Monday 29 August 2011

Week 34


                       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

11 comments:

Windsongs and Wordhoards said...

The feathers are of course beautifully painted, the inks look good don't they, and nice to see your materials and work in progress.
Also your photos of those brilliant skyscapes are stunning, such high drama in the skies and that wonderful reflection in the water in the last picture... it really is a lovely landscape...

Frances said...

Milly, I have so many comments to make, I hope I can remember them all as I type.

First...your mixing of black and white ink shows your painterly skill, and also the subtle way in which careful painting without any hue can suggest hue to the imagination of the viewer. (Which white ink do you use?)

Those sky photos inspire my next comment. We had a hurricane pass through NYC this weekend, and her passage turned out to not be so damaging as predicted. We are thankful. Today was a brilliantly sunny day with blue sky and as the afternoon turned into evening, beautiful wispy clouds spread across our sky. It reminded me of just how lovely nature can be, when she is not showing us how dangerous she might be.

I do hope that Hurricane Irene (now just a tropical storm) will not cause your side of the Atlantic any harm, but might actually lead to your finding some more treasures along the side of your lake.

xo

Susan Scheid said...

Your weekly project is magnificent--and to think, in the midst of all that, and all that daily life demands of each of us, you made such a gorgeous quite as well! Milly, you are a marvel!

Pondside said...

Beautiful sky shots!
I love the fabric with your little hares printed on it - who wouldn't wish to do a room around a pillow in that linen?

Vicki Lee Johnston said...

Beautiful prose Milly, felt like I was right there with you.
Love the feathers and I especially love the beautiful quilt.

Ruth said...

Amazing feathers, love the hare fabric and a gorgeous quilt. You are having a good week. :)

Anonymous said...

It looks such a beautiful place :) You write about it so nicely. And the feathers are beautiful of course!

Mary said...

Plenty of atmospheric weather scenes around here too! Your outdoor shots are breathtaking, oh what I'd give to stroll along with you.

According to news reports from the devastated North Carolina coastal area along the Outer Banks, the shells washed up from the hurricane are amazing. Huge conch, sand dollars, starfish and crabs - you would be gathering if there I'm sure! New inlets have been cut through the delicate islands, the one highway disappearing in places as the sea tore through, leaving many famous tourist destinations unreachable. Yes, Nature's beauty can turn to cruelty so quickly.

I love these feathers Eileen - your skill in mixing black and white is obvious here, perfection. A really gorgeous page once again. I too love the hare linen - I went to the website and love it on the cushions.

Hey, how about Delila's great news - I'm so thrilled for her and can't wait to here more when she moves in and starts her work.

Enjoy this week - at least it's cooled a wee bit here after the hurricane, going to drop into the 80's at last - I've had enough Summer and am looking forward to autumn so much.

Hugs - Mary

Jill said...

Thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of 'week 34' Milly.

Diana said...

yes your feathers are gorgeous as is your quilt.. your photos are pretty wonderful too. very delicate and so beautiful work, love,Diana

Anonymous said...

Hi Milly, thank you for the comments on my posts :) Good luck with the craft fair, and you're welcome re comments etc, I always enjoy reading your posts, they're very inspiring :) I shall do my best with hints re free machine embroidery :) I found some really useful videos by searching for it on YouTube, I'm not managing anything very impressive yet, just sort of moving the fabric around a bit and hoping for the best, hehe! The hoop I ordered arrived today though so I'll hopefully I might be a bit more successful with it now :) x