Pencils today

Went on another bush walk and talk this morning and took some not very colourful shots of bush and stream. Some good basis for paintings though.

Got home and continued working on Garden Rocks on darfting film and my pencil sharper jammed with a broken lead. Can't seem to get it started again. This is the start of the picture, 8x11".

Here is my holder made with cut-down cardboard rolls - such as toilet paper - stuck with acrylic gel medium to a board.

I Have just finished making this and glad I did. These are pencils I'm using. The rest of my pencils are in a box and its lid - about 16" by 8". I have lined it with bubble wrap and transport my pencils if going elsewhere with them.

I love seeing all the colouras in the rainbow laid out side by side and until I got too many and had to make the holder I worked from the box. Tricky to balance on my messy desk though.

As I got more pencils, some kept getting nuried and the ones on top seemed likely to roll off.

That's one good thing about working in a carpetted room.

catch up

Aaah. It's been a while since I logged an update.

Starting with the future. Never very organised.

I am booking in to 2 pastel classes at the mairangi arts centre one in Septamber and one in November - Didn't that back-pay I haven't told Alan about come in handy?

The classes are two days each and with Larry Blovits and Tony Allain. The first Landscapes and the second colour and light.

And what I have been doing?

I did a portrait of Darren (son-inLaw)- my first in CP and my first drawing on drafting film. I did this for our Sandra's birthday 3rd August. It is 8x11inches.

I have been doing some bush walks for two hours on the past 3 Saturdays - this is part of the local colleges community education programme and is called Bush Walk nad Talk. It is terrific. I am finally learning the names of the trees and I have learnt how to tell the differences between manuka and Kanuka. I knew the Kanuka were bigger but the also have softer leaves. Manuka - well they're prickly. They also flower at any time during the year and Kanuka only in summer. Manuka have woody seed pods, much bigger than kanuka.

Well. Another lady and I like taking photos of fungi. She and I are generally at the tail end of the group of 7 and crouching in the undergrowth. Here is a photo of two lots of fungi - Earth star and parasol. Also a small hodded orchid - this is 6 inches high so the flower head is barely an inch.

Little Xavier - our grandson, had a sore ear. When I called around he was all grizzly and hanging on to Sandra. I aske dhim wha twas the matter and he came over, holding his ear.

"Gamma. I've got a big ear!" After telling me all about it he was happy enough and we played together.

All for now.