Friday 4 December 2009

Red Berries all in a row








I love red berries and they are always popping up in my drawings. When I am out for a walk it is impossible to pass them without picking a little bunch. Sometimes they are recorded, but if I am not quick they soon lose their glossy skins with the heat indoors. Sometimes they are the star of a picture, as they just seem to add the finishing touches to a little arrangement of leaves or shells. Then I always throw them outside for the birds to find.
When I bought this Moleskine zigzag book I knew it had to be full of red berries. I started it last Autumn and returned to add more to it this year. It is a little hard to photograph, because of the long shape, so I am posting several little sections. I quite like the way you just see little glimpses of different pages. The berries are Hawthorn and rosehips from the hedgerows. Some have been coloured using acrylic ink, some with acrylic paint and then there are a couple of pencil studies. I think it might look nice spread out as a Christmas decoration. I have started a second zigzag book of sycamore helicopter seeds. Hope you like the red berries all in a row.

16 comments:

Cornflower said...

Beautiful as they are or as a Christmas decoration, but I can see them as a wonderful textile design, too.

Pomona said...

That is the most beautiful book - a quite wonderful idea! I just love those red berries all lined up.

Pomona x

Frances said...

Milly, what a marvelous idea to do the zigzag or accordion book featuring a theme. The red berries look so festive ... perfect to unfold in December.

Please do show us more of these as they develop. There are endless possibilities. Great that the paper will accommodate the mediums that you've chosen.

xo

Ann said...

This is gorgeous! The berries look so elegant arranged in the pages of that lovely book.

AnaGF said...

I love the red berries in a row! And they surely make a wonderful Christmas decoration, what a great idea!

Dan said...

Hello Milly. I just found your blog today, and think your pictures are wonderful. I'm looking forward to having a good browse through. Best wishes Dan.

Carolina said...

Milly,
your art fills my heart and feeds my soul... I find it absolutely charming (entraƱable is the word in Spanish, I'm not sure charming is exact, but it's the closest I found). I love the drawings and the zigzag display...
Best regards,
Carolina

Tammie Lee said...

Milly!
Your cards arrived and they are absolutely wonderful! Each and everyone overflows with beauty! From my heart I thank you!

Plus your berry book is sublime. I love the unfolding pages holding treasures that go on and on. Such a lovely idea.

With warmth and appreciation,
Tammie

kookaburra said...

Wonderful to honor that which might be overlooked by most. Very cheerful lot, those berries!

I really like the Japanese moleskines & finished two this past summer.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38265840@N00/3779990566/in/set-72157603919096555/

jen hook said...

Fabulous, these are just wonderful.
thank you so much for sharing!!!

Lucille said...

Perfect for the mantelpiece.

Gwen Buchanan said...

What a wonderful concept.. Gorgeous work!!!I love it.. sparse and beautiful and just right.. I would tire of it!!

Michelle Palmer said...

I love your long book of berries!

As I walk along the Erie Canal there are several different varieties of red berries... wish I could pick a collection and mail them to you~ They are difficult to photograph with our simple camera.

Thank you for showing us your treasure!
Michelle

Acornmoon said...

The whole thing is wonderful, two of my favourite things, zigzag books and your artwork, especially your shiny red berries. It looks sort of Japanese, like a little screen. I love it!

Carol Creech said...

Love the accordian book! And the berries and leaves are so wonderful. I really like how you drew them so that they spanned the folds and weren't just separate on each page. It really makes it flow nicely.

Carolina said...

Hi "Milly" :)
Only 3 minutes ago I have received the giveaway painting and I'm more than overwelmed with it, I just adore it and the other details you included. I'm trying to focus and not sound excessive, but I have no words to thank you for the painting. I can't believe how beautiful your drawings are 'in person' :), I can't stop looking at them and thanking you :):):)
Hope the best for you and your family,
Carolina