Monday 5 December 2011

Week 48

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

9 comments:

Acornmoon said...

I am feeling exited for you Milly, what an amazing accomplishment this book will be!

Claire said...

Wow,I'm loving these bones,they make such interesting shapes on the page-great work Milly xxx

Windsongs and Wordhoards said...

I love this page.. the beautiful, sinuous flowing shape of the seaweeed, and then opposite the solid heavy shapes of the bones, beautifully painted.
Nice to see the route of your walk, it really is stunning countryside isn't it! You live in a lovely place and its so full of sky and weather...
Only 4 weeks left! I'm very tempted to set myself a task for the new year, I've found your journals so inspiring... though mine would have to be very small until my time machine's fixed!

suz said...

Thank you for showing us photos of the area where you walk. Hope your foot is okay.

Frances said...

Nature has continued to give you unusual combinations of offerings on your walks. Milly, your decision to carry on even after cutting your foot certainly showed determination! I surely hope that you are healing easily.

It's very clear that week 48's paintings are remarkable. Those subtle colors are beautifully done. You continue to nourish my notion of eventually experimenting with acrylic inks.

The seaweed is a testimony to your fine drawing skill, and the bones are painted to perfection. The contrast between the bones's solidity and the delicacy of the seaweed and mermaid's purse makes this composition so interesting.

I so hope that your local weather gods will grant you an easier walk for week 49.

xo

Jarnie Godwin said...

There is so much atmosphere in these windswept photos. What a place of true inspiration, no wonder you are out in all weather.
Your drawings are so finely executed, with every detail beautifully featured.

Pondside said...

All that and you kept searching - even with the cut. Well, the drawings are beautiful - and I hope you feel that they are worth it (because I do!)

sea-blue-sky & abstracts said...

So long since I've visited and what pleasure to view your photos Milly - that wild, open and desolate landscape is wonderful!

Beautiful painting for week 48, especially the flowing, trailing seaweed frond, love the way you have curled it around the page. Lesley x

wandering said...

How lovely it is to come back to your blog and find your beautiful work - the crow, the toadstools, the bones and the mermaid's purse the feathers, and the stories to go with them. It is a real treat, to sit here with my coffee and be given such wonderful things to look at. Thank you!

Jannette