Steam Train to Salisbury

An early start saw us hurrying down Warwick Road to the railway station. We needed to catch the 8 am train in order to get to Victoria soon after nine o'clock. We had plenty of time and soon the steam train Oliver Cromwell was brought in by an English Electric Co-Co and that was a bonus.

Soon we were off and steamed along at a good speed. We stopped at Staines and Brookwood for more passengers and again to take on water at Overton. At Salisbury, we alighted and watched as more water was taken on. Then we had a lovely sunny day in Salisbury and even managed to walk around to the water meadows and see the view that Constable painted.

Finally it was time to come home and the train kept perfect time all the way back to Victoria. A lovely day!

Ramblin' Rose

The rose painting was difficult and I would have had much more control with pastel. But watercolour does convey lightness better.

Lovely frog by the garden steps and two snails mating on the laburnum tree.

Bees

Watching bees in the garden is fascinating. There are many different sorts and not at all easy to identify. The red-tailed bumble-bee nests behind the grid in the wall below the kitchen floor and the white-tailed bumble-bee nests in the roof above my bedroom window. There are mason bees in cardboard tubes above the car port and a leaf-cutter bee has a tunnel in a plant pot in the greenhouse. It lines the tunnel with segments of leaves that it neatly cuts and carries.




The phlomis is an excellent bee plant and I do like to watch the bees land on the lower petal and push their way into the flower. Then as they do, the flower gets its reward as the stamens bend down and press the anthers onto the bee's furry back leaving a dusting of pollen. Off the bee flies to another flower where it will leave a trace of male pollen on the female stigma and so fertilise it and enable seeds to form. Simply wonderful!

Yellow Loosestrife

A very hot and sunny day and the shadows were strong when I painted this plant. For convenience, I picked the flower and put it in a small glass vase. The wind lept movng it and finally blew it over breaking the glass. I carried on painting as the flowers rapidly wilted! So much easier with a camera.

Earlier, I cycled to Hatfield Forest along the Flitch Way. It was good to see Geoff again and also Jackie, but she looked pale and I hope she is not ill again.

Painting Nature

Are my paintings improving? They still seem heavy handed and laboured, but at least I am painting from nature and not copying photographs. I went back to my favourite artists and looked at the books by Edith Holden, Janet Marsh and Benjamin Perkins. Such accuracy, detail and colour! I could never aspire to such work.

Bellflower

I am still managing to draw something every day and am currently wrestling with ellipses. Just for a change I painted this bellflower from life.

Cafetiere

I am still wrestling with ellipses and cylinders. I gave myself a harder task by then attempting to painting this cafetiere as glass and metal are difficult in watercolour. It came out quite well though.

Hawkweed

Drawn and painted from life. It made me appreciate the skill of artists like Rev Keble-Martin and Marjorie Blamey. It is not bad, but still lacks the freshness and rapid execution that I seek.