Whispering grass

What stories do the fields and fells hold of times gone past? Battle fought, love declared and lost, joy or terror? What do they witness and record?

When the grass whispers its secrets do you listen through the layers? Do you hear the histories of those who trod before?

I have been building on this piece all week, adding watery layers of inks, stamping and writing - trying to capture that light when the sun shines through the rain and the landscape melts and shape shifts in the distorted view - as if Mother Nature herself is stirring under her earthy blanket.

And as she shifts I like to think that the murmurs of the past, written and recorded by the fairies, sneak out through the grasses to pass on a quiet reminder of what had gone before - one that you can only hear if you're in tune with the landscape and believe...

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Something a little different from me this week for Paint Party Friday.

Landscrape

What's occuring?

I've come over all Welsh. Tidy.

Well, perhaps that's a slight exaggeration, but this is the first of two pieces inspired by the singing in the valleys, the daffodils and the burly men playing rugby like their life depended on it. I'm also writing in a Welsh accent - can you tell?

So, while I was seeking inspiration for the Postcard Challenge - I found a photograph of Snowdonia online - one of those magical scenes where the sun has managed to find a way through the stormy skies lighting up the landscape from underneath the clouds in a slightly other-worldly fashion.

It's been a while since I attempted to paint the great outdoors and so to make it doubly hard on myself I decided not to use a paintbrush! I got my palette knife out and dragged and stippled the acrylics then touched up with oil pastels. The rocks and dry stone wall though had a secret ingredient to help add a little texture....

So, this could be my postcard... but I've had another slightly more ridiculous idea that I am about to attempt... If you come back tomorrow and there's not one of the Bee Gees on here then it all went horribly wrong...

You're getting this for Paint Party Friday on a Thursday night (it's that new blog party thing - you must have heard of it?!)

PS - See that button on my sidebar... the one at the top... ?

We must take the current when it serves

There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.
William Shakespeare (from Julius Caesar)

What a wonderful thought from the old bard and such a simple philosophy given such poetic treatment - he was a clever fellow wasn't he? I thought I'd find a nice seaworthy quote to float alongside my art today and this one splashed me right in the face as soon as I started looking.

Don't you just love the sea? This piece reminds me of my holiday last summer in Cornwall. When I read that the Three Muses challenge for this week was 'water' I knew I had to stretch myself and attempt what I've always found impossible - crashing waves. Lick your lips... Can you taste the salt spray? It's a bit of wild day on this stretch of coastline. I don't like the look of those clouds...

I bought two large canvas boards a week or so ago and they'd sat in my lounge all white and pristine for too long. One became The Mad Hatter and the second this. Can I let you into a secret? I'm a bit pleased with it. I love the texture, brooding sky and churning water. I got nice and sticky glueing and moulding tissue paper for that rugged effect. I also threw in a little bit of that old book I'm slowly ripping to shreds. Most is covered up with paint, but if you get in close you might just snatch a word or two. I used a palette knife for much of it too which is new for me and made me feel like a proper artist!

I like to create art that gives you something different depending on where you view it from. From a distance I hope this shows the power of the sea, the crashing waves and heavy looming sky. Then, close up are the little hidden secrets, words floating in the waves whispering stories onto the shore and tiny fragments of colour.

Perhaps this is a bit like me. From a distance I may appear as one thing, but get to know me, bring me close and take a peek into my soul and you'll find out so much more.

How very deep and philosophical for a Monday evening!