Inspiration in Hayle, Cornwall

Godrevy lighthouse, Cornwall

Cliffs near Godrevy , Cornwall

Sunset at Hayle

 

I am enjoying a late summer break in our beautiful Cornwall – and it is not disappointing!I find it very hard not to be ‘doing’ , so once we are back from a short trek with the reluctant Reggie, who finds everything slightly anxiety inducing, I find myself at the p.c transforming the photographs into prints and images for decor . Can’t help it . It’s almost obsessive , but there are worst things in life. I have produced these images for the blog – they are lower resolution than those produced for the sites that will sell my artwork – just to avoid plagiarism!

Let me know if any spark your interest – if you are UK based and want an image producing here, then contact me and I can do that!

 

on lots of products at Society6

 

 

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I am thrilled with how my latest foray into printing has gone – I sell my artwork mainly via print on demand sites in America and Australia, but wanted to sell some physical prints myself in the U.K marketplace – I thought I could use my Etsy storefront to be a marketplace as well as talk to some local galleries. I have yet to put all ten of the artworks I chose on the Etsy site  – there’s always something to do! But I will. I was concerned that U.K buyers might get put off buying from USA because of the cost of postage, so this was my driver to get organised and produce some of my back catalogue of artwork for sale here. I chose mainly a 30 x 40 cm format so they can slip into standard frames easily sourced, and printed onto a lovely 350 g.s.m watercolour paper which has a slight texture. The result is phenomenal! I am so delighted with my print babies! I wish I could show you the quality ! Wish me luck in getting these out into the world – I am out of my comfort zone talking to buyers at galleries and elsewhere! But it’s time to put my foot in the water and try a little harder in the real world!

Please let me know if you would like to purchase any, and I will sort out the listing either via Etsy or direct using Paypal.

Etsy print link to shop

How we spend our days

 

This little collection is taken from the pages I have at Society6 – this is where I spend my days.  I have discovered that I have aphantasia – a brain wiring which excludes visual memory. This explains why I love to spend my time making picutres – my mind is otherwise blank! It means I can’t see pictures of my family in my head – or remember places visually – and that spills over to me not really remembering past very well. I live very much in the present. I didn’t know my wiring had a name until recently – but the knowledge sort of helps explain some of my idiosynchronicity. Welcome to my world!

If you like any of the mini prints here, then head over to Society6 and discover them there   Framed mini prints at Society6

Merry Christmas

Season’s greetings from Nottingham, England  – it’s been a full year here – as we navigate our way into my husband’s retirement, and see the youngest son start his foray into teaching we have had the inevitable roller coaster of highs and lows.  Into the mix goes my decision to try and manage my health conditions without the support of prescriotion medicine – don’t ask me why but after decades of regulating my body with the addition of anti depressants for pain management, I really wanted to discover life without them- more rollercoaster fun!

 

Wishing everyone peace and goodwill – remember that bit and the holidays will bring its own rewards.

 

 

Autumn shots

The cygnets on Attenborough nature reserve are growing up now – I saw them first when they were teeny – lovely to keep up with them.

The tree is my brothers favourite on one of my dog walks – and therefore deserves some attention – I took a photo and then altered it digitally.

The berries speak for themselves.

 

…and a poem to share – not mine!

The Present

For the present there is just one moon,

though every level pond gives back another.

But the bright disc shining in the black lagoon,

perceived by astrophysicist and lover,

is milliseconds old. And even that light’s

seven minutes older than its source.

And the stars we think we see on moonless nights

are long extinguished. And, of course,

this very moment, as you read this line,

is literally gone before you know it.

Forget the here-and-now. We have no time

but this device of wantonness and wit.

Make me this present then: your hand in mine,

and we’ll live out our lives in it.

-Michael Donaghy

Brief encounter

It isn’t rare to have an encounter with deer here in the Highlands of Scotland – and in our village at Kinlochleven they frequently come down to the river, or sojourn on the green for a short while. I have been taking out my new rescue Patterdale morning , noon and night – we are more often out than in, and yesterday evening we met a beautiful young stag . He had arrived on the green just as we did, bounded onto the bridge and leapt over following the line of the river.  We caught up with him – the light was still hanging around although it was past ten at night – the village was quiet. Reggie and I stood rapt as the young stag was totally still in our presence. It was as though he had invited us into his space. And then he bowed his head to eat some grass – I bowed mine back – and we mimicked one anothers gestures twice more. Reggie was as quiet as a mouse – no barking, no growling, no pulling – just a three way dialogue of enjoying the meeting. Extraodinary. And uplifting – my spirits are needing more of this.

The place I want to get back to

is where

in the pinewoods

in the moments between

the darkness

and first light

two deer

came walking down the hill

and when they saw me

they said to each other, okay,

this one is okay,

let’s see who she is

and why she is sitting

on the ground like that,

so quiet, as if

asleep, or in a dream,

but, anyway, harmless;

and so they came

on their slender legs

and gazed upon me

not unlike the way

I go out to the dunes and look

and look and look

into the faces of the flowers;

and then one of them leaned forward

and nuzzled my hand, and what can my life

bring to me that could exceed

that brief moment?

For twenty years

I have gone every day to the same woods,

not waiting, exactly, just lingering.

Such gifts, bestowed,

can’t be repeated.

If you want to talk about this

come to visit. I live in the house

near the corner, which I have named

Gratitude.

(c) Mary Oliver

 

Serene- :Loch Affic

It doesn’t get more serene than early morning by the Loch in Glen Affric, in the highlands of Scotland.

My response to the Daily Challenge prompt, but actually it was taken by my husband.  But  I was there!

link to this weeks challenge

Before the fall

 

This is a wonderful spot for a picnic – there we were on the slope overlooking this little river at Glen Etive last Sunday, watching a fantastic stag watching us as he dominated his landscape.  My husband is a real photographer – whereas I am a beginner – and as is his wont, he finished his sandwich and jumped up with tripod and camera to capture a one in a thousand shot . He didn’t manage it. I heard him before I saw him, in one glorious arc lose his footing and fall face forwards down the slope . My consciousness sort of disappeared I think. I moved, found myself next to him without knowing how, looking at a very deep gash gushing blood from just above his right eye. I didn’t know where else to check. He was horribly shocked from having to drink in his own blood as it flooded into his mouth. Horror scene.

Cut to the following day – put together like Jack that tumbled down the hill by a gorgeous young doctor at Fort William ,  he was wearing his stitches like a veteran.

What surprised me most was how physical shock attacks – I was functioning enough to cope on the hill – made a compress, found a sleeping stranger down the road to check him over- drove an hour and a half to the hospital – but the following day I was  a wreck. Cognitively even more impaired than I normally am in a morning it  was back to hospital to check out his dizziness. All o.k. on that front , but suddenly my back seizes up in chronic pain. Bizarre.

A week later and we are all good. And I am even more aware of how lucky I am to have him here with me. But when we go picnicking up waterfalls again, and we will, I think we will equip ourselves with a phone to message and possibly a flare. Often there is no signal up those hills and if he hadn’t been able to walk back down, we would have been in a much worse predicament. We are sensible , we have all the walking gear – but that doesn’t exclude accidents that can turn into nightmares. As the Scouts say ‘ Be Prepared.’

Some of the shots that my husband has taken in the past – and some of my own – are available in the sites that can be accessed on the pages in my blog if anybody cares to take a look! I love his photography and they can make great subjects for my work at Society 6 and Redbubble which goes onto lots of products. Here’s one I made earlier!

Soft and hard, wet and dry

 

When we are taking photographs – that’s we as in my husband and I – we look not just at the composition , but take in the whole effect. And texture is one of the effects we both love to capture. This is not mine, it belongs to my husband. But he has given me permission to share with you for the challenge this week to examine texture. I could go on and on. But I won’t.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/textures/

A tree cemetery

I love trees, they shape my thoughts and feelings and connect me to the wonder of a living universe.  So when we came across this bizarre scene in Glengarry , West Highlands, Scotland, we took a double take.  It had a very eerie atmosphere, creating a possible backdrop for a Dr Who episode. Should I let them know?

Prompt: Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge, unusual

 

Please do not reuse photographs on my site. If you are interested in purchasing images, I sell via print on demand sites , so please contact me.