Winter birds, new paintings

I've been working on some new watercolours of birds. I've used traditional birds, a Robin, Blue Tit and a Wren.

The birds are all sitting within designs using foliage and fruits, inspired by Japanese design, ivy, mistletoe and pine branches.

s.
I wanted to use a lot of colour and also a sparkle with gold and silver touches, so the background is a blend of blues, pinks, purples, yellows and greens and mixed with the snow falling over the scene are some silver flakes.

Winter Exhibition at Vestry House.

The Waltham Forest Arts Club has a winter exhibition on at the Vestry House Museum at the moment. I have 2 small paintings in there and was invigilating on Sunday.
It's a small space in a quirky local museum, but it is valuable in being one of the few spaces available in the borough to show art work.

There is a range of work on show from video, printmaking, 3D, painting and photography. My paintings are imaginary winter landscapes referencing popular images used at this time of year to sell all sorts of wares. But there is something about these sorts of landscapes that appeals to me and others I presume. Perhaps something about the wildness or remoteness of these spaces and the sense of an idyllic place somewhere that we might visit.

Katja was showing a Memory Game using a number of artists images reflecting on the borough

Julie caves is showing a beautifully coloured painting Twilight Pauline Evans ceramic piece Lyme Avenue made me smile and DNA Dilemma an installation by Anna Spain was intriguing.

Winter snow

Well we have had the most snow here in London for about 20 years apparently. Transport ground to a halt, schools closed along with many businesses. A great time to be out and about taking photographs if you could get anywhere.




My long time haunt, the local churchyard, was just the place to walk to and see the snow scene. The landscape or cityscape always looks so different under a blanket of snow and the light of course is very different. The trees looked particularly lovely, especially the yew and the conifers. A heavy snow storm came down as I was taking photos and short videos and I loved that sense of being in a snow globe.

Snow and Christmas lights

The weather has turned colder, I caught the snow on the way to the tube. Leyton looking pretty bleak in these images.
The Christmas lights are on in Walthamstow, not that there are many, this blue net of lights strung along the lime trees brings a bit of a show. Interestingly with the lights of the shopping centre behind we could imagine we were somewhere more continental.