad limp and walked slowly to the water. She looked like nothing was wrong as she glided on the water in her elegant pose.   I knew she was there before we saw her, her large white feathers floating further up the river gave her away. Just before we left we saw two lovely Tortoiseshell butterflies sitting on the warm limestone, they were facing each other and never moved as we stood so close by watching them.   They made me smile. Maybe we are not so different, both sitting quietly together on the rocks, just as we were earlier.
So that explains why I am late and my little page, now I am glad to be feeling like me again.

I have started this little painting of the two striped feathers, it is the prize for my half year Giveaway. I will add some other little objects to the drawing. For a chance to win it.......just leave a comment. I will pick the winner on Sunday  10th July. Thank you for the lovely comments last week.    Millyx

week 25

2011-06-27T17:23:00.001+01:00

I am really amazed how quickly the weeks have rolled by and here is week 25. I collected lots of duck feathers and was hoping to record many of them, I have managed to record five on the page.   I really love the curled tail feather and will have to draw it soon. I placed it in the photograph for you to see, it is so lovely with a little groove in the centre as it curls. The blue feather has a lovely blue to purple sheen, the real one so much better than my drawing. I used the acrylic ink and painted them all, using pencil to first sketch and later to add details on the white.
I had a lovely walk last week on a beautiful sunny evening.   There was a slight breeze and the sun felt so warm.   We saw little blue damselflies in a pool by the railway lines, and also one day a large dragonfly flew through the air past us. I spotted lots of moths and an odd butterfly. I loved the tiny ladybird in the grass, so bright and yet so tiny on this huge expanse of green. The banking on the railway line is home to so many wild flowers and plants, attracting bees and butterflies and other insect life.
It has been a noisy weekend as the large team of men are replacing the structures of the bridge which passes over our tidal river, a mini viaduct which is also the train line. They have been working through the night and all day Sunday to get the job done. I wonder if the noise and  presence of the huge machinery and team of men has  frighted the birds as I haven't seen many today.
On Saturday it was grey, wet and foggy. Sunday saw a hot humid day.   Today I am happy to feel a cool breeze blowing on this very hot day. The sheep are wandering across the sand to drink the water and they must be enjoying the grass which is thick and lush after the rain and the heavy dews. It seems to be holiday time, lots of people wandering down to discover our shore. I pick my time to go, just before sunset, all alone and quiet except for the bird calls and the sheep. Every now and again I find something for my collecting bag.  Next week  will be week 26,   half way through the year.....time for a give away. So check in and I will think of something as a little prize.
Thank you to all those who stop by and leave a comment. Hope you like the duck feathers.
Millyx

Week 24

2011-06-21T22:56:00.001+01:00

Here is my page for week 24. Last week after the high tide I went searching for objects left behind. It was a dull grey day with a stormy sky.   I stumbled across a huge jellyfish, the biggest one I have ever seen here. I prodded it with my foot and as I lifted the thick jelly body I could see all the long coiled tentacles.   The centre of this circular body was orange and brown umber, I wished I had taken the camera. I later read that a jellyfish can still sting when out of the water and dying, a lesson to be learnt, never touch them.   The seaweed was glowing, shades of orange on this grey day. It was so strange to see so much orangey brown seaweeds, different shapes but all orange. And then several lengths of bright orange rope and pieces of orange tangled fish net.   It was a colour theme I could not ignore and then the crabs and even some plants with pale orangey leaves.   I have noticed that the seaweed can appear all the same shades on a certain day, rather like the seasons it seems to bring a certain colour group.
Although I am not really a fan of the colour orange I could not resist my orange collection and even a feather to match.   I found a lovely black and rusty orange oak leaf to add to my bag of treasures and enjoyed using these bright colours on a rainy day. I used yellow and red for the orange, sepia and white. It is painted with acrylic inks and then I decided to just stipple a little with a sepia ink pen.
I had a lovely walk on the shore yesterday,and crossed over the tidal river to walk along the other side of the bank. We saw a pair of Oyster catchers who flew around very excited making loud noises and did not want us there. I wanted to go to where all the ducks congregate, the large flock which we have been watching over the weeks.   They all got up and flew as we approached,  the ground was scattered with hundreds of feathers, guess what I was doing while my husband sat and watched other birds.   I also found lots of Curlew feathers, the brown and white striped ones, different sizes and shapes.   Just along the shore we saw a pair fly up from the ground. I found it hard to believe these two large birds would nest here but the expert insisted they do.   It was just by luck that we decided to go across the grass and find a broken egg shell, a hatched curlew egg. There isn't much of it, the pointed end and enough to estimate and indicate the size of this large egg.
The reason we went this way was because we saw a duck, a beautiful brown speckled duck with an unusual beak sitting in the long grass. It pretended it had not seen us, it kept very still and was so well camouflaged, sitting on a nest. We quietly altered our path, as luck had it to find the Curlew egg shell. We now know it was a Eider duck, we read "she is a devoted mother seldom leaving her eggs and sometimes going without food for three to four weeks", quote from  The Observers' Book of Birds. It was a beautiful sight, and one that has in the past provided us with "eider down", her nesting feathers .....to stuff our quilts... Eiderdowns. A piece of social history too for you.
Hope you enjoy my week 24. Thank you for your comments and welcome to my new followers.
Millyx

Week 23

2011-06-12T19:38:00.002+01:00

"The markings are grey and brown or near-black: they are variable, consisting of a mixture of specks, spots, streaks, blotches and scribbles scattered evenly the shell, or sometimes clustered more densely towards the larger end" is the description in, " The Observers Book of Birds' Eggs". " The ground colour varies from a creamy stone or buff to a more yellowish shade , and is occasionally suffused with a greenish tinge."
As I was drawing the egg in pencil I tried to record the patterns and shapes accurately. I think the book explained it beautifully as specks, spots, streaks, blotches and scribbles. My painted egg shell also shows the colour with a greenish tinge so  we are fairly certain it is the egg of an Oyster catcher.   Then I selected five of the striped feathers also collected from the shore last weekend. I used my acrylic inks and a sable brush again. It is a nice collection and makes a lovely page for week 23.
Today is wet and grey, with the wind whistling through the house. The tide has been up and as it is such a wet afternoon I am glad to be sat by the fire, yes a fire in June! There is little or no view as the low mist hangs over the shore.   I just added the finishing touches to my feathers and photographed the page.
It made me think about all the birds here in the estuary, each one starting their life as an egg. It is hard to believe how this egg survived in a nest on the ground, with dangers of other birds, dogs, sheep, humans and the weather. Of course the sea eventually washed this egg and left it in the tide line where it was found. We hope it had hatched and survived.
In the past we have stumbled upon a nest, usually in a slight hollow in the ground and there we would be delighted to see three or four eggs. This is when you realise how those specks, spots, and blotches are so important as camouflage, the eggs just disappear into the background with such clever colouring. When we were younger, we found many more than we do today. Despite the dangers, young chicks must survive as we have a healthy population here.
As the sun was shining, I did my walk on Friday evening and saw many different birds, bird calls filled the air.   I collected a handful of feathers, black and white ones from the Oyster catchers and lots of different duck feathers, the striped Curlew feathers and long grey ones with black tips belonging to the gulls.
The feathers are evidence of the many birds which live and visit here. Again I find it fascinating to think of how the birds fly with the aid of their feathers. Each feather specially shaped to be part of the intricately shaped wing, each one beautifully coloured to make up patterns on the birds. So when I find them I marvel at nature, so clever, so perfect how it designs.
Hope you like my little design for week 23.
Thank you for the lovely comments, I love to read them and appreciate you spending the time writing them. So if you are visiting let me know.            Millyx
ps. I have just opened an Etsy shop, I intend to put some little originals for sale soon.

Week 22

2011-06-05T23:25:00.003+01:00

We have had some beautiful hot sunny days and I have enjoyed sitting in the garden drawing feathers for my Week 22 page. I listened to the birds singing and the bees buzzing as I sat on the grass, sometimes chasing my feathers as they blew away in the breeze.   The larger feathers were drawn and painted at the kitchen table, with the sun streaming in and good light which helps with the details. A birds skull found by my husband on one of our walks on the shore was added to the page. It has an unusual beak and after a search he has found it to be a "Razorbill", the white marks on the beak helped identify it. We often find dead birds and the sea can also wash them up onto the shore. This skull was just as he found it with the lower beak missing .   I used my acrylic inks for the feathers and after drawing the skull gave it a light wash with ink to seal the pencil.   I chose some of the many feathers I found on the shore last week and filled a double spread in my sketchbook.
Today we went for our walk about five o'clock. Sadly the sunshine has gone and we have returned to a cold breezy day again. We had to wrap up against the chilly north east wind.   The shore was empty and we walked along the edge of the tidal river watching all the birds. It was a high tide about one o'clock and now the birds were feeding in the water. There was a huge group of ducks, I counted to fifty so estimated there was about a hundred. Large Heron gulls, black headed gulls and Oyster catchers were all searching for food at the waters edge. Then the magnificent sight as the Heron flew over and landed in the water.
I searched along the sandy banks to see what the tide had left in the tangles of seaweed and grass. More crabs, whelks egg cases, feathers, oak leaves, different coloured sea weeds and bits of branches and leaves. The jelly fish are now thin round plastic looking discs moulded to the grass, dried out with the hot days. The grass has grown and the pink thrift is taller with out the sheep to eat it. Suddenly my husband discovered the find of the day, a beautiful spotted birds egg, an empty shell washed up by the sea.   A lovely subject for my week 23 page, so look out for it.
We walked our usual route and talked about the high tide expected next Saturday, what might it bring for my next page, something interesting I hope.   The two swallows followed us, darting in front of us at high speed but no sign of the swan today.    As it started spitting, the rain made circles on the water and so we headed for home.  It was because of the rain I nearly smashed my precious find, I had placed the egg in my hood to keep it safe, and forgetting about it being there I started to pulled it up! It did arrive home safely ready to draw. I hope the chick which hatched from it is also safe, as we think it is the egg of an oyster catcher.
Hope you like the pages. As always, thank you for your comments, it is lovely to read them.  So if you have time I would love to hear from you.                 Millyx.

week 21

2011-05-29T23:57:00.001+01:00

How quickly the weeks fly by.   I wondered what to choose for week 21. The shore is littered with so many crabs and crab legs and other body parts, all different sizes and colours. I find them fascinating each time I see them.   I decided I would like to draw a really detailed study of a crab. It is when you really have to look that you get to know the subject. To do the close observational drawing I used a pencil, and tried to capture all the wonderful details on the body and legs. Then I did a line drawing of the underside which I discovered is so intricately designed and I learnt so much about the structure of the legs.   I used a sepia ink pen and a paint brush and ink to shade.  See the photographs to see the drawings evolve.   Hope you enjoy seeing the lovely colours of the real crabs.
Yesterday I went for my walk after the morning tide.    As we opened the gate to the shore we could feel the power of the wind. We walked towards the water and what a lovely sight, the swan swimming. It has been several weeks since we have seen her and I said how nice it was to be greeted by her. The tide line was full of crabs, seaweeds and feathers and ten jelly fish which were about as large as a dinner plate. We saw the swallows, a pied wagtail, oyster catchers and gulls. The group of shelducks looked really pretty with their green heads and white chests, as they sat together on the opposite bank.  The sheep were huddled together, the lambs crying for their mothers and they looked so miserable on this wild and windy shore. I always know it is an unfriendly day when we have the place to ourselves.
As we walked along the waters edge looking for objects we found lots of pieces of old china, disturbed from the sand by the tide.   With a pocket full of treasures  that will be added to my already huge collection of china,   a handful of pure white feathers from the swan, and a bag of finds from the tide line we headed home.   The pink thrift is now in large swathes across the grassy shore, a welcome contrast to the grey sky. We had been there two hours and then  just as we were leaving the sun decides to shine and the day brightens up.
Thank you for the lovely comments. Hope you like the crabs, lets hope the sun continues to shine for this half term holiday week and you can enjoy a walk where you are.         Millyx

Week 20

2011-05-21T21:30:00.003+01:00

This weeks page turned out rather different from what I expected.   It started with the live beetle in the jam jar. I watched it moving around and made the three sketches at the top of my page.   He has now been safely returned onto the shore to roam as free as he likes. I looked it up in an insect book to find it is a Cockchafer, which likes to live in oak trees and feed on oak leaves. That does make sense as I found it on the large oak leaf in the tide line. So I placed them together and was interested to realise the leaf was eaten, even had a serrated edge, I think made by my friend. Actually I was a little uncomfortable with it, it was big and I kept it tightly sealed in a container as I sketched it. The flowers are Thrift, growing on the shore and looked so bright in last weeks greyness. I picked them during the week and decided to put them all in, buds and flowers. I chose a pink coloured crab and some green seaweed and I just loved this twisted brown piece of seaweed so had to include it. So that is Week 20 completed and all painted with my acrylic inks and a little sable brush.
It has been a cold wet and windy week. As the tide comes into the estuary it gets stormy and we have had some really heavy rain. I chose my window of opportunity and went for my walk and collecting yesterday after seeing the weather forecast. And as I am writing this it is really windy, cold, with a stormy grey sky and it has poured with rain all afternoon, so I am glad I did go yesterday.
There were lots of feathers, the striped ones which belong to the curlew.  Lots of black ones too which is no surprise as there are many Crows, Rooks and Magpies on the shore. We were also followed by two Swallows which kept swooping right in front of us, we think to collect the insects which we disturb as we walk through the grass. We were amazed at their speed and agility and enjoyed watching them.   I found a black mermaids purse and a ball of whelks egg cases which was washed up.   There were so many crabs which had been eaten, their backs opened like a hinged lid and the contents removed. We saw oyster catchers, gulls, a curlew and shelducks in the sand by the water, the tide was just coming in and the water was quite rough with the strong south westerly wind. It felt really cold and we were well wrapped up.  The sky was getting darker and warned that the rain showers were heading our way. So we made our way back and shortly after reaching home we had a really heavy shower.   Of course I still found plenty of objects to choose from for next weeks page.
Thank you for all the lovely comments. "Ibisbill" the striped feathers are Curlew feathers. I was pleased to read that a school art group is following my blog....Hope the children are being inspired and are doing some lovely drawings.   The three giveaways have been posted. See Carrie has posted on her blog, thank you Carrie. Hope you all enjoy my page for week 20.
Millyx

Week 19

2011-05-15T23:17:00.001+01:00

Where did the week go, I was very busy being a tourist with Delila.   Here is Week 19, four brown feathers. I selected them from my bag of finds. I washed the feathers first and when they dried they looked like new.   I used my new pot of sepia ink and a brand new number 3 sable brush to paint them. I added blue to darken and white to mix a lighter shade of sepia. How I loved using that new brush with careful little brush strokes it glided across my pencil sketches and I watched as the feathers developed.   It took me a few hours last night and most of today to complete and I am pleased with the results.
Today, Sunday, it has been absolutely pouring with rain all day and as I needed to go on my walk to collect I kept watching to see if it had stopped. There was a high tide with waves earlier in the day, good for washing up items onto the shore, so I was keen to go. We both agreed the fresh air would be good for us and so we braved the wind and rain at about 7pm today.
As we climbed the metal railway bridge we had to step over huge puddles of rusty coloured water, wet feet before we even stepped onto the wet grassy shore. I was glad to see the tide line full of fresh bright green seaweed. Then also some red and brown and black specimens. I couldn't begin to count how many crabs we saw and legs and broken empty crab shells,  many tangled up with the seaweed.   Then a new shore find, a little jelly fish about the size of a saucer, followed by the discovery of another ten along the way. I collected some different coloured seaweeds, a mermaids purse, feathers and oak leaves. The oak leaves are now a really dark black colour and I really love them, it must be the salty water that causes this colouration.   Lots of other bits and pieces washed up in the wavy tide line today and then I spotted a large insect, a rusty coloured beetle.   I put it in my bag and later discovered it is still alive, so it is now in a jam jar. I also found a shrimp, as I held the body its tail wriggled so it was also alive. I guess lots of creatures are left stranded on the sand as the tide goes out.
We were not alone, two dogs and their owner also braved the weather. A pair of oyster catchers and several pairs of ducks wandered on the ground.   During our walk a curlew flew overhead chasing a crow,   then a large group of shelducks closely followed by three swallows. The grey mist covered the hills today, the view consisted of only green grass and brown sand looking across the shore.
I do love how the wet makes the colours glow,  the seaweeds, a green crab leg, the pink crabs, the beetle shell and the lovely delicate pink flower of thrift now growing amongst the grass. Time to go home when you can feel the water through your clothes, wet knees and elbows as well as wet feet. How good a warm cup of tea tastes after a wet windy walk. I have lots of finds to choose from for my next weeks page.
My husband picked three names from a hat for the give away. Swanartwork, Posie, Suz
Please send your address to my gmail and I will send you each a little prize.
Thank you to all who left a comment, I did read them all before they were lost when blogger went down last week, all names were in the draw.
Hope you like the feathers.                                        Millyx

Week 18

2011-05-14T17:49:00.000+01:00

Here is my page for week 18. Three different pieces of seaweed found last week on my walk. I found a tiny fish which was baked hard by the sun, we have had such warm weather. A lovely striped feather, my favourite ones and a blue egg shell. I have been told it is a starlings egg, they nest in the rocks on the shore.
It is painted using my fine sable brush and again the acrylic inks. If you are wondering why my post is late it is because Delila is here with me, and I have been busy being a tourist.
I did my usual Saturday walk . It was a wet day and had poured with rain all morning but the sun came out in the afternoon. It was misty over the hills and rather dull and grey with the low cloud. I felt a little tired as I had been up so early and travelled to the airport to meet Delila. It was so quiet on the shore, very few birds to be seen and no one else but the two of us. It was a little slippery and wet as we walked along my usual route. I saw lots of different sized crabs, pieces of seaweed and tiny shells. As always a bag of objects for a new page.
Don't forget about give away, choose your favourite week and tell me why, and which part of the world you are from, see week 17. Thank you for your comments. Millyx
Blogger has been down, resulting in your comments being lost!

Week 17

2011-05-01T19:16:00.005+01:00

I am pleased to say this is week 17, that means a third of the year has been completed and that must mean a give- away. So to enter tell me which week you like the most and why, and please let me know where you are from.....I am curious to know which countries are following this blog.   The winner will be picked 15th May and will receive a little prize.
My drawing is of a beautiful shell I found last week, with the limpet growing on the side and the other swirling shaped growths. I thought this was a great subject to draw and the other flat shell matched with similar colours.   I added the little piece of seaweed, all found together as I walked along the shore. I did collect other objects but decided I liked these best.   I have let you see my first pencil  sketch and then the finished page. I used the acrylic inks and a little help with colouring using Derwent signature pencils. I am wearing out my fine number one sable brush.
Yesterday I went for my Saturday walk. I have been away this week so as I stepped onto the shore I could tell how dry it has been by the pale coloured sand. It was very white in patches where the salt has dried on top of the sand by the hot sun.   The sheep had gone, all was quiet except for two girls dressed in shorts and vests splashing around and kicking the water up, their dog equally enjoying the fun and making lots of noise as it bounced around in the water.   I was wearing a jumper and scarf with my hat in hand!  There was actually a strong  breeze blowing from the North, I was glad to be warm. The sand was covered in sheep footprints and the shore in sheep poo. The green grass has been enjoyed by the sheep, who will be brought back next week to graze again on the grass. I noticed although we had quite a full tide that filled the tidal river the sand was cracking in places and some more huge chunks had fallen from the banks,  the ground was so dry.    Lots and lots of crabs, the large ones broken up and eaten with legs and empty shells discarded. I found lots of little shells and some rather battered feathers. I saw patches of white feathers on the sand and then discovered the remains of a bird, almost certain the work of a hawk or other bird of prey. A second dead bird on the grassy shore has been there slowly rotting for a couple of weeks.    No sign of the swan but I did find one of her feathers, so she is around somewhere.
It is a pleasure to walk with the clear blue sky and crisp views of the hills.   The fields and surrounding country side is all looking green and lush.   All the pools of water have dried up, hard to believe the swan was swimming on water on the grass just a week ago. Wild flowers and plants have filled the edges by the railway lines and attract butterflies and bees, I spotted an orange tipped butterfly. Birds calling out, others move around the sand looking for food.   We are crossing our fingers this lovely sunny weather lasts. I reluctantly head for home, nearly time for tea, the sky is blue and the views are beautiful, another pretty sunset to enjoy.
Thank you for the lovely comments.  Hope you like page 17, press for close up.       Millyx

Week 16

2011-04-24T20:19:00.000+01:00

We have had such lovely sunny weather all week and I have had several walks on the shore. On Tuesday we were aware that it was near tide time but what we witnessed was a complete surprise. We heard a sudden sound of rushing water, the water was coming up the tidal river with such speed and it just took seconds for it to spread and fill the river to the sides of the sandy banks. It was a tidal bore. We watched at the frightening speed of the incoming water, we stood by the railway bridge and watched the water rise up, counting the bricks on the  bridge support, as our shore was soon covered in water. As we walked back close to the fence at the edge of the shore, huge pools which were empty were now filling up as the water tipped over the banks.   It was here I found my fish, stranded in a pool but dead. I was sorry for the fish but thrilled to be able to draw it, a great find for my page. I quickly sketched it in pencil and captured some colours in crayons. There is no way I can tell you how much this fish started to smell on this hot evening as I sat outside drawing it, but it was a lovely find and fun to draw. We had heard fish jumping last week, it is a young salmon, they swim in the estuary and in the river which runs into the sea.
The shore has many crabs, see the photograph of a few we found, different colours and sizes. The bigger crabs are found with the backs opened and ended up as tea for the birds. The two crabs I chose, the green one with the dark markings and a pinky orangey one were rather smelly too. The snail shells were two I found but I did see some climbing up plants.   And my feather was definitely from an oyster catcher.   I keep adding the oak leaves because they are always on the sand,  now showing signs of aging. I hope you like the page, it is a mixture of things I found and makes me realise what lovely colours and interesting natural objects can be found here.

My collecting day is usually Saturday, so I kept my rule and went for a walk at 6pm. The noises were different today, a farmer has put his flock of white sheep and many lambs to graze on the fast growing green grass. A notice to owners to keep dogs on leads meant the shore was empty, with just a couple of people walking. It was getting a little cool but we were rewarded with the sight of a heron , it landed and we sat and watched it slowly step through the shallow waters left after the tide. As the sun was getting low it made such a beautiful silhouette against the sky. We saw the first two swallows dipping and swooping in front of us as they flew around and circled in the sky. The oyster catchers in pairs and so were the shell ducks, all calling out their own bird calls. A pied wagtail was sitting on the railway bridge supports and kept disappearing under the bridge, perhaps nesting.  I must confess I have all these bird names and calls given to me by the expert, thank you, I am always grateful.   Of course I know the seagulls but I had a lesson on the herring gulls and the black backed gulls, lets hope I can remember them all. No sign of the swan tonight but we saw her through the week gliding on the water covering the shore at high tide, see photograph. I just love walking along listening to all the bird calls, and hearing them drift through my windows at night.
All too soon the sun went down and we left the shore to the sounds of crying lambs looking for mothers. I collected some soft curly lambs wool caught on the fence, to stuff a pin cushion. I bet you do he said. Well I bet I do,  so now another job for my list, just to prove him wrong!
Thank you for the lovely comments, I love to read them, so do stop and let me know how you are enjoying my shore finds.     Millyx

Week 15

2011-04-17T21:11:00.001+01:00

Me and my little friend today searching for crabs.

Here is my week 15 page with drawings of the crabs and seaweed collected last week.  You can enlarge to see the details of the crab and the colours and a pencil drawing of a leg.   Today just as I was photographing the picture above,   I had a little visitor. He was so interested and curious about the crabs. I gave him a magnifying glass so he could see the details, and then he wanted to know where I had found them. So we went for a walk this afternoon and found a whole plastic box full of crabs for him, ranging from a big long legged beast to lots of smaller less frightening specimens.   So many questions from a 4 year old, is it moving? is it dead,? where are the eyes? After I reassured him they were all dead, can we find one alive?   I love the way young children are so interested, and he made me smile the way he said, "do you think we have found all the family? "   It reminded me of when I was teaching.   We got home, rather muddy, with his very precious box of  crabs. I washed them and then my little friend examined them all, decided which he was taking home and which I could keep.   Somewhere in this transaction he managed to "choose" my crab off the page and it mysteriously ended up going home with him...good job I had finished drawing it.   To capture the details I painted with my coloured acrylic ink, a fine black ink pen for the stippling and a pencil study of the leg.

I had my usual Saturday walk collecting for week 16. It has been a bit of a damp week, but yesterday was fine and sunny.   I went with my husband around 5pm and we left the shore at nearly 7.   There was a cold breeze from the west, but we were prepared and well wrapped up.   It was a lovely bright and sunny evening, birds singing and we had the shore to ourselves. The full moon means the tides are quite high, we could see the water line by the brown bubbly foam, a frothy scum which floats on top of the incoming tide. Lots of tiny shells, crabs, shrimp bodies, feathers and bits and pieces of broken sea creatures were mixed up in this brown wavy line on the shore. The grass looks so green after heavy morning dews and the new fresh growth.   I noticed dandelions and yellow gorse flowering, bothgrowing against the railway fence. A tiny white flowering plant sprinkled amongst the grass.   Several bees buzzed past, my husband pointed out a freshly dug rabbit hole. A group of black headed gulls pick in the wet sand searching for food. We saw a dead gull, it had been attacked at the throat and left on its back feet in the air,  soft tufts of white feathers blowing around. The bird expert pointed out a curlews call, the air was full of bird sounds. The two ducks, the green headed male and the brown female swam close together.   Poor swan, she looks so lonely sitting on the muddy bank in her usual place. As we walked by and stopped a little fish jumped from the water. I collected objects and ideas for next weeks page, things I have seen and would like to record.
On Friday evening we saw a bright light, drifting across the dark sky. We guessed it was a lantern and the answer was there caught in the fence, a large white paper structure still intact. I held it up to the breeze and it billowed up as it became full of air. I couldn't resist bringing it home, maybe I will paint on it.

We sat on the boulders and enjoyed the stillness, the views and last hours of this lovely day, the sun dropping low ready to disappear behind the hills. Making our way home over the railway bridge, we glance back at the hills and watch the mist creeping over the hilltops. My head was already planning next weeks page.
Thank you for the comments, I enjoy finding them, and it is always lovely to read them.
Hope you like the picture.                 Millyx

Week 14

2011-04-10T12:24:00.003+01:00

Another week and how lucky we have been to have had long sunny days to enjoy. We have had times to sit in the garden and look across the shore and to the hills and known that summer is on the way. My page started as I tipped the contents out of my bag into the sink. I sort and wash the items, it cleans them and also makes the colours glow.   I had a real tangle of seaweed and as I began to separate it, it reminded me of being a little girl and playing with a chocolate box filled with strings of beads, some of my mums necklaces. I thought the bubbly seaweed looked like a string of beads and then I found the twisted piece which could be a bracelet.  This thought influenced my choice of what is on the page, a matching necklace and bracelet, and with some imagination, a charm bracelet and two little charms in the form of the well worn sycamore seeds. And finally a little broken twisted piece of black seaweed. I always try to capture true colours, it amazes me how many shades are found in one piece of seaweed when you really look. I worked in acrylic inks, yellow ochre, red, blue, green and brown, and my number 1 sable brush.
I have photographed them with my beautiful sea inspired necklace which I was wearing. It was handmade by Delila, go and see her beautiful blog.  The little shell says "sound of waves".   In a few weeks time she in coming from Finland to spent a week with me, and I will take her a walk across the shore and visit some other beaches and beauty spots. My page could have had more little charms of crabs, shells and mermaids purses, but I am leaving it.
Yesterday I did my beach walk around 6pm, it was still so warm and I could feel the heat and smell the salty sea air.   It was busy with dog walkers, I counted eight dogs. There were two dogs splashing around in the water whilst their owners sat on the edge and threw balls for them. I saw dog prints everywhere in the sand and human footprints, all the birds must have been scared away.   The shore was also crowded with the flock of sheep which were put out to graze during the week, now that the high tides are over. A breed of black sheep with pale faces, Herdwick, which are more commonly seen on the fells.   They were hot and some came down to the water to drink.  It seemed strange seeing so many sheep and people,   the swan didn't seem too happy either. She was on the water and then settled on the bank digging at the grass. She looked at me and clacked her beak, then got up and seemed annoyed at the line of sheep walking along her bank just above her. Two ducks flew up from the water and two oyster catchers moved around together on the sand. A large black rook scratched about in the grass. I was thrilled to see two butterflies dancing along. I came across them as they were sunning themselves on the limestone boulders.  My hand was overflowing with the little bits and pieces I had gathered. I carefully carried the little white crabs because they are so fragile and nestled together with some pretty feathers I managed to get them home in one piece. I noticed how the pools of water had all dried up and returned to grass, how the sand in places has baked and crackled like crazy paving with the heat of these hot days.   Some huge pieces of the banking had collapsed and caused more erosion.   It was a lovely walk, a joy to feel the sun and a warm breeze and be able to see the blue sky and the views of pale blue hills, no wonder so many people chose to take a walk today. I think I know what will be featuring in week 15, next week    It is so nice to read the comments and know people are enjoying the weekly pages of my shore finds.  Thank you for the comments, welcome to the new followers.    Millyx

Week 13

2011-04-03T22:49:00.002+01:00

It has been a busy week for me, lots of things achieved. I had a late start on the seashore page and I still have some finishing I would like to do.  It is a mixture of the objects I found last week.   The huge crabs claw was washed up on this shore, we would never see anything that size here but they do exist in the sea. We  do see hundreds of the tiny white crabs mostly through the summer in pools of water. You can see  just how tiny it is, just as I found it clinging onto the huge oak leaf. An equally tiny and delicate find was this little shrimp case or body, another creature, yet so fragile in this vast sea. All  no doubt food for the birds. I have been meaning to draw the whelks egg case which are often washed up on to the shore, it seems appropriate as it is springtime, so like frogspawn only solid and not a jelly. Whelks are snails, not sure which snail would hatch from this, but I found a snail shell that same day to put in the drawing. The two grey and white feathers lost from a bird probably whilst looking for food on the ground. And finally the seaweed, twisted and dry and brittle as it ends its life on the shore completes the page.
It is strange how these objects come together on the page. I love the grey faded colours and the shape of the oak leaf when I found it on the sand with the little crab like a brooch pinned to it.
They are painted with the acrylic inks,   I need to buy some new ones as they are nearly used up.  The real objects are there to see and a little surprise, as I was photographing the sunlight caught a mirror and cast the rainbow across the page.

I walked the shore yesterday to collect for week 14 and shivered with the cold westerly wind and realised why I had the place to myself. I had been working on this painting  and it was well after six and getting near sunset. This week has been cold and windy and although the tides were not huge they have been quite rough. A new tideline was visible in places and it was still wet and slippery. I walked for over an hour and saw how the new blades of grass are appearing through the sand. It is a grass covered shore, in the past the fine sea-washed turf was cut for gardens and cricket pitches or the like. It always seemed to me more like vandalism to see all the lines of dirt as the land was stripped bare of the green grass, but it does grows back so quickly and it was someones business selling it.    I noticed the acid yellow lichen on the lime stone boulders, used as a sea defence to prevent erosion and flooding, were glowing in their circular patterns. Perhaps it was the sun light, or is too starting to grow and glow with the springtime. I remember I read this lichen grows in places where the air is oxygen rich,  that suits me to know this as I see it growing here on the rocks on our shores.
My lonely swan disappeared from my sight, to be found cuddled up under the banking safe from the cruel wind. She had chosen her place protected from the cold as she settled in for the night. I saw bird foot prints but not another bird. Just as I left three loud sea gulls flew over the railway lines and onto the shore.  The sun was fading, as I too hurried home to the warmth, my bag of finds to be revealed next week.
Thank you for the lovely comments, as always it is a pleasure to read every comment and I appreciate your time spent doing so.   Hope you like the drawings.
Millyx

Week 12

2011-03-27T19:18:00.002+01:00

The tangle of seaweed and mermaids purse

A goose feather and a tiny duck feather

As another week passes by we have enjoyed some beautiful sunny days. I visited a nearby pebbled beach and we sat and watched as the tide went down and then listened to the calming sound of the waves lapping up and down the beach. Of course I collected some little bits and pieces to examine.
My week 12 picture features the mermaids purses all tangled up with the sea weed. I used the acrylic inks, then a black ink pen to stipple and to draw the egg cases and all the tangles.   I then got a bit carried away and stippled with white ink on my paintbrush. The three colours are on the little tag, press picture to enlarge.   I had collected some lovely feathers so decided to add a goose feather and a tiny duck feather, first in pencil, then inks.
I had lots of visitors to my blog this week, thanks to Pondside pointing them in my direction. It is lovely to meet new people and discover new blogs. I guess it was a strange picture to find, two pieces of seaweed and an old damaged oak leaf.   Not many people left a comment, thank you to the ones that did.   It made me realise that this sea project is not always pretty, but it is real.   I want to show real objects, just as I find them, a true record of my shore finds.   This is often earthy muddy colours, torn and tangled objects and not really pretty things.    Of course objects are washed up and left on a muddy shore, often broken and battered by the sea, they dry or rot, can be wet and smelly. It is a wet slippery muddy place at the moment.   Yes, it looks and makes a pretty view but close up and amongst it, it is often very different. I do not want to hide that side of my shore line.
The days are  getting warmer, the midges and flies are starting to wake up and spiders run between the debris of the tideline.   I saw several very large bees this week.   The oyster catchers are pairing, each couple moving around looking for a nesting place. My swan is still alone, elegantly swimming up and down the tidal river. The birds are competing to see who is the loudest, the bird song can be heard everywhere. I looked up to see a huge bird shape high up in the clouds, a glider twisting and silently flying in circles high above me.   This toy like plane reminded me of my childhood when my Dad would point to show me, eventually my eyes would focus and see it.    So as I looked up, they looked down onto my shore seeing the whole picture, and I am here seeing the details.   I found only a few objects but enough for a new page. Today we enjoy an extra hour of daylight, the sun sets are so nice and so is the extra hour as the birds are still singing outside and it is well after seven.

Hope you like the page. Please leave a comment and let me know you visited.   Thank you to the regulars, welcome to my new followers.   After two weeks, my laptop has returned, still some problems....three blue screens and windows shut down ...as I have been writing this!   Until next week.     Millyx

Week 11

2011-03-20T19:41:00.010Z

The finished page for week 11

I keep my pizza bases, look how they come in handy!

I can hardly believe how quickly this week went by.   I had many interesting sea finds to choose from and then ended up with just three on my page.   I chose the fresh seaweed with shades of greens, the rusty brown bubbly piece and a matching rusty coloured oak leaf.    Oak leaves are one of my favourite subjects, this one was so interesting with the holes and colouring which glowed when I found it. It had survived since last year but is now showing real signs of damage and decay. I also liked seeing how the brown piece of seaweed had also started to lose pieces and change colour. When I placed them on the pizza base after I washed them, the colours looked so vibrant. I felt the three were enough for my page.    One week later they have dried, shrunk and twisted, and hardly resemble their original colours as they have darkened to dull drab shades.   I used the acrylic inks and my fine number one sable brush, and used a little stippling on the green with a black ink pen. The inks can be mixed to make shades and I use them just the same as using paints.

Yesterday, Saturday, I could not go onto the shore at my usual time in the morning as it was a high tide. I decided to give a couple of hours to the garden, two hours soon turned into five hours! So it was almost 5 o'clock before I ventured down on the still waterlogged shore. It was soggy and slippery but after my gardening and feeling tired I was quite happy to go slow. The sun was really low and as I walked I realised I had a long thin shadow by my side.   It was a little hazy looking out across the shore but I could see and hear many different birds, the sounds echoing across the estuary. In the sand I saw bird prints, the pretty patterns twisting and curling as they made their tracks along the waters edge. It was a good day for feathers, as I collected an assortment of different sizes, colours and patterns. I found a few crab pieces but they always break when you handle the brittle pieces. As I collected a mermaids purse it was all tangled with a second one and some seaweed, maybe an interesting piece to draw. During my walk I could feel the temperature drop as the sun faded. The swan was settled on the opposite bank, sat with her neck curled as she was raking through the grass. We glanced at each other for awhile, then I noticed she was all dirty on her front with the brown soil, maybe today we are similar...both been gardening and a little grubby after our digging . The train broke the silence as it thundered past us both, we both looked up at the track. From the back of the carriage a fat red faced man poked his head out of the window with a cigarette in his mouth, from the non smoking train! As I made my way along to the station, I could smell the smoke drifting in the air. I stood on the railway bridge and just caught the last rays of the sun sinking behind the hills. It was a lovely quiet calm time of the day to go and collect for week 12. It is something I look forward to, with the long summer evenings.
Time to sort out my finds and get started on a new page.   Thank you for the lovely comments, it is always nice to read them all. Still no news on my laptop!   Hope you like the picture.
Millyx

Week 10

2011-03-13T14:32:00.008Z

I told you last week I had collected some nice feathers. My page is of some of my finds, ten feathers, quite appropriate for week ten. I love feathers and find it difficult not to stop and pick them up. As the shore has a large bird population visiting, there are always lots blowing around or floating on the water. The green jug houses many of my last years finds, over the years I have drawn many feathers. Three of my art cards feature feathers.
It was lovely to complete this page although at times I did wonder if it was a good decision doing white feathers on white paper, but I like a challenge, and solving how I will succeed at making them appear against the background. I gave the paintbrush a rest and used Derwent coloured pencils, a good pencil sharpener and lots of time and patience. You can see all the different shades used, browns, yellow, greys, white and blues and a pencil for the initial drawings. I am happy with the finished page.
I went collecting yesterday, Saturday, for week 11. It has been a cold windy week with the tides getting higher and stronger. A fresh tide line had delivered some nice finds for my next weeks picture. There was just me and the swan yesterday, I walked back and forwards and the swan glided along beside me. She looked so beautiful and elegant. I looked like an old tramp with my hat and gloves and waterproof jacket and wearing my husbands warm lined walking pants, carrying a plastic carrier bag. Out of that bag I always find something beautiful to go on my page.
My computer is being repaired, not had it all week, so I will keep this short I am using someone else's laptop.
As always thank you for the lovely comments, I really do enjoy reading them all, I will try to return the visit when I can. Hope you like the picture, press for close up, the real feathers are placed on the ground for you to see. Millyx
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week 9

2011-03-06T20:48:00.002Z

The week 9 page and the giveaway for Dan on the right.

The finished page.
As you can see below, I still had a few more to do this afternoon.

We have had a glorious week with sunny days and each morning the sight of a blue sky. One day we walked across the shore and of course I was searching for finds for my sketchbook. It was so lovely we even sat and had our drink and snacks. We knew it was only early March but it felt very warm and spring like as we wandered across the pale sand as I was searching and gathering some new finds. The geese were circling around and calling, hundreds of them, so beautiful to watch. Lots of feathers went into my bag. The many oak leaves I love to see stuck to the sand are blown from the nearby woods and fields, along with the seeds and red berries. As I collect objects I wonder where they came from and how far they have travelled.
I see the circle of life here on the seashore, the promise of new life in seeds, tiny shells, the mermaids purse which once held a new life, and so many other examples. Just as we see dead and decomposing objects.
Today we saw two oyster catchers, two birds choosing a possible nest side, before long there will be nests on the shore and the thrill of stumbling on one and being able to view some eggs. A single swan glided in the water, last year the pair of swans had four cygnets, could this be one of their young, now grown and left her parents. Ducks and other birds provided me with some more feathers, many of them fished from the water as they floated and drifted to the waters edge. I found some crabs legs, a claw and some empty body cases.
It has been such a lovely week and we have had the added pleasure of enjoying pretty pink sunsets. I always feel so calm and relaxed on the shore, looking at the views of the surrounding landscape, walking on the sand hearing the birds calling and my head full of my memories of happy days here. And a lovely sighting was a butterfly, dancing through the air, like us chasing the sunshine. This place always makes me feel so glad to be alive.
The week has been busy but I have managed to record my week 9 finds and complete the little give away for Dan, it will be on its way tomorrow. Even though I was just finishing my page this afternnoon. My objects are first drawn in pencil and then painted using the acrylic inks and my sable brush. All the drawings are from the real objects and I have left some for you to see.
Thank you for such lovely comments, they have been so nice to read and I just want to share this with you.
I attended a funeral this week where the son spoke of his Mother and the things she did for many other people. He said they were often only small things, but that even a small act of kindness can make a huge different to another person. We can all make a different to others with the things we do.
Millyx

week 8

2011-02-26T23:02:00.004Z

Today was a lovely bright sunny day. This shows some of my finds.

I had a present this week off my sister, this lovely memory from my childhood, the Ladybird book of the Seashore. Now it really did bring back some memories as I looked through the pages. I was busy working on the week 8, when I saw the illustrations in the little book I decided I would photograph them for you to see. I guess as children we see things and become interested in them, this interest can last throughout your whole life. Now you can also read all about the Mermaids purses, just as I did all those years ago.

Last week the tide was completely covering the grassy shore and it was so wet in the afternoon when I went to collect my finds. I was afraid of going too far as it was so slippery and wet. It was also bitterly cold with snow on the hills. I collected the red seaweed and the little shells and the lovely oak leaf. It was enough to fill my double page. In the book it mentions the sucker that holds the seaweed, something I liked about my chosen piece. It was a grey day and the red leaves really shone out. I have gathered quite a collection of the Mermaids purses over the weeks, each one different in some way. This specimen had really long curly strands. It is painted in acrylic inks, not quite complete. Hope you like it.

Today the sun was shining, the photograph was taken about 11 o'clock, on a long 2 hour walk as I wandered along the shore searching. Being aware that I always collect too much I went for smaller specimens this week, it will be fun to see how the picture turns out. When I arrived home my objects were washed and I thought I would let you see some of them, some clues to the next picture. Can you see the Mermaids purses? I have a lovely feather and some small pieces still in my pocket. Some of them will be chosen and appear in the next pages. I will look and decide and of course see how much time I have before it is Saturday again.

Thank you for your comments.

The winner of my little give away was Dan.

Pondside and Melody came out next so will have a little prize too.

If you can email your address.

Week 7

2011-02-19T13:49:00.007Z

I thought I would let you see my initial pencil sketch and then the beginning of the painting with my number one sable brush and using acrylic inks. By the time I have finished the seaweed has shrunk, becoming dry and changing in both size and colour.

I can hardly believe it is Saturday again, the week has flown by. This collection was found last week on a calm fine day. It was cold on the shore and very wet every where after both rain and high tides. The bulk of items washed up were in a state of decomposition and a bit smelly too.

In my search for something to draw I was instantly happy with the mussel shell encrusted with Barnacles, yes, straight into my bag. Lots of seaweed rotting and long past its best and tangled up feathers and grasses and leaves all were dismissed. I did collect little snail shells and some red berries and two mermaid purses. Then I found this piece of greeny coloured seaweed with white circular shapes, which I have researched and found it is tubes of Bristle worm. You can also see larger white tubes on the Mussel shell. I do not really want to get into all the naming as it is the drawing I am more interested in.

They were a perfect match for a drawing and with the curly shape at the base of the seaweed, one of the snail shells was always going to feature there with a lovely spiral pattern. This was so nice to draw, lots of detail which I love and I am really happy how it has turned out. Only one page of my book, it was perfect as it was. I played around at adding more but sometimes you just have to leave things as they are.

I suspect the mussel and seaweed have some age, for the barnacles to have grown. If that is true then I hope my older specimens have been well treated, I certainly spent a lot of time with them. Hope you like them.
I am just going to collect my week 8 finds. The tide is so high and completely covering the shore with no green grass to be seen. I wonder what I am going to find ?
Thank you for your lovely comments. Time to have a little Giveaway.

Leave a comment and I will pick a winner from all the names, next Saturday 26th February.

A small drawing of something from the sea shore will be the Giveaway prize.
Millyx

Week 6

2011-02-12T23:30:00.004Z

When I went for my week 6 walk to see what the sea had washed up on the shore, I knew there would be lots to choose from. The tide was very high the day before, with a strong wind and the sea water had almost covered the whole shore. I found the tide line was full of a huge collection of assorted objects. Fresh pieces of seaweed in long lengths which I held up and the dangling branches measured up to about two feet. I did notice lots of new pieces with lovely colourings, a project in itself recording the colours. I loved the long green piece with the three big bubbles, the many little branches and the strange double tip right at the top, it had to go on my pages.

The piece I am painting above is a new seaweed, not one I have found before. I selected a black mermaids purse and a black feather from my many finds to complete this double page spread. I used my acrylic inks for this and decided to stipple over the bubbly seaweed with a fine black ink pen. The black pen was then used for the mermaids purse and for the feather too. I later painted the shaft with my brush and coloured inks.

I found so many beautiful pieces of seaweeds, feathers, snail shells, leaves, little shells and seeds. I did wonder if this project might run out of ideas, but it is only the time that runs out. It is hard to choose what to draw as I keep finding such beautiful shaped objects and rich colours and drawing these objects really makes me understand their shapes and form.

I used the three colours of ink, sap green, yellow ochre and burnt umber for my palette and this week the black ink pen. Hope you enjoy seeing them.

Thank you for your lovely comments, I enjoy reading them . Milly x

week 5

2011-02-05T15:35:00.004Z

I am glad you like the feathers, thank you to the people who left me a comment. I do really appreciate reading them. This page for week 5 was a real pleasure for me, I couldn't wait to get started and I loved doing it. I wanted to put in the long dark bubbly seaweed and it was the first piece to go on the page, as with all the objects it is life size, so I twisted it across the double pages. Then I chose the other objects, shells, sea weeds and the feather. Above you can see the work in progress and how I added the sketched seaweed, at the left side. Then I wanted to put the mermaids purse in the centre, placed on a little piece of paper to see if it looks right. I like to place the real objects on my paper and move them around until it feels right. This has come from my experience of adding something in a drawing and then wishing I had left it as it was.

I was going to put more shells in but time ran out, Saturday came around again, so I am calling it done. The shells were hard because I wanted to get the details and this paper did not help nor did my tired eyes. I know my shells would be better in pencil but I wanted to show colours and painting with the fine brush was very time consuming.

It has taken me many hours to complete this but I think it was worth it.

I am really happy with this page, it is how I wanted it to be, like a tangled arrangement ....to me it just feels like how you find the objects on the shore, as the sea has left them. The colours are rich and the more I find these objects the more I am enjoying this project. There are lovely decorative qualities in the shapes of the seaweeds, such rich colours and somehow they just cry out to be painted.

Today I have been collecting again, a huge bag full of treasures but I will tell you about it next week with the drawing.

Hope you like them, I would love to know what you think.

millyx

Please do not use my pictures without asking my permission, thank you.

week 4. Feathers

2011-01-29T19:08:00.003Z

Here are the pages for Week 4. I loved the shapes of the battered and tatty looking feathers and decided to arrange them across the double pages. We have many different birds that visit or live in the estuary. I know from my experience that in the summer months the feathers will be pristine and plentiful, so lets show the scruffy winter ones. We always know when the geese arrive with their distinctive noise. Look up to the sky and there will be the V shapes as the Greylag geese fly in and land on the grassy shore. It is often hard to see them on the ground as they blend in so well, then a low flying jet blasts across the sky and in those few seconds they panic and frightened by the noise fly up and circle around in total confusion. I could hear them calling across the shore but could not see them, but I was thrilled to see a Kingfisher, if only a blue flash flying along the river. In this estuary, the fresh water rivers from the mountains flows into the estuary, the main river is the Duddon from which it derives its name and then sea water flows in with two tides each day. The estuary attracts much bird life and the two swans who have raised a family here were swimming along the tidal river. I am not a great bird spotter but I love finding the feathers.
I drew my collection in pencil and then used acrylic inks. I wanted the fine detail of the feathery shapes so I used the number 1 sable brush. It was rather slow progress this week completing the feathers. The problem of white on white was solved with yellowy or grey to capture the paler feathers. I love the brown striped feathers, this one was a little green but I kept it a little cleaner. Thought you might like to see my colour palette. In the end I was really happy with this page.

I can't believe how quickly Saturday comes around. Today is week 5 collecting. It was a beautiful clear day with a hard frost. Football was cancelled so I had some company. The seaweed, oak leaves and feathers were all frosted. I liked the frosted seaweed which looked like pieces of white lace. The feathers felt strange as frozen shapes, they soon melted in my jacket pocket back to their soft textures. I saw many oak leaves with their familiar shape, but they looked so pretty edged with white frost. Today the water was so low that the old remains of a jetty from days gone by was visible, where slate from our village quarry was taken away by a flat bottomed boat. Old pieces of blue and white china and broken glass bottles were visible on the seabed. Yes, we fished out some bits and pieces, maybe they will appear on my pages. Today I found lots of shells. We were able to walk across areas which last week were completely covered with sea water, large expanses of sand with wave ripple patterns, bird prints and lots and lots of shells uncovered and stuck in the sand. The many tributaries and deep gullies were dried up today, but exposing the dangers of this shore and how deep the water is when the tide is in. I fear the sand and often feel nervous, too many childhood memories of sinking sands getting my feet, then ankles stuck and the panic. My steps kept to the very dry areas and if sheep or human footprints are deep it is a no go area for me. I know this shore, but I also know the dangers. The village and the shore are seperated by the railway line. The sea is eroding the grassy banks and the railway line has recently been protected with a stronger barrier of limestone rocks at vunerable places. I found a seaweed growing on the limestone boulders and collected a sample. As I sort out my treasures I suspect the shells will feature strongly for week 5, wait and see.
Thank you for the comments, hope you like the feathers. Millyx

week 3 Wind and Rain

2011-01-22T16:38:00.004Z

The oak leaf was the first object I collected and it blew straight out of my hand. I had to chase it and then fish it out of a large puddle but I am glad I did. I loved the shape, the holes and the colours. The arrangement consists of just some of the items I collected on this wet and windy day, things go together by colour or shape as I select them for the double page. The orange colours really shone on this wet stormy day of week 3.

Today, week 4, I spend two hours wandering up and down, stopping to take in this beautiful day. Such a still clear day, of soft colours with the misty blue grey hills and pink and blue colours of the sky. The tide was coming in and the water in the estuary looked like a mirror with the reflection of the hills. Lots of birds about, as a single white feather came floating on the water and stopped right next to me. I enjoyed the walk, the silence and the frosty chill which had made pretty ice patterns in the pools and pockets of white frosted grass. It all added to the calm scene. The sea mist is again creeping in to make it all a frozen winter wonderland as evening falls. I am about to start week 4 as I sort my finds.
Thank you for the comments, I am enjoying my beach finds, hope you are too. Millyx

Week 2 and the little things

2011-01-15T14:33:00.005Z

So last Saturday I ventured down onto the freezing cold shore with layers of clothes and only my face exposed to the biting wind. I know that if this strange behaviour is spotted by the locals there will be questions. You see today I went in the pouring rain, I had the place to myself! What on earth is she doing down there on a day like this?
I so enjoyed the first week, loved recording the seaweeds but I had a niggling thought that it might end up being seaweed each week. Well yes seaweed is going to feature strongly but I did find lots of little things, tiny shells, berries, seeds, leaves and snail shells. So I decided to capture them together on a separate page from the larger specimens. This means you are getting an extra page of finds with week 2 double page.
Week 2 features the biggest black mermaids purse that I have ever seen, it was a WOW moment for me. I am really loving the colours of my finds...rusty oranges, greens and browns, deep inky blue blacks...and everything seems to blend with each other.
It is a very tactile experience, feeling wet slimy strands, soft slippery objects and sometimes a bit smelly...a foot or a piece of stick to poke around helps.
It is really making me look, seeing how beautiful some of this sea weed really is, the different shapes which you really start to notice when you draw them.
In my enthusiasm to get started I chose a large sketch pad I already had, the paper is quite thin and it is not taking the paint too well and resulting in wrinkled pages. I have decided it adds to the sea theme.
Thank you for all the comments, glad so many people are interested and some new followers. Please let me know what you think, leave a comment, as you join me on this journey.
Must go now and sort out my new bag of treasures for week 3. Hope you like them. Millyx

My New Project for 2011

2011-01-10T16:01:00.004Z

Welcome to my new project. On January the first I walked along the shore and enjoyed the fresh air and the views. The snow had melted and the grassy shore was very wet, soggy and slippery so I had to pick my way carefully. As usual my eyes scan the ground for interesting finds as my head continues to sieve through my thoughts. I need a new project, something fresh to occupy my need to draw. Gradually I start to find little interesting pieces of sea weed, lovely colours and then a snail shell, so out comes the collecting bag.
Maybe I have found my project, if I can find some more interesting objects. My foot pokes about in tangled debris and I collect tiny shells and leaves and seeds. There must be a sycamore seed, there is always a sycamore seed and I felt the delight as the large blackened shape appeared before my eyes. The sea water gives the leaves a dark blackened colouring, especially the many oak leaves. Red berries are always collected, that is my unwritten rule. Gradually after my hour and a half walk my bag is bulging with the wet tangled up treasure.
I have decided that each Saturday I will collect for my project. It is a big book, a double page spread will record my finds. There are some rules, only natural objects and walking the same piece of shore. One week to record and then a new week and new finds.
Here is Week 1, recorded in pencil and acrylic paint. Hope you will follow and see what the sea washes up, what grows and lives here and the lovely feathers from the birds in this beautiful estuary.
Hopefully 52 weeks later ...a fantastic book of my shore line finds.
Thank you for your comments, I love reading them and they are appreciated. Millyx

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T18:09:00.003Z

I can hardly believe it is the last day of 2010. Looking back I have achieved quite a lot of different creative projects. My square book that I started on the first of January has many pages filled with my drawings. It is a visual diary of my year and each page is a record of objects I found. One night when I couldn't sleep I got up in the early hours and to pass the time flicked through the pages of this book. Each page holds not only the objects but the place, the day and the memories are captured. In the future I know this will remain the same.

My zigzag Oak book holds little images of the life cycle of the oak tree as it yields its harvest of acorns and the changing colours of the leaves. It still thrills me t0 hold a tiny acorn and know that a huge oak tree can grow from it. My own little acorn continues to grow into a larger tree each year.

Red berries remain a favourite subject and many other seeds, insects, leaves, feathers and shells. All these things so familiar to me and yet each year I am drawn to them. I love collecting and recording my finds.

Tomorrow I want to begin a new project, as I struggle to pick a theme, maybe I do not need to choose, it will choose me.

A very big thank you to all the people who leave such lovely comments. I really do appreciate reading them. May I wish you all A Happy New Year for 2011.
And may your little acorns grow into giant oaks. Love Millyx

Another frosty day

2010-12-06T22:58:00.003Z

The village looks very pretty with a light covering of snow. On Sunday we wrapped up warm and went for a long walk along the frosty roads. The photograph is the view taken off the railway bridge, just down the hill below my house. The shore was all frosty and glistening and twinkling in the sunshine.
After our uphill walk through the snowy lanes we enjoyed the lovely views of the lakeland hills on this beautiful crystal clear day. The hedgerows are all bare except for the holly bushes with lots of red berries. I picked lots of different seed heads to record when I get the time. My favourite images were of the frosted oak leaves scattered every where, they looked so beautiful against the snow. Lots of fallen red berries were trapped in the frosty ground. The Hawthorn branches were still laden, large droplets of water dangling and sparkling from their red berries.
The rose hips had suffered, all soft and squashy and blackened with the cold. I managed to pick the two for my picture.
When we returned home I wandered in my garden and found the two oak leaves fallen off my little oak tree which I planted as an acorn about three years ago. And finally the little branch with the bright red berries also picked from my garden.
I sketched it in pencil on Sunday evening. Today I painted it using the five colours of acrylic paint and my number one sable brush . Hope you like it.
I am using my new laptop for the first time, so hope this works out. Thank you for the lovely comments, we still have the mouse, nicknamed him Woody.

The mouse in the house

2010-11-20T19:56:00.004Z

Oh have we had some fun with this little fellow. An apple under the kitchen table was missing a huge portion and the ground surrounding it was covered in red mice confetti, he obviously doesn't like the skin. So we left the apple but placed our newly purchased humane mouse trap next to it. A peanut inside it, we know he eats them ....that is another tale, and we went to bed.
I happened to say to my husband that I might draw him if we manage to catch him. Next morning , excited husband rushes upstairs to say "we got him!". He had placed him in my tall glass vase with some apple pieces to keep him happy. The vase was my idea really, so I could see him and he could not escape. The mouse had leaped out of the trap as it was opened and into the kitchen sink so was a little wet ! I just loved him, grabbed a sketch book and set to recording him.
It is tricky sketching a moving subject but in the end he obliged and sat nicely with his pieces of apple.
We let him free outside in the coal and wood shed. Guess what......last night he had found his way back in, the trap is set ready for him. I think he likes it in our house best.
A big Thank you for all comments. Glad to hear others have had mice too. My laptop is serious, so maybe I might be lucky enough to get a new one for my birthday next week...hint hint to someone who might be reading this.
Hope you like our pet house mouse. He is actually a Long Tailed Field mouse or Woodmouse. He is very cute, I might knit him a jumper for Christmas.

Windy weather

2010-11-11T12:56:00.003Z

Windy weather, stormy weather is the forecast today. You can say that again, as we can hear the wind whistling through the house. We are cosy and warm with a wood burner. I am having a well deserved rest having just spent the morning helping to fill and carrying baskets full of wood to the coal shed with my husband. The truck load is now stacked high. We had the first snow on the hilltops during Monday night. So now I am now going to sit and draw and paint.
My laptop is poorly, gone to be looked at. I started moderating the comments as I was getting lots of spam in the comments and maybe have got a virus, anyway my screen is just a mass of wavy blue lines. I am using someone elses computer, had to load my photographs here too.
So that is why I have not posted for a while, crossing my fingers it is not too serious and can be fixed.
Back to the drawing. I was walking down a little lane and suddenly I hit a wind tunnel, debris was blowing through the hedge, and I had to protect my eyes from the branches and leaves and bits of dead plants crashing into me. Then as I passed all was calm again. This strange experience made me stop and look back and I realised the road was littered in the blown red berries, leaves and twigs and the hedgerow was stripped clean. I picked up rose hips and hawthorn berries, leaves and some rusty coloured fern. Here is some of my collection, painted in acrylic ink and my fine number one sable brush. It is becoming my favourite brush when I am in the mood to do things slow and carefully it is a delight to use.
Thank you for all the lovely comments and the interest in the mouse. We wonder how many we have? Latest news is a half eaten bun, so now all bread safely in the cupboards. Then I discovered they have eaten flower seed packets in a kitchen drawer and chewed at a new packet of toilet rolls upstairs in the bathroom. Now he/she is getting naughty, very naughty. I now have a drawer of mice paper confetti. But it makes me smile, I can't get cross but I would love to know where my golden acorns are.