I has been playing Wizards!

I has been playing with potions...well, the wizards shouldn't have all of the fun!
After my last post I'm a little off wizards!
Really, I play like this all of the time but I actually took pictures of these so you can play wizards with me (or witches!) ;o)
What shall we make?

I sometimes wonder if I will ever grow up...nah...who wants that kind of boredom?
Although these creations of mine are taking over my house, I do enjoy playing with them...after all, where else can you stick your big fingers into potions and brew things with mermaid and dragon scales?
Hey, now don't blame me I didn't harm them, they sort of 'fell off' on their own and I was there to collect them!
I've been creating wizard stuff all year for sale but then I get attached and don't want to part with them...typical me really...but there really is nowhere left and I must be strong...must not be greedy (yeah like that's ever going to happen!)...

So my little wizards (or witches!) what have you all been up to?
Any one been brewing potions?

I have been thinking about Wizards...

I've been thinking about wizards...
And I think that they have had a good time over the years...
I'm not complaining, hey, any magickal being having a good time is fine by me.
It's just that, with 'that' time of the year ever approaching, it will be time for the Old Hags to surface and scare the whits out of those poor itsy-bitsy children by popping them in their gruesome cauldrons etc etc etc...you all know the drill...

The hags have always been that way...scary and toothless...with warts to boot!
They couldn't just grow old gracefully and enjoy their dotage.
Obviously they didn't buy into all of that 'Rejuvenating Cream' nonsense ;o)

But the Wizards?
Why they can be as old as they want, with wrinkles as deep as the Pacific Ocean...and what do we think?
'Oh he's so wise and learned...just look at all of the wisdom written on his old face' (no warts either you notice)
'He must be terribly clever because he's SO old'
hem hem (that's me coughing, I know it's not very good but hey)
To be an Old Hag, you have to be erm OLD so why are they never given the same credit as the Wizards?
As you can see I've been giving this way too much thought!!!

And of course, while thinking, I doodle, if there's a scrap of paper anywhere near me and a stick of burnt wood there is no end to my scribblings...unfortunately this one got a bit carried away with itself and in real life he is huge, I couldn't fit his big head on the scanner!
Naturally he has all of the long flowing hair and beard (shiny shiny white no doubt) and that quizzical look of 'Why is she spending so much time thinking about Wizards', on his face...although it might be something much deeper knowing wizards ;o)

Also, perhaps it could be that, because I am also sculpting wizards and other bits then my mind is preoccupied with them...?
Who knows, it is a mystery...but I still think it is unfair, that gentlemen get to grow old and become 'distinguished' while the ladies just grow old...even in the magickal world...

Sorry to pass this on to you my dears...but I do like to share he he he
And anyway, I think my wizard looks like he has a crooked nose ;o)

EHAG sneak peek

Hi folksies
Just remembered that I forgot (?) to pop a sneaky little peek at my EHAG thingy for the Emporium this month!
Oopsie!
Never mind though...it isn't quite the end of the month ;o)
So here's my offering...can you tell what it is yet?
He he he he he

Those Sirens and their singing...

Well folks, after the last post (oh that sounds a little sad!)...
I have taken Quentin's advice and hidden my junk under the table!
By the way, Quentin makes the most gorgeous jewellery if you want to have a peek at his website Lunar Skies
Which means that I got to do some painting, doubt it will last though ;o)
I have (I think) finished (maybe) this Mermaid painting which has been lying around for a while bugging me to get on with it...you know those Sirens and their song!
Does it look finished to you, or is something missing?
My dear Troll says it need an island, but I think that might be too distracting, after all it's her we're meant to be looking at, not an island in the hope that Jack Sparrow might be lurking there ;o)
As you can see, I'm a fiddler, which is a big problem!
Nothing ever gets finished 'cos I just need to add a little something here and a bit there...
The colours aren't really like this either because my scanner and the finished item always have a tiff and play up with each other so my colours go all weird!?!
Oh well, back to my fiddling...and as Joolz has put the thought there (thanks for that Ju!)...I now have 'Fiddler on the Roof' going through my head!
'If I were a rich man....'
Bet you're all singing it now too aren't you?
He he he...

The tale of the missing wooden table, by Agatha Misty

We're moving stuff...again...
You know that awful kind of 're-arranging things' because you need more space?
Then when it's all piled up into a teetering tower and you have created a lovely clean little area...only to look behind you at the cob-webby-dust-infested pile of junk which you now have no space for!
My daughter's bedroom is now beautifully tidy after laying new carpets and doing girly stuff...now all of the stuff she no longer wants is piled in the big inglenook (it looks like a flea market...funny how quickly they grow out of toys...)
I'm just as bad as everyone else here though...

I did used to have a table to 'work' on, in the kitchen, tucked under the window to get better light, ha, nice try there Missy!
It was all ready for me to paint the 'masterpiece', you know which one, the one that lurks in the back of your head and will never come out to play!

Now...it's piled high with boxes and clay and bits of old fluff and lace and oil paints and sculpting tools and more boxes and ribbons and plastic leaves and more fluff and an old herbal book (?) and some sketch books and some charcoal and some crayons and some hair (?) and some watercolour paints and some pencils and some bits of fluff which looks like it came from a timid dog (we don't have a dog though!) (?) and some acrylic paints which have dried up because their lids snapped off so I have to poke a knitting needle down the end to get the paint out! and some fabric and some sewing threads and some paper and some scissors and some chocolate ;o) and some tissues and some photo's and some more fluff and a small easel and the castors from my big easel which broke and some hand wipes and some paintbrushes and a jar of teeny beads and some small wooden tables and an old rusty six inch nail which I found in the fireplace and liked (?) and some rust which flaked off the big nail!...and some more fluff...you can see there's a problem here can't you?

I can't find my table anymore!!!

Oh well, it was nice while it lasted...
Back to sketching on the sofa and annoying everyone with my scratchy charcoal (ha ha ha, teach them to mess the house up!)...they should be more tidy with their stuff...like me ;o)

This one is a study for a stretching female...in case you couldn't tell ;o)

Am I following You?

Hi folks...
I'm reposting this one as it got lost behind the Midsummer Faery ;o)...

I just wanted to check with all of my friendly followers to see if I have done you all the courtesy of following you in return?
I have just spent ages trying to track some of you down!
Some folks keep their 'profile' hidden which means when I click on the followers it won't show a link to your lovely site and then I can't come and have nosey around your blogs...:o( :o(
I've managed to find a few of you...who have been following me for yonks and now I can see what goodies you have to share...so please forgive my tardiness...it was you all being secretive 'what dun it' ;o)
So...if I have totally ignored you...and you really didn't want me to (and I can understand why you would!)...then PLEASE...leave me a comment or a message or anything which I can grab as a link to you...so that I can come and play on your own turf :o)
If you have recieved this message and did not subscribe to this blog, please ignore this message ;o)

Merry Midsummer Solstice Everyone!

Do you believe in ghosts?

Hello everyone...:o)
I thought you might like to see a painting I did a few months ago for my MIL...
And hear about the strange reason for painting it in the first place...(not that I'm being all dramatic ;o) )

Last year my husband (The Troll) 's grandmother 'Cissy' who died in 1994 kept 'visiting' me...not in the ghostly sense...but in the 'keeps-popping-into-your-head' sense...she just would not leave, she was there all of the time...I couldn't stop thinking about her...
Now I never knew Cissy very well, we only met a few times but she was a lovely lady, with so much life in her and a wonderful past to share if anyone wanted to hear...and The Troll was very close to her and spent all of his holidays and weekends at her home when he was young...
We were the last people who saw her alive, which has not gone down well with the MIL :o(
We visited Cissy and Charlie, her husband, a couple of days before she died unexpectedly and I had a feeling when she looked at us driving away that she was going to die...she seemed strange...
MIL (Lee) says that if I had told her that I thought her mother was going to die she would have rushed down to Gloucester (yes the home of Dr Foster ) to be with her...which says a lot for my 'premonitions' really, but I felt bad telling her...I don't think she will ever forgive us for being the last ones to see her mother alive...

So...back to the painting...I don't do portraits it's not really my thing...but Cissy just wouldn't go away...it was as though she was telling me to paint her...I have a few photographs of Cissy as an old lady but they weren't right for the painting...I have one very old photo of her as a young woman and this seemed to be the right one...so I started to paint her, not exactly as she was in the photo as she wasn't smiling...but as she is here...
Cissy was by my side as I began...and she stayed with me throughout the painting process...sometimes correcting me by gently pushing me on...then one day...Cissy was gone...just like that...she had left...
The Troll was away while I painted his Grandmother so it was a surprise for him to see her...I'm not really sure how he felt about seeing her after so long but I think he liked her...
If it had been left to me, I would have refined the picture more and corrected some mistakes...but when Cissy left me, I thought I should stop painting...so this is how it was then...without my usual fiddling!
I know that Cissy wanted me to create this picture for her daughter Lee (MIL) so I wrote a letter to her explaining why it was created and that Cissy wanted her to have it and that I had no idea why...and also that Cissy seemed happy...then The Troll took the painting when he visited the family (on a detour from a work trip) and gave it to his mum...I just hoped that the whole thing didn't upset her or drag nasty things into the present for her!
She wrote back to say that she had been visiting a 'Spiritualist Church' locally and had been trying to contact Cissy for a long time...with some slight success...and that she felt her mother had come (through me) to tell her the answer to something she had been worried about (I don't know what)...and that it was a lovely spiritual gift and she was very happy with it...
Which was a relief! :o)
So...that's the story behind my 'Spirit Painting'...I'm not sure if I enjoyed the experience but I do wonder if anyone else will 'come through the veil' and ask for a portrait...I wouldn't mind doing Marc Bolan...but that's another story...;o)
Bye for now...back to the sick room for me...

Just sitting with my W.I.P...and cat

Hello again everyone...hope you're all enjoying yourselves this fine day :o)
As I'm still not feeling too clever (health wise)...I can't stand at my big easel (called Biffy...yes, my easel has a name and I love him!)...I'm sitting an awful lot, which drives me crazy unless I'm doing something...so...I thought I'd show you what I'm up to...(Works In Progress)

I'm not sure how much to change the pusscat yet...I think he needs a white bib...and something doing with his paws, they look like he needs a pedicure!
And his coat is very untamed!
And there's a lot more to do on the cauldron...as you can see from my poor old battered and rusty specimen...the one in the painting needs ageing!
Shame I don't have a lovely stripey cat to pose for me...but I'll have to make do with my imagination there ;o)
I don't like the bottles much either...they look too 'modern' to me so something to change there...
Can you see how hard it is to just enjoy painting?
And don't you just love my painting table?
We actually sit down to eat at this poor old thing...but I am just an old traditional and have to inherit things which I feel sorry for...and cannot ever think of parting with...
Imagine...
You are an old table which has been good to families for over a hundred years, faithfully standing by to aid in their mealtimes and school work, not to mention all of their creative endeavours...
Then along comes this New Chap...all modern and showy with his shiny surface with scratch resistant coat...and they look at him and cry, 'Oh he's so handsome and clean and his legs are so smooth and straight...we must get rid of Old Faithful this instant and invite New Chap into our lives'
Never going to happen!
I love Old Faithful's fat funny legs and his gouges and paint stains...
Okay...so we can't all fit easily on him anymore and he really does need a good sand and re-veneer...but then I wouldn't want to paint on him...so he will have to stay as he is...bumpy, scratched and well loved...
Bit like me really ;o)
And...so my dear friends...I will bid you all adieu...
Now go and tell something old and well-loved that you 'heart' them and I'll see you again soon...:o)

A Familiar Spell

Hi everyone :o)
I'm peeping my head around the 'sick room' door for a bit as I wanted to show my piece for the EHAG challenge 'Familiar Friends'

I have always had a soft spot for toads, all kinds, I love their warty backs and the way they walk... And we are very lucky here that they find their way into our greenhouse and bury themselves in the plants, as they are incredibly useful creatures for the garden.

Not to mention their magical connections...although I do think they have been given a bad press because of all the licking that went on in the Dark Ages (toads have a secretion on their skins for protection, which someone found could make a person have hallucinations if they licked it...just how anyone ever found that out in the first place, I have no idea...but it was a while back...!)

So anyway...back to the challenge...I'm waffling again (I blame the bug ;o))...
Most folks think of Cats when they hear of a Familiar but my first thought is always Toad...so here he is...his name is Touchwood...and I have to say I'm glad that I finished him well before we caught this lurgy as I would have been sorry to have missed him...

So...now it's your turn for a challenge...
What do think of when you think Familiar Friend?

And on that note I will vanish in a puff of smoke *******

Sometimes you just have one of those days...or weeks...

Anyone got a handkersniff?
We're running out here...
Well it has been a real downer this past few weeks in our Mountain Hovel...
My eldest son brought a right rotter of a bug back with him and then 0h-so generously gave it to his siblings who then passed it around, like a parcel, but no fun opening it ;o) then we all caught another one straight afterwards! :o(

Never mind though...at least it means you get to just 'sit' for a while...none of this awfully disgusting stuff like 'cleaning' or 'ironing' *shudder*...can't do any of that nonsense with a bug ;o)

This charcoal study looks quite a bit like the way I'm feeling at the moment...
You know that feeling you get when you have just gotten over a bug and another one is fast approaching ready to kick you when you're looking the other way?
Why can't they just visit you with a nice chocolate cake instead?
Much more friendly!

I've also had some time to do some painting though, so I can't grumble (too much) and I'll show some of them soon...as soon as I get some more hankies...

Have you all been enjoying yourselves now the weather is being more agreeable?
It's warm here but the high wind keeps whipping up and taking the electrics with it...I know last time it fried all of the computers so we all run to switch everything off when we hear the howling approach!
It's all very 'Wuthering Heights' and terribly dramatic when it whistles round the house!
Although a friend in Ohio tells me that her roof was blown off recently!!!
Wow...that makes ours seem so trivial!

Good thing the houses up the Welsh mountains were built by hand, from rocks dug up out of the surrounding fields (no machinery in those days)...our walls are two feet thick so I think those 'primitive' folks knew a thing or two about strength in high places...they were certainly built to last up here...even though it does mean the houses are all like a reversed Tardis...big on the outside and pokey inside...and the gaps between the stones allow critters to tunnel through the walls and appear in all sorts of places!
I can honestly say now that I am an hexpert ;o) at catching mice!
If you ever need to catch mice (humanely of course) they LOVE peanut butter!
And chocolate...so all of that stuff about cheese is a load of rubbish!
I have even seen a tiny mouse drag a huge chocolate biscuit off...
We have been visited, courtesy of our stone walls and their gaps, by bank voles, shrews (all kinds), field mice, wood mice, giant spiders which are the size of voles! and all manner of lovely things.

At the moment the bats are enjoying all of the moths and flies outside and we have already been visited by the cuckoos, who have come an awfully long way just to fob their offspring off on some poor little bird (they are either very cruel or rather clever, I'm not sure which)
And don't get me started on rats!
Thankfully they all live in the far away fields by the streams!
The moles were very busy through the winter piling up lots of little hills everywhere, so there is absolutely no way you could be 'lawn proud' here, but we scoop up the hills and use them for compost, so we don't mind the visits from the 'Little Gentlemen in Velvet Waistcoats'
Last year was very bad for the swallows, so I'm hoping that they're okay and some make it back...no sign yet though...
We also have adders, which frightened the wits out of me at first... but now I just stand and watch them winding their way through the plants and don't imagine them digging their sharp fangs into everyone you love! ;o) though now the children are older I'm a little less worried as I've read that a bite from an adder is very unlikely to kill an adult (just small children and pets!) and you are more likely to die from being hit by lightning than from being bitten by a snake!
That is SO comforting...;o( and anyway....we are all like lightning rods up here!
We are the first things it goes for...we can watch it move over the sky and see it land over on the other mountains!

Now aren't you all glad you don't live in a run-down old farmhouse in Wales? he he he
Oh dear...I've written a book about it all now haven't I?

Sorry folks...pass me a hankie and I'll be on my way...;o)

Let Sleeping Faeries Lie...

If I sneak in while everyone's looking the other way...no one will be able to moan at me for going AWOL again ;o)...not that anyone would ever do that to a poor old Fae...
I know you are all lovely kind folks deep down and missed me terribly didn't you ?;o)

So...here we are again...how've you all been?
My 'puter is still having the odd problem (or two) and groans when I do anything strenuous, bit like me really, so I know not to push too hard...hence my absence...
Still...it gives me more time to paint...or to try to sort out my stash of projects...
You know the classic image of a crazy painter...with paper, canvas and paints sprawled over every surface?
Me :o)
The ones who slide everything off a table to make room for a meagre snack of bread and cheese?
That's me :o)
The ones who everyone moves away from if they get too close, as they have paint under all of their nails and in their hair...the ones with paintbrushes sticking out of their ears?
Me again :o)
If you have any OCD problems and need to be neat and tidy...you would hate me, truly, madly, deeply!
Everyone here is so used to me they kind of just get on with it and work around me, (granted they have no choice), but it must drive them mad!
Hang on though...I tread on Lego all of the time (and it really hurts!)...and I let them pile their toys into teetering towers all over the place too...and spread games and cards and all sorts of 'educational' things everywhere!
And my musician son has been breeding instruments all over this house so the 'parlour' (ha) has become a recording studio of sorts with wires everywhere (and me on a 'puter) and deafens us all!
You try typing with a 'session' going on!
So...thinking about it...I now do not feel so guilty about my art stuff littering everywhere...
At least it's quiet...well...most of the time ;o)

This painting of a Sleeping Fae was done a while ago...but got lost under things, hence me tidying up!
She has a story to go with her but I won't bore you all with that (just yet!) it's a little sad and I really do not feel like being in sad mood today...there's a beautiful full moon and I'm off to howl at it...right down my musician son's ears...payback time...
Revenge can be oh-so-sweet!
(Oh yes, she's a watercolour in case you were at all interested)
See you all soon...if I can climb over all of this Oh-so-useful-really-necessary-art equipment!

Introducing...Ms Cassandra and Miss Rowan

Ms Cassandra and Miss Rowan (Take a walk in the Dark Woods)

Don’t be scared sweetheart,
You know it isn’t real,
It’s just the shadows in the wood
Which gives the creepy feel.

Don’t be shy my baby,
Don’t hide your little face,
It’s just the whistle of the wind
Which haunts this lovely place.

Don’t you fret my darling,
Your mummy has you tight,
I’ll chase away the spooky things
Upon this moonlit night.

Don’t you worry honey,
Don’t listen to their plea,
I’ll keep you safe from all things scary;
Bug-eyed Monsters, spiders hairy,
Ghosts and Ghouls and Goblin Faery
Do not frighten me!

This creation came about after thinking how much our children rely on 'Mummy' to be a big, strong, safe image.
I love the way which very young children see their parents...as though they are invincible, that they are never afraid of anything…that they will always be able to protect them.
Although as they grow older, sadly they realise that this is not always so…

This creation is my offering for the March EHAG Emporium...if you would like to see more of the artists of EHAG do pop over to their site...it's always Halloween there...what more could you want? ;o)

Ms Cassandra stands at 5 1/2 inches to the top of her head and 6 1/2 inches to the top of her pointy hat.
Although it is difficult to see Miss Rowan (she's hiding), I can assure you that she does have a full face and both her eyes are there! (Even though I then hid one on Mummy's shoulder)
I also thought it would be cute to dress Rowan in bright colours as a contrast to the more sombre garments which adults (witches ;o)) prefer.
Although most of my figures can be gently posed, because of the nature of this pose I have fixed the two figures together...they are, therefore, not pose-able and Mummy can keep hold of Rowan forever...that's love for you...
These figures are completely One-of-a-kind and no moulds have been used or taken from them (so you will have the only ones ;o))

Sorry folks if this sounds like a sales pitch...I'm not after your money...I'm just trying to promote my EHAG friends :o)

And look at me...two posts in two days!
I must be feeling ill ;o)
He he he he he

Let us pray...

Well...I think he looks like he's praying at least...
the only reason I wanted to sketch this pose was because of his arched back...
for some reason...whenever I see a new pose, I size it up for wings :o)
And, as his back is nice and big you could fit a grand pair of wings on it ;o)

Makes me wonder what the poor boy was praying for...
Maybe he's heard all of the comments about his other sketches (and his back)...
Maybe he doesn't want to be a Greek God!
Maybe he's praying that the folks who left the comments about him won't find him ;o)

Or maybe he's just having a quiet moment...
Sometimes it's the quiet moments which help us to really see ourselves...
Sometimes we get lost or caught up in events and feel helpless...
Sometimes we pray to whichever Gods we have faith in to aid us or just to hear us...
Sometimes we just need someone to listen...

So...for now...I think I'll leave you to your own quiet moment...
See you all very soon...

What a rotten Tease!

Hello there everyone...can you believe it...it has been sunny for two whole days!!!
Won't last...

This little picture is a sneak peek of my offering for the March EHAG Emporium
I haven't made anything for a while...been drawing mostly and concentrating on my Faery Book
(You know...the one I've been working on forever ;o))
So I thought that it was about time I did some 'proper' work ;o)
And, surprisingly for 'proper' work...it was great fun...if a little awkward!

I'm not saying any more about it for now...
It is only a tease after all...

So...how are you all?
Is it sunny for you?
Anyone been up to mischief?
Do tell...

The Return of The Greek God!

And as promised...
Here he is from the back ;o)
He has such a broad back that I couldn't fit him on my 'puter...(scanner)
So I'll just leave you to imagine the rest ;o)
Also, he does have feet but they wouldn't fit on either...although they were quite small for such a big lad!
Now...from the amount of feedback he has been receiving here and on The Hive and Facebook...I have come to the conclusion that, although we live in a modern society...with mod-cons and very feminist attitudes...
We all still seem to hanker after a good old fashioned Greek God...
Can't think why ;o)

Now go fan yourselves with a wet cloth and I'll see you all next time...with maybe a girl?
Or...maybe I'll do a Standing Greek God?
He he he he he

Could he be a Greek God?

I'm not going to harp on about how long it's been since I visited here...you see...this time I have a 'proper' excuse!
My poor old gal (the 'puter) has been coughing and spluttering for a while...and over the past few weeks we thought she might not make it...but...
She has had a little R&R and even some ER (no, not that show!) and 'Touch wood & whistle' she seems to be okay...(hope so anyway!)

So...I thought this time I would give the spotlight to the Blokes...
I've put up lots of Ladies on this blog so now I'm going to devote a little space to the Fellas...

This chap struck me as being a God (Can't think why ;o) )
I think he would be a little too...well...big...for a Fae...
Although...you never know...just cos' I've not met one this big doesn't mean there ain't one this big!

I can't really see him flying around the woodland...although...he might make a cool Angelic type...maybe a Dark Angel...
I think I may have to sit down and have a rest now...after all this exertion...;o)
I'm feeling a little faint...wafting my fan quickly...and no...it wasn't the model who made me faint...he's not my type...
I like them Tall, dark and rich...just like my taste in chocolate really...
Oh yes...and stupid helps...
He he he he he...
Good thing my Giant Troll doesn't read this anymore...;o)
(Next time I'll show you him from the back...the model not the Giant Troll)

Smudgy Fae...(could be a song title)

Hello folks...as you can see I've done a female this time :o)
And she's all smudgy and charcoaly just as they always are...can't do 'clean' when you use the lovely black sticks...good thing my sofa's aren't white!
I think this one wants me turn her into a Fae...she looks that type...what do you think?
She's a little squashed on the screen as I sketch in A3 and my scanner is A4 so I have to squish them in to fit...(saves stitching them, hate doing that)

Hey, get me...two blog posts with a 'smallish' gap between them...wonders will never cease!

Also while I'm here (having been given a lovely bug from my adorable sprogs!)...I see that I have some new followers...'Hello and welcome to the wood...mind your heads on the falling branches :o)'...Well...now that's made me feel even more guilty for being so neglectful on this blog...(If you ever read any of my other blogs you would see that this is a common occurrence with me...I take on far too much and just can't carry it all...so something always falls out of my arms...I promise that I'll try to be good from now on (crossing fingers behind my back) and do more here...
Did anyone really believe that?
Didn't think so...
Can you believe that it's now March?
The birds are all frisky outside...little sweeties...they're all so glad to be alive...funny how you don't hear about depression in the wild critters isn't it...mmm

Who is he?

I'm one of those people who can't just sit...
If I'm watching the TV I have to also be 'doing' something...this annoys everyone around me I'm sure...but they're probably used to me now anyway :o)

My favourite thing to do whilst I sit, is sketch...and charcoal is my favourite thing to make a right mess with...
I love the way the blackness creeps up on the white page and takes over it...
Most of the time the result is just a mess...sometimes though, a face will start to appear and after a while, I start to see them looking back at me, urging me to help them escape from the darkness.

This face appeared on my page amongst all of the scratchings and rubbings (which annoy everyone) and I thought that I would share him here, as I would like to know who he is...
That may sound slightly odd I know, but I feel that he is trying to tell me to bring him out further from this rough sketch and 'make' him into something...trouble is, I'm not sure who he really is...

I like the strangely wistful gaze he has...and my first thought was to make him a Fae...then I thought that he might be better as a God...or I could add horns and make him a faun...you see what I mean...I haven't got a clue really...

I think I would like him to have story which fits him...
He seems a little sad maybe?
Or maybe he's in love?

The picture didn't really fit my scanner (I sketch quite big) but I've just managed to squeeze him in...some of his hair has gone but I think he's showing enough to get an idea...even in this very rough sketch.

So folks I have a request from you...
Who does he feel like to you?
What do you think he wants from me?
I'm not saying he will get what he wants though...
I don't hold with paintings getting their own way...no Dorian Gray works here ;o)
I'm just curious...

If you click the image you'll get a better look although he is much darker in real life...

And thank you in advance for your help :o)

I HATE Valentine's Day!

 Well...it's THAT day again...the one where folks get all upset if they aren't loved :o(
How bizarre is that?
Why does the date dictate how much love a person has or gives?
I HATE this day...but I LOVE almost everyone and everything...so...from me...
You are all loved...promise...someone, somewhere loves you...
You may know them...
You may not...
One day...you will...it just takes a little patience...
So...lean into the 'puter screen and I'll blow you a BIG Elf kiss...
Just so that you feel loved...(*blow*)

I'm not christian so I don't do the whole V day thing...but my Giant Troll does celebrate the Roman equivalent...(sometimes...if he feels the need)...he's a little 'Old Fash' my Troll...and he will insist in writing doggerel poetry for me...sigh...you know how big Trolls are...how can an Elf stop a Troll?
Needless to say...it made me laugh...
I s'pose that's love for you...;o)

Oh well...for those celebrating...may love trickle over your toes like the lovely stream in springtime...(?)
For those who are V-Grinches (like me)...kiss the mirror and say 'I love you'...
Well if it was good enough for Oscar Wilde...:o)

The Snow House

Hello everyone...hope you're all enjoying the New Year!
It's still a little dreary here...I don't think the sun has shone for months...apart from when it bounced off the snow!
Still...the fire is blazing and the sooty smell is filling the house ;o)
Ah...the joys of the countryside in winter.
I thought you might like to see my poor greenhouse...just before New Year...

I know it's not the best time to be thinking about planting this year's veggies and herbs...
But at least I can get the doors open now and chop off all of the poor frost-bitten growth :o(

One good thing to come out of the enforced 'indoor activities' is that I have had less in the way of distractions to keep me from painting...although it doesn't take much to distract me...
But making a fire and keeping it alight all day means the tiny sculpting has been put on hold until the sun comes back to us...polymer clay and soot are not a good mix!

Charcoal on the other hand...no problem ;o)
I could make my own!

I'll try to post some pics soon...sooty fingerprints included...
Happy New Year folks!