Snails and chickens

As you walk through to the Jubilee wood from the road, you have to pass several different pens of very beautiful and well looked after chickens and bantams. They happily scratch away at any lettuces or cabbages we donate which have gone to seed and are regularly let out to free range over their owners allotment.  No wonder they look so well......

 

 

                                                                Pen and ink drawing

They were the inspiration for my next print, particularly the breed which I believe is called Plymouth Rock,  along with the many snails who seem to be enjoying the recent thunderstorms we've been having. What  interesting creatures they are, even if they can be a considerable pest when they take a liking to your salad crops.  Most snails on land are hermaphrodites and after a mating ritual which can last for several hours they finally fertilise each others' eggs! Their anatomy is fascinating too, under that beautiful shell they even have a lung which they  breathe air through which I suppose shouldn't surprise me but somehow did.

First lino  prints 30 x 20 cms

 

 

The image has transferred well with the strong  lines of the  Plymouth Rock feather patterns and I like the contrast of the swirling snail shells but Val suggested I try a graduated colour print and she was right.....the print changed quite dramatically although the difference is probably not so noticeable in this reproduction.....

 

Lino print 20 x30 cms

 

The prints will vary of course as each time you add the ink to the roller [dark red and black in this case] the balance of colour will change slightly  but that's what makes the prints so fascinating to create.  The next step will be to apply different colour combinations which will again change the image.   

Some More Moles …

 

  

Just sketching and thinking… :).. as, I think, is the mole.

Some Moles

I like moles. They are yet another addition to my list of the much maligned creatures, who I feel are unjustly disliked for some bizarre reason or another. Eels, snakes, insects, frogs, nightjars are not high on natures beauty parade, are they?

My great delight in moles though is their subversive, subterranean activities which signal a bold two finger gesture to those nice green lawns and the dreadful golf courses. Go moles!

I was prompted to make this print after seeing a poor little dead mole by the roadside. I cant quite remember why I didn’t pick it up but I think it had something to do with not having anything to put it in, except my very small shoulder bag. I am such a lightweight. I should have just walked on with the mole draped over my shoulder or dangling from my belt. I may have also hesitated because I know that mole fleas are BIG. Still it’s no excuse for being so faint hearted.

Anyway mole sketches and a small print have followed, to get me back into printmaking and the blogs too.

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Sketchbook pages A5

 

First proofs of pale grey and darker grey plates

First reasonable print.. my registration is getting better…2 colour lino 4 x 6

More mole stuff to come …

Buttercups and butterflies

At last, the end of the academic year for both of us so now to get back to the much missed diary of the Jubilee Wood.  Most days I've been able to walk around the wood and even though it has seemed so cold because of the winds we've been having, the young trees in the wood are looking great.

The wild flowers are at their best, with vetch, orchids and buttercups weaving through the grass and making it sparkle  with their purple, pinks and yellows and in this recent warm weather even the butterflies have been in search of nectar.

Buttercups in Jubilee Wood

 

I made a quick sketch to try and capture the feel of the moment

 

 

More work to be done on it but its a reference and even if I don't use it later for a print or picture, it  really helps me to remember  all of the sensations  of the moment - the warmth, the colours, the sounds of the birds and the peace of the place.

 

To help us create a more three dimensional memory of the wood through the seasons, we've decided to make some 'creative' pieces from items we find there. My first piece was inspired when I saw some of the thin, wispy blackthorn branches left over from some maintenance work which had been done by valiant volunteers during the winter. Once I started bending them they appeared  to me to have spines like some treacherous deep sea fish that you just wouldn't want to meet....... 

 

 

So here's my flying thorn fish which has come up from the deep to see what Gidding  Jubilee Wood is all about!.......

 

 

 

 

Swans

Sue and I have both been up to our ears in academic life so the blog has had to take a back seat for a while. However by mid June we should both be back to regular blogging.

I have been let out a bit earlier than Sue and have been cycling by the Reservoir. There are swans feeding on the young corn in the field by the track and I have watched over the last couple of weeks as the corn has grown higher and the swans have begun to disappear into the green. Sometimes there are geese with them. When you walk along the track all the heads go up at once.

And as I am slowly getting back to sketching, here are a few sketchbook notes of the swans and a little colour study. They are bright white against the spring green of the corn and the dark wood.

Great Crested Newts!

Yes, it's that time of year again when Triturus cristatus [otherwise known as the Great Crested Newt] moves out of its hibernation on land and gets on over to a pond for the fun pastime of breeding.   We seem to be popular with the Great Crested Newt in Great Gidding [must be something to do with the water] and you'll even see it's picture on the many trail signs if you happen to be driving or walking through the village.

                                                              Jubilee Wood pond

Taken at the beginning of the month, this picture of the pond may not make it seem that inviting but the days have warmed up a lot since then and already there's a  lot more signs of life showing in the vegetation and trees.  Soon we might catch our first sighting this year of the infamous newt which apparently is Britain's most strictly protected amphibian [check out froglife.org for more information on these fascinating creatures.]

 

Male Great crested newt...the UK's largest newt

 

 

 

A page from my sketch book which is a pictorial diary of the Jubilee wood. The newts will soon be laying their eggs in pond weed and then folding over the leaves to protect the eggs...... 

 

The female doesn't have the crest or whitish tail stripe but still manages to have an orange stripe underneath her tail and orange belly with irregular black spots . I think the male great crested newt will make a good print so will be working on that next,  probably using this sketch.......  .

 

And finally, another sign of new life......garden spiders recently hatched in our greenhouse and were found scurrying around their web which was attached to a plastic chair.....I decided to leave them alone as they'll be gone next time I check and will hopefully be usefully employed in catching some of the flies that have recently appeared.

 

 

So many spiders, like little yellow droplets of rain until they start moving around!......

The Busiest Bee in the Garden.

The warmth has brought out flowers and bees and none is as busy, as the delightful hairy footed flower bees. For the third year running the females are nesting in the blue strawberry pot. It has never grown strawberries but the variety of side entrances seem to make it very attractive to these industrious little bees.

The females are all black with ginger legs, the males gingery with white faces. This year they were very early, slightly too early I think as one of the girls didn’t make it, but they are all doing well now with a bit of competition for nest space. The males have a higher pitched buzz and a very characteristic hover and zoom flight pattern.

 

The early male warming up on my hand and below approaching the violets

Approaching the violets

 

 

 

The very early female who did not make it, but she is about to be the model for some more sketches,so will live on in a way!

They love pulmonaria, and comfrey and approach the flowers with their tongues out, ready to go!

I painted them both for my British Bee set, but I was in the US at the time and had never seen them in action. But I read about their characteristics, their habits, sounds, flying patterns etc  and it was wonderful to catch up with them when came back to the UK.

The two paintings from 2010... time for some more I think. Sketches to come.