This was Morston yesterday all big open skies and autumn sun. Although there were rather too many people around enjoying the day and/or getting out before the impending lockdown.
I think that if I didn’t blog today I’d never do it again. My habitual Monday blogging has been disrupted by one thing or another including Pilates which I’ve just been able to start again after the lockdown hiatus. Last Monday I was delivering paintings to Norwich for the autumn exhibition.
It would be nice to sell them all as happened at the summer one. But there is one certainty when selling paintings and that is that that sales are completely unpredictable. It is pure coincidence whether people will visit who like your work.
I also have a little display at Richards antique shop; all pots that I have got from him so there is a nice synergy there
We have one more weekend at Cley this week. I’ve been trying a few landscapes especially for Cley. Although I have sold a few paintings there it seems the predominant interest is in landscapes reflecting the local area salt marshes and coastline. I am sure 90% of visitors wear walking boots and like something to remind them of north Norfolk.
It is such a different thing to painting flowers; I think I will persevere for a while as I do have plenty of flowers:
I can’t believe it is so long since I’ve written that I’ve passed my first year anniversary of my transplant - 5th September- without writing about it. A year seems symbolic in some way, but is actually a good date to get to as it is over the period when you are a highest risk of rejection. I go back next week for a check up. My leg swelling and general bloatedness seems at last to be abating so I feel a lot better about that.
This week I also have my second cataract operation which will be a relief. I am so looking forward to being able to see properly through both eyes, if not the procedure itself. My last one went without any problems at all and I will be able to stop using the eye drops today( albeit starting again on Thursday) The garden keeps on giving; the tomatoes and borlotti beans being my favourites. I now have a giant courgette - I’m not clear about whether that becomes a marrow or if that’s a different plant altogether- and some baby ones which are edible.
But I can’t take credit for those incredible figs very generously given by a neighbour and eaten both as they are and baked into a delicious fig and honey cake for Suzi, Aaron and little Emma who all visited for lunch.
We had more guests for lunch the next day so they benefitted from the rest of the fig cake as well as a dark chocolate and olive oil cake. Olive oil might sound strange but it was light from whipped egg whites and a slight crust on top collapsed into a rather sophisticated pudding with creme fraiche :-)
That was a goodbye to my friend Jane the potter and painter who has moved to Scotland and who I will miss being able to paint with (and have over for lunch)
Dahlias are still blooming with about eight different varieties some more successful than others. One big yellow spiky one popped up last week that I’d completely forgotten was there. I hope to have a painting to post next week if I can refocus from my landscapes.
I have been looking at a lot of landscapes; I particularly love Joan Eardley who I've written about before on here but today here are some Stuart Shills who is very different. I like his very abstracted landscape paintings:
I hope this blog doesn’t go haywire when I post it and it may seem a bit disjointed as I’ve struggled with everything this morning including font size taking on a life of it’s own and whole paragraphs moving to a different part of the page of their own accord!