Surrounded by the lull
Of the lapping amniotic salty sea
~
On a calm day blue green
Serene as a lullaby
~
In a storm she crashes
And collapses the beach defences
~
Triangle mountain transcends
The violent fickle pull of the tide
He manifests new pathways
~
Pierces the clouds of self abnegation
And affirms my right
To the light of creation
~
Home of the sun god Lugh
Sharp granite peak of enlightenment
Pointer to the stars
~~~
this gap in time
a space. between
soft greys and
coming greens
a time to
change. pace
and watch a snail
trail on a square
window pane
a blur of dulled
consciousness
from pain meds
mirroring
condensation
on mid winter
dawn’s triple
glazed thrall
sudden gusts
of black dust
motes of
starlings
or small
songbirds
burst forth
from spidery
sycamore skeletons
waving bony
branch fingers
across the
gentle soft
grey sky
with luminous
liminal spaces
watched from
inside a
hazy cloud
of codeine
and caffeine
by bright globes
of whitest
geraniums
startling
against
these winter
hibernating
greens
Like the kite my sight
Is sharp and on the air
With flair I soar
And shift and twist to show
My colours caught by
The golden glow from far below
And like the otter in cold water
I roll and glide
Down slippery lime green slimy slide
Between two elements
With natural ease
No one else to need to please
And the haunting oyster catcher’s call
That fills the wide blue sky
From wall to wall with tuneless song
Where I belong
Between the sea and pebbled beach and sky
A painted brushstroked flock
Behind, within me, my ear and hand and eye
Power is out
Cell phone/ mobile will die soon!
So glad we have 3 stoves and plenty of firewood!
No pump though, so it’s only warm next to the fire! We have a solid fuel kitchen stove too, so we can cook on that – and a gas bottle and 2 rings as well. Luckier than most.
Stay safe and warm 🍀❄️
(A draft poem, with thanks to Beatrix Potter )
Do you remember those little brown books?
Hard backs with shiny slip covers, or perhaps the slip covers
came later. I remember the soft suede feel of the boards.
Dainty pastel roundels of our woodland friends.
Nidderdale and swallowtail laundry maid hedgehog
in a bonnet. Running down the green swathe.
Rabbits in waistcoats with tall pointed ears.
Defiant against the landlord.
And bold red Nutkin with the fluffy tail.
Memories of a fifties childhood. Arcane springboard
for a lifetime passion for our small wild neighbours
who share this shrinking Earth
Sun blushed leafless willows
Family
Such a lovely afternoon with family from Cardiff and Abergavenny
I have been away from home, visiting family and being a Granny in Wales, for two months, as well as a ten day break in Portugal
So I’ve been away from my studio and not painting
During the last couple of weeks I have begun to crave paint and canvas. So I bought a few materials from local shops and made these two small works on the floor in my daughter’s spare bedroom. In between visits, and in between layers, they’ve been drying in the shed.
My bedroom at my daughter’s home has sliding doors out onto the garden, with views into the trees beyond. And a view out of the side windows to a stand of Scotch Pines. From my bed I can see both dawn and dusk through these trees.
The paintings are not at all a representation of these photos of views. In fact they have more of an essence of a walk in the woods. I even embedded a fern leaf in the paint, removed it the next day to leave its impression, then rolled over it again with more layers.
However, some of the colours are there. A friend of mine said of these two latest pieces that they were a return for me of a ‘confident enigma’. I like that
Dawn:
Dusk:
These 2 are each 60cm square and have undergone a change of heart, or a facelift or a renaissance! Formerly they were darker and mostly orange and quite ‘loud’ with a title to reflect that mood : ‘Tolerate chaos’- the title taken from the 10 well known painting rules of the Bay artist, Richard Diebenkorn.
Now they are calmer and paler, with a new title, ‘Formerly chaos’, perhaps with a nod to us being in control of our moods along with our palette if we so choose!
These 2 are a bit bigger, at 80cm square. They have had a similar transformation using a pale palette of pale ochres, yellows and some very pale blue. Their former title was ‘Oceans, a tipping point’ – part of a series of 5 canvases. They haven’t got new individual names yet
Thus one is ‘Musing’, also 80cm square plus frame, painted 2 years ago on my furst residency at Stiwdio Maelor in Corris in Wales and then exhibited at a group show at Terre Verte Gallery in Cornwall. Home now from her adventures
These 2, ‘Sunshine 1&2’ have also just returned from Cornwall and are also each 80cm square plus frame
donegallizdoyle 