WOYWW 906 Bonkers chickens, lapwings and baby clothes

Hi all, 

Our weekly blog circle seems strange without Sarah, but I feel she’d want us to carry on. I’ve asked her family (via their Facebook post) if they can livestream her funeral as I’m sure many of us would want to participate. 

It’s been a busy fortnight. 

First, my art class desk:

We’ve done abstract underpainting and are now adding birds coming through that. I’m doing a lapwing - I loved seeing them wheeling over the valley when we lived in the NE at Clara Vale. I used Brusho for the first time - it’s so intense, and spreads scarily fast through water on the paper. We’re also using iridescent powder, medium and iridescent paint as well as watercolour. 

We reviewed our oasthouses and our tutor was well pleased with my composition, though I could’ve pushed the dark tones further.

It was my friend Chris’s birthday and we planned to go and see a local musical, Gypsy. Unfortunately, I got a text that the rest of the run had been cancelled, due to sickness, but I got a refund. The director is the same man as the organiser of our art exhibition, which explains why that was postponed too. It will start at Sandgate deli, maybe from Friday. 

I did a picture of Chris’s dog, Cedric, for her, mainly using watersoluble graphite and tinted charcoal. 

My friend Emer wanted one of my bonkers chicken so I took them all round for her to choose. She bought 3! I now have 3 for the exhibition or maybe four, if I finish my last one in time. 

I’ve just finished a close-up of Gamay grapes from Beaujolais for the exhibition. It’s supposed to have raindrops on it and I’m not sure whether they’re clear enough, but Brian says they’re fine and he should know. It’s 50 years ago this year since he started picking grapes at our friends’ farm in Beaujolais- so 47 years for me. 

I have two family members who’re expecting so I’ve started knitting and crocheting baby clothes. I knitted the easy jacket pattern from Jan (waiting for buttons) and crocheted the hat and booties. The yarn is variegated lilac through to green so I think it’s a good colour for a baby whose gender hasn’t been revealed. The bad news of this yarn is it’s hard to make a matching pair of booties! I kept winding on my yarn to reach a point that looked the same as the first one. 

Bella helped and sends you all purrs. 

Non matching ones:

Matching ones!

And finally…,

I’ll be visiting after art class 

Happy WOYWW

Hugs

Lynnecrafts xx

WOYWW 905 Goodbye Sarah

This is such a sad week, hearing the news that Sarah has died. 

I only met her at the 2024 crop, which she and Eva organised in Penkhull, just round the corner from where my husband and I used to live. 

She was such a strong link to my home city, Stoke-on-Trent. I admired her dedication to drawing and painting, her love of languages and music. 

We’ll miss her dedication to WOYWW, taking over the coordination of the blog from the crop of 2024. 

My condolences to Eva and Sarah’s family. 

I’m at art class in the morning but will be back by lunchtime. 

Hugs

Lynnecrafts xx

WOYWW 904 Hops and bonkers chickens

Hi all, my desk for our weekly bloghop care of Sarah’s Craftshed is:

Since then I’ve tidied it up and added the hops, and the title, The Wolf of the Hedgerow, an old name for hops, relating to their vigorous growth and ability to choke out other plants. 

Our paintings were adapted from the style of Josie White from the Society of Botanical Artists, though linked to the local hop festival timing. 

I also been stuffing my ‘Bonkers Chickens’ as Jan called them - I rather like that title 😹. They’re made with toy safety yarn and stuffing and with Bella’s supervision, of course. She sends you all purrs.

One is for an art class friend and I’ll have five for the exhibition. 

This week’s art class is focusing on birds of Kent, so no golden pheasant, unfortunately. I’ll do a picture of the lovely Goldie from Helen’s photo separately. 

I had a lovely walk round Brockhill country park on Saturday, while it was still sunny - Our art class is in the Badger Room there. There were lots of families so no shy birds. It’s a lovely flat path round the lake so it’s great for their pushchairs, scooters and little bikes. 

This mallard was quite happy to be photographed, though I think he was hoping to be fed (despite notices everywhere saying ‘do not feed the birds’). I expect he can’t read😀. 

I’m following Kent Birding pages on Facebook for inspiration, and am glad to see lapwings amongst them. They always remind me of when we lived in Clara Vale, on the Tyne, where there were often pairs of lapwings wheeling over the valley. One of the birders on that page, Cristi Vasile,  has given me permission to use his photo. Isn’t the sheen on this one’s wings glorious? 

I know we can use iridescent powder so that would work well for him. 

And finally:

This makes me laugh because the French supplier of some lineside cabinets on HS1 described them as having ‘Anti-Gravity paint’ so we imagined them floating across the Channel. (they should have said Anti Graffiti paint 😂.) 

I’ve art class in the morning then have to drive up to Maidstone for a hospital appointment so it may be Wednesday evening or Thursday before I can visit your blogs. 

Happy WOYWW 

Hugs

Lynnecrafts xx

WOYWW 903 Hens, hops and summer sun.

Hi all, I’m hopping this week - our weekly bloghop courtesy of Sarah’s Craftshed - and in my art class subject. 

We’re doing an oasthouse in watersoluble graphite and a hop bine in watercolour. Here’s my desk. 

I didn’t know, but a curve above the eyeline looks as if it curves downward at the ends, and something below your eye line curves up. I’d done some very nice roof tiles the wrong way, and had to correct it. I’ve just been out for fresh hops in the far corner of our garden, behind the greenhouse, among the nettles. (V glad I managed to avoid them😀).

I’ve worked out that my hops will be mainly spring green + yellow ochre. 

We’ve had lovely autumn sunshine this week and a journey through the countryside (to our favourite farm shop and restaurant, Gibson’s of Wingham) filled my eyes with sunshine. 

It made me think of my Reading Tree painting, so I’ve added more sunshine to it. 

The exhibition in Sandgate has been put off till October, as Graham, who’s organising it, is tied up with directing the musical, Gypsy. I’ll be going to see that on Friday. 

It’s also given me more time to make more Emotional Support Chickens. I’ve not stuffed them yet, they’re easier to photograph flat. 

I’ve five now, the top one’s for a friend. Bella’s been supervising and sends you all purrs. 

Last week we went to see an exhibition of etchings by my friend Catherine Robinson, who used to teach me T’ai chi. It’s at the House of Afsara, on the Old High Street in Folkestone for a few more weeks. Glorious work, many prints were double-printed, with an area precisely wiped off then reprinted in a second colour. The big collage in the window was made of papers she’d printed herself (on a big printer’s press, not a computer printer).

It’s based on a beautiful book she’s written, based on her T’ai chi journey. 

And finally…

I’ll be round as soon as I can, as we’ve an appointment after art class. 

Happy WOYWW

Hugs

Lynnecrafts xx

WOYWW 902, Chickens and graphite

Hi all, 

I’m back for our Wednesday bloghop care of Sarah’s Craftshed. Back at art class, we’re doing a monochrome oasthouse, used for drying hops, painted with water-soluble graphite, with full colour hops draping in from the slide. I have Derwent XL graphite blocks and some water soluble graphite pencils. 

Artgraf graphite in the small tin, Faber soluble graphite pencils then Derwent XL blocks. 

Luckily, my next door neighbour grows hops that drape over our side of the fence so (having asked for politeness) I’ve a ready supply. 

Here are some of the techniques we’ll be using, as demonstrated by our tutor, Claire. 

I’m also in full Emotional Support Chicken production. They generated a lot of interest at last year’s exhibition so I’m making more. I’ve found a toy safety regs compliant yarn, Stylecraft Merry go round.  Bella is supervising and sends you all purrs. 

And finally…

I’m at art class in the morning so I’ll be round in the afternoon- put the kettle on😀

Happy WOYWW

Hugs

Lynnecrafts xx

WOYWW 901 Watercolour, Emotional Support Chickens and Frida Kahlo

Hi all, it was fun to see ‘00’ memories last week, but a shame a blogger glitch stopped us commenting on some. I’ve been busy since as I have to get pieces ready for our exhibition. 

My desk was much focussed on getting my Reading Tree watercolour as I want it. 

I messed up the book a bit but I think I’ve rescued it. 

This is how I spent many a summer day as a child, when we lived on the edge of the countryside near Stoke. 

I’m also working on Emotional Support Chickens, as I’ve been asked to include them again 

I’ve found Stylecraft merry go round dk is certified for child safety. I’m making the eyes with cotton yarn and sewing them on as safety eyes are just too hard to put in. Bella’s been supervising, and sends you all purrs. 

Today, Tuesday, we went to the Frida Kahlo exhibition, dodging the London rain. Tate Modern is a bit of a maze to find your way around, but I enjoyed the exhibition. It’s on till next January. 

There were some lovely pieces with extraordinary frames, like this one, I’d happily take home. 

This portrait of Frida made me laugh, she’s got that ‘Don’t bother me, I’m painting,’ look. 

There were modern installations 

And of course the self-portraits. 

And finally…

I’m back at art class tomorrow so I’ll be round in the afternoon. 

Happy WOYWW

hugs

Lynnecrafts xx