My blog
My Art and Garden and Thoughts and Eyes – a few examples of whats and whys!
A closer look at some of my art – drawings and inspiration and the background ‘behind the scenes’ bits. It may not always be pretty, tidy nor neat!
Mother’s Day Flowers
A wee test, to see if I can remember how things work here – and to share these lovely flowers! A welcome surprise from Ronan, they arrived in the post, and lasted well over a
Craggy Clamber and Sketching in Cumbria
This spectacular place was a hop, skip and a clamber up from our Cumbrian campsite! A beautiful spot on top of the world, where all we could hear was the melodic sound of skylark, wren,
Down by the Riverside
Last summer, my sketching friend Sharon and I, on deliberating where to go, took a short walk down to the river that runs through Dumfries town! We shifted some discarded cans out the way and
A Cyclamen re-Cycled
A few months ago, when the ground wasn’t frozen solid, my lovely friend Kerry and I went on a plant hunt. I bought and potted-on a six pack of cyclamen. Not too long after that,
Cornea Transplant Stitches – My Painting Progression
Stitch Removal – a zig zag story Today marks four years since my full cornea transplant (Penetrating Keratoplasty due to advanced Keratoconus). A time where I know my donor family will be remembering the life
Beaky Blackbird’s New Beak
Poor Beaky Blackbird lost his beak many years ago in an apologetic accident. I’d bought him from a Highland artist in times gone by and took the breaking of the beak hard. Adhesives of various
Macrame Muddlings
Tidying up my little plant garden around my kitchen sink, I decided that (one of) my spider plant babies would appreciate being hung! Tabitha (son Ronan’s girlfriend) had inspired me with a menagerie of macrame,
Decorating – Nature Does It So Much Better
The freezing frosty weather draped the gorse in visible (no longer invisible) natural decorations. A magnificent masterpiece surpassing any modern bebaubled flashy flashy Christmas tree… As the house was freezing cold, I decided to head outside
Archaeology Dig Drawings – Response to Excavating A Bronze Age Burial Site
I recently accompanied Malcolm on one of his most interesting work assignments – archaeological digs! There have been two fortnight-long digs and a conference. A geophysics survey day and laboratory testing days are still to
Tulips – Beginning to End
Malcolm bought me some beautiful white tulips for Valentine’s Day – I do love tulips! They looked lovely for quite some time – much admired! They began to do their cut-tulipy thing – spreading their
Photogenic Fungi – Powderpuff Bracket Fungus and more
We had a wee tandem around ‘the block’ to visit a coniferous plantation in search of some ‘different’ fungi. There were loads! It’s taken a wee bit of looking up, and some remain unknown –
Witch Hazel Ink – making and drawing
I felt a teeny spot of inspiration today – the first day of the school holidays (for me). Given it hasn’t happened recently, I grabbed the moment before it left again! Following my ink-making workshop
Coprinus Comatus – Shaggy Inkcap
I participated in a wonderful natural ink-making workshop during the week. (Presented by artist Kate Temple and hosted by Cample Line). Thanks for the heads-up Sharon! I gathered a wee (poo) bag of things to
Tattie Trials
This year on the allotment, I decided to test out a wee trial with our tatties. We had a good year last year, but decided that, out of around 6 varieties, only to plant Charlotte
Weaving with NZ Flax Fronds
Neighbours were digging up their overgrown New Zealand Flax [Phormium] – it was an impressive specimen! Doug came to the door – would I like some of the ‘fronds’ to ‘do something’ with? Nothing struck
Allotment Bench
A wee while ago when the earth was still warming up and it felt like everything was trying to wake up, a fellow allotmenteer delivered a pile of pallets on-site, for our use. Not long
My Cornea Transplant – 2 Year Update (and How to get in touch with you Donor Family)
An Update 2 Years On – who’d’ve thought?! Now 2 years to the day following my transplant – 21st June 2021! So difficult to say whether it’s been a quick 2 years, or the longest
Sapcicles
…0r Icicles from our bicycle(s)! A few days ago, Malcolm and I ventured out for a tandem ride to ‘blow away the cobwebs’. It worked! We’d planned a short, local, circular route taking in a
Hair Ice
I wasn’t aware of Hair Ice until a couple of years ago when I saw a few photos of it online. I’ve wanted to see it for myself ever since! We were on a Rosie
Fly Agaric – Amanita muscaria – Drawing
Looking back at my Fly Agaric post from last year, we decided to go back to the same spot at the same time of year to see if we would be treated to some Amanita
Haemangioblastoma – Memories of a Brain Tumour
I had my haemangioblastoma brain tumour removed back in October 1998 at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham. I was 28, and the operation was performed by the amazing Stefan Zygmunt. I’m from Scotland, but
