Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Never Ending Winter....
Hello!
Well, the cold weather has returned with a vengeance. Actually, by "cold weather" I mean snow as the cold weather barely left us anyway apart from a handful of Spring-like days. I can't say I mind all that much as, visually at least, I find snow quite uplifting. I love the way the usual landscape looks different and clean and new. I discovered some lovely little scenes this morning that I managed to capture with my camera-iphone not SLR but I did take my SLR-a Nikon D5000, for those of you who maybe interested, out with me on my walk with Betty yesterday and those pictures are included below.
Today I saw three woodcocks, put up by the dogs and some grey wagtails which I hope to paint later-I'll put on WWB Facebook page if I'm pleased with it. Despite being called grey wagtails, they are far from grey with their bright yellow bellies set off beautifully by the snow. Absolutely beautiful bird they are. I saw another barn owl, a hare and a weasel last week so doing pretty well for wildlife spotting. Seeing these birds and animals truly excites me, some might find that odd but there you go, I love it.
I had quite a sociable week last week, walks and meals with friends and a little tea party for Mother's Day on Friday with my youngest's class which was so sweet. I also started a couple of paintings that have made me realise how rusty I am. I left Wiltshire and Red Flag Studio in November and haven't painted since then. I now have some ideas at least that I am experimenting with ready for my Etsy shop or galleries.
It was grey and misty last week and strangely beautiful so I've included some of the Instagram photos I took with this latest upload.
I attempted to go to the Castle Museum in Norwich on Sunday as there is an exhibition on there about fairy tales, it was closed but I intend to return and will report on it when I do. Its such an interesting place to visit with art, stuffed animals ( that obsession again) and teapots along with castley stuff, so plenty to study and draw.
Bye for now, hope you have a good day. xx
PS If you'd like to leave a comment (I'd love you to) please do so on Facebook WWB page if you struggle here. Thanks xx
Well, the cold weather has returned with a vengeance. Actually, by "cold weather" I mean snow as the cold weather barely left us anyway apart from a handful of Spring-like days. I can't say I mind all that much as, visually at least, I find snow quite uplifting. I love the way the usual landscape looks different and clean and new. I discovered some lovely little scenes this morning that I managed to capture with my camera-iphone not SLR but I did take my SLR-a Nikon D5000, for those of you who maybe interested, out with me on my walk with Betty yesterday and those pictures are included below.
Today I saw three woodcocks, put up by the dogs and some grey wagtails which I hope to paint later-I'll put on WWB Facebook page if I'm pleased with it. Despite being called grey wagtails, they are far from grey with their bright yellow bellies set off beautifully by the snow. Absolutely beautiful bird they are. I saw another barn owl, a hare and a weasel last week so doing pretty well for wildlife spotting. Seeing these birds and animals truly excites me, some might find that odd but there you go, I love it.
I had quite a sociable week last week, walks and meals with friends and a little tea party for Mother's Day on Friday with my youngest's class which was so sweet. I also started a couple of paintings that have made me realise how rusty I am. I left Wiltshire and Red Flag Studio in November and haven't painted since then. I now have some ideas at least that I am experimenting with ready for my Etsy shop or galleries.
It was grey and misty last week and strangely beautiful so I've included some of the Instagram photos I took with this latest upload.
I attempted to go to the Castle Museum in Norwich on Sunday as there is an exhibition on there about fairy tales, it was closed but I intend to return and will report on it when I do. Its such an interesting place to visit with art, stuffed animals ( that obsession again) and teapots along with castley stuff, so plenty to study and draw.
Bye for now, hope you have a good day. xx
PS If you'd like to leave a comment (I'd love you to) please do so on Facebook WWB page if you struggle here. Thanks xx
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| Like the contours of a map |
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| These were little frozen pools of ice attached to a branch. Has to scramble under a tree to catch this! |
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| I love the reflection of the tree in this. |
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| More ice maps |
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Found My Wordless Wednesday Spot
Hi!
Just a quick post to say that I think I've found my Wordless Wednesday spot not too far from home. Telling you now as if I tell you tomorrow it won't be wordless! I think it will be an interesting place to revisit as the year progresses with plenty of activity and points of interest.
Started a painting of a lamb yesterday which I may use as a card design, will finish it tomorrow.
Went for a lovely walk this morning with my friend Andrea. To feel some warmth from sunshine was so lovely and uplifting. I stopped the car briefly this morning and let the dogs have a brief run in a field on the way back from school. I was surrounded by the sound and sight of Sky Larks, proof that Spring will soon be upon us....
Here is the start of the little lamb painting.
See you for Wordless Wednesday tomorrow xx
Just a quick post to say that I think I've found my Wordless Wednesday spot not too far from home. Telling you now as if I tell you tomorrow it won't be wordless! I think it will be an interesting place to revisit as the year progresses with plenty of activity and points of interest.
Started a painting of a lamb yesterday which I may use as a card design, will finish it tomorrow.
Went for a lovely walk this morning with my friend Andrea. To feel some warmth from sunshine was so lovely and uplifting. I stopped the car briefly this morning and let the dogs have a brief run in a field on the way back from school. I was surrounded by the sound and sight of Sky Larks, proof that Spring will soon be upon us....
Here is the start of the little lamb painting.
See you for Wordless Wednesday tomorrow xx
Monday, 4 March 2013
The Importance of Reading to Children, aka an Excuse to Cuddle Up!
Hello!
Hope you had a fun weekend. Mine was spent doing usual weekend chores but also a trip into Norwich and a cycle ride in the Norfolk countryside.
I've been a bit slack updating my blog, sometimes life takes over a bit and I am pleased to say that I was able to paint a bit last week for pretty much the first time in three months. I was working on the illustrations for My Name is Debbie, a joint venture with my cousin. Sometimes, however much you try a picture won't come together and it was like that last week which was so frustrating, however I will be back on the case after writing this.
I am planning on having a Wordless Wednesday, following the example of one of my favourite bloggers, Dottie Angel. I thought it might be interesting to chart a corner of the woods or a tree or other plant and how it changes with the seasons, so a weekly snapshot of whatever I choose is what will appear on a Wednesday, got to find the right spot though....
I, as some of you will know, am a mother to four children and they have all, to a greater or lesser degree loved listening to stories and reading. My two big guys, Zoe and Fin, would spend hours in the library choosing books to read and I shared in their excitement of walking away with a huge pile of stories to discover. I remember Fin sitting on the sofa surrounded by books as he made his way through them, probably got a photo somewhere. I felt very pleased with myself when Marilyn Brocklehurst of the Norfolk Children's Book Centre spoke of the importance of libraries and allowing your children to choose their own books, even if it does meaning insisting on taking one that they already own home. Marilyn feels this is one of the first things you can do as a parent to foster the love of reading in your children.
Allowing children to choose also means accepting that they may like a book for younger children, one which also may not even have any words and that's fine as Marilyn says none of us want to be pushed all the time or told we must read a harder text. I remembered that I had recently spoken to my seven year old's teacher about the book she was taking home not pushing her. I think there is a tendency, for me at least, to see those early years of learning to read as a bit of a marathon and that the child should be pressing ahead and constantly improving. I felt guilty recalling this, Marilyn's wise words pulled me up short.
I also recall trying to direct my children towards books that I felt visually interesting and inspiring. As an artist with a love of unusual, and maybe more challenging illustration for children, I felt it was my job to educate my children in my taste! I do think it is important to encourage and expand their visual knowledge though, so I won't be beating myself up too badly!
Marilyn spoke of the importance of reading aloud to your children, even those who are proficient readers. Children learn a lot about the rhythm of language, vocabulary, grammatical constructions, rhyme, pronunciation and playing with language. Studies have shown that those children who are read to have greater general knowledge, concentration and empathy than those who are not. It also helps fuel children's own story writing skills.
Taking time over the book so younger children have to chance to decode the illustrations, and have time to predict what will happen next is very important too. If nothing else, it is an excuse to settle down for a rest and a cuddle. I am trying to get back into the habit. I read to Zoe and Fin pretty much every evening and I have got out of the habit with my younger two, partly because they go to bed later now and partly because I'm lazy! I do intend to try harder though.....
Here are some pictures of my week, including some snaps of some new books I discovered. I also found a new publisher that I might just send one of my stories off too, if I can pluck up the courage!
Bye for now x
Hope you had a fun weekend. Mine was spent doing usual weekend chores but also a trip into Norwich and a cycle ride in the Norfolk countryside.
I've been a bit slack updating my blog, sometimes life takes over a bit and I am pleased to say that I was able to paint a bit last week for pretty much the first time in three months. I was working on the illustrations for My Name is Debbie, a joint venture with my cousin. Sometimes, however much you try a picture won't come together and it was like that last week which was so frustrating, however I will be back on the case after writing this.
I am planning on having a Wordless Wednesday, following the example of one of my favourite bloggers, Dottie Angel. I thought it might be interesting to chart a corner of the woods or a tree or other plant and how it changes with the seasons, so a weekly snapshot of whatever I choose is what will appear on a Wednesday, got to find the right spot though....
I, as some of you will know, am a mother to four children and they have all, to a greater or lesser degree loved listening to stories and reading. My two big guys, Zoe and Fin, would spend hours in the library choosing books to read and I shared in their excitement of walking away with a huge pile of stories to discover. I remember Fin sitting on the sofa surrounded by books as he made his way through them, probably got a photo somewhere. I felt very pleased with myself when Marilyn Brocklehurst of the Norfolk Children's Book Centre spoke of the importance of libraries and allowing your children to choose their own books, even if it does meaning insisting on taking one that they already own home. Marilyn feels this is one of the first things you can do as a parent to foster the love of reading in your children.
Allowing children to choose also means accepting that they may like a book for younger children, one which also may not even have any words and that's fine as Marilyn says none of us want to be pushed all the time or told we must read a harder text. I remembered that I had recently spoken to my seven year old's teacher about the book she was taking home not pushing her. I think there is a tendency, for me at least, to see those early years of learning to read as a bit of a marathon and that the child should be pressing ahead and constantly improving. I felt guilty recalling this, Marilyn's wise words pulled me up short.
I also recall trying to direct my children towards books that I felt visually interesting and inspiring. As an artist with a love of unusual, and maybe more challenging illustration for children, I felt it was my job to educate my children in my taste! I do think it is important to encourage and expand their visual knowledge though, so I won't be beating myself up too badly!
Marilyn spoke of the importance of reading aloud to your children, even those who are proficient readers. Children learn a lot about the rhythm of language, vocabulary, grammatical constructions, rhyme, pronunciation and playing with language. Studies have shown that those children who are read to have greater general knowledge, concentration and empathy than those who are not. It also helps fuel children's own story writing skills.
Taking time over the book so younger children have to chance to decode the illustrations, and have time to predict what will happen next is very important too. If nothing else, it is an excuse to settle down for a rest and a cuddle. I am trying to get back into the habit. I read to Zoe and Fin pretty much every evening and I have got out of the habit with my younger two, partly because they go to bed later now and partly because I'm lazy! I do intend to try harder though.....
Here are some pictures of my week, including some snaps of some new books I discovered. I also found a new publisher that I might just send one of my stories off too, if I can pluck up the courage!
Bye for now x
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| My daughter reading in the airing cupboard for a Reading Week challenge |
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| Love these illustrations from 'I have the Right to be a Child' by Sarah Ardizzone and Aurelia Fronty, Pheonix Yard Publishing |
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| Sunny corner of my house |
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| A Day of Painting |
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| A Triangle of Glass I found on a Cornish Beach. Love the shadows. |
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| Instagram pic of me on a night dog walk |
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| Sunday cycle ride |
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| Catkins everywhere |
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| Not clear in this but there was a pure white sun above this tree. |
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