Drawing Runner Beans

As my germinating peas did not survive being dropped on the way to my art lesson, I have put some more in another jam jar to germinate and while I am waiting I began to draw some germinating runner beans. 

I have already drawn the seed but I decided to do some leaves.  First after I had decided on which view was best I took a photo against a black background.  This background means all the detail stands out and the edges are sharp.  I don't use this photo to draw from but to remind me of placement as the plant changes.

I next did a sketch; I'm afraid I didn't take a photo of my first sketch which was just a mass of lines, angles and boxes but I did take one of it after I had tidied it up and lifted out the excess graphite.

I then traced the sketch onto tracing paper and then transferred it to some hot press paper ready for the colour. 

If you want to see how the tracing is done please follow this link to youtube: Gaynor Dickeson on tracing, where she explains and demonstrates the technique very clearly.

I then started by filling in my dark tones very lightly, taking note of the colours as I did so.  I mainly used greys and indigo to start with but then I began to fill in the greens, remembering to leave large spaces of white for the light which hits the leaf.

Its not finished yet and its just an initial drawing before I do the actual composition but it has given me a good feel for how the leaf sits and how its constructed.     

Hedgehogs and frosts.

The second hedgehog that we found on our lawn re-appeared a day later not looking well.  I took it straight to the local vet as Little Prickles had told us the first hedgehog had died. 

The vet treated the second one and then passed it to Little Prickles for care but sadly it died too. 

It is suspected that both were poisoned; the first one smelled of cleaning fluid and its thought that someone in our area had cleaned a patio or deck and left the fluid out and as it has been quite dry in this part of Hampshire the hedgehogs were looking for water and drank some of the fluid.  They only need a small drop to be fatal.  The other possibility is slug pellets of course; these can kill hedgehogs too. 

In the absence of our hedgehogs, I have been out each day hunting for slugs and finding plenty them.  I'm afraid I can't handle them without using a disposable glove: they are just too yucky. 

As the weather people say we are about to have a cold snap the Engineer has put some protection over my seedlings, its just left over plastic roofing from when we built our log store but once we have dealt with the open ends it should do the job.  It won't need to be on for long I hope.

Frugal frost protection.

I hope the gardeners among you in the UK are ready for the forecast frost, and please look after the hedgehogs.  Through dry spells its best to leave out a bowl of water for them so they won't need to go looking for it, although they really shouldn't be given milk to drink.

Hubble Telescope Celebration Event

 

Its been 25 years since the Hubble space telescope was launched.  To celebrate this anniversary there have been various events around the UK.  The Su+2 household went along to one at the Winchester Science Centre and planetarium : it was for invited guests only and the top level of the Centre was open so everyone could have a play on the hands on science stuff that is there. 
As with any thing that is well used the exhibits were a little tired.  

Interactive Colon

   

This is the interactive colon.  You choose a food, put in your age and follow the food through the digestive system by scanning your ticket at various points. The Teen picked sausages and said she was 69 years old.

Entering the Colon

 Luckily the colon wasn't completely interactive; there was no smell to go with some of the sounds.  There was one point however, where you had a group of toilet lids and once you got to them you opened up the one with the flashing lights which would enable you to feel what your poo would be like after eating a diet containing sausages.  I was the only one brave enough to do it.  Yuck, it did feel horribly realistic. 
  
After a while everyone was offered some nibbles and drinks, both the Teen and the Engineer were delighted with what was on offer.  I wasn't as I don't like iced doughnuts.  Oh well better for my colon no doubt.


After all this we were called in to the main event in the Planetarium, a talk on the Hubble space telescope, its initial problems and how they were fixed and finally what it could see.  This was excellently presented with just the right balance of science and humour. 

Then we went back out to the main hall to see one of the new images from the Hubble which was being unveiled for the first time.

I eventually managed to get a shot of it without anyone standing in front of it.

All in all it was a good evening, not too long as there were a lot of quite young children there who enjoyed playing with the science toys, the adults did too.  We then drove home through the beautiful Meon valley countryside. 
 

Hedgehog number 2, peas and Epiphany

We have not heard from Little Prickles yet about the hedgehog so we are hoping no news is good news. 

However, when the Engineer got home from work today and started getting dinner ready, he noticed there was another hedgehog on the lawn.  It was just sitting there not moving so when I got home we went and checked it out.  It didn't curl up when I touched it, but it did when I picked it up.

It didn't seem injured so I popped it back into the stand of bamboo that we know one or the other hedgehog has a nest in.  After a while it wondered back deep into the bamboo and we lost sight of it.  We are hoping it's ok.  It was smaller than the original hedgehog so maybe it was female. 

Before the breakage..........

I went to my usual Wednesday art class this morning and had a bit of an Epiphany about peas!  I had been struggling to get the drawing of a pea quite right; the art teacher suggested a few things and I had an "of course" moment; the pea wasn't a perfect if slightly wonky sphere, it was lumpy and bumpy especially as it had roots and shoots sticking out of it. This fact was being overwritten by the logic bit of my brain that says "peas are round" - my peas aren't round at all.  The fact that I had managed to drop the jam jar, shattering it into about a million pieces may have had something to do with it.

My pea shoots are now looking a little sorry for themselves after their rough treatment but the ones on the paper are looking much better.  As you can see from my sketch book page below, I am trying to get my colour mixes right, as well as tone and shape.  These little things are quite a challenge.  I have tried to do the leaves using greens and greys rather than any browns or blues, although I have used a touch of blue for the edges here and there.


Copyright Su+2

These pea plants are very enjoyable to draw; I am looking forward to being able to put the entire thing together to show an botanically accurate image of a germinating pea.

What are you other artists finding a challenge to draw or paint at the moment?





 

 

Hedgehog

When I got home from work today and looked out of my kitchen window I saw what I at first thought was a beige rag on the lawn.  However, on closer inspection, it turned out to be a hedgehog.

We have had a hedgehog living in our garden for a couple of years now.  It builds itself a nest among the dried up bamboo leaves and does a good job of dealing with the slugs.  On a warm summer evening we sometimes see it walk down from the bamboo to the other end of the garden and we often hear it grunting and snuffling.

But, seeing it lying on the grass in broad daylight, we knew something was seriously wrong; hedgehogs are nocturnal and shouldn't be out in the day and certainly not in full view of predators. 

I shouted for the Teen and we found a box and put the hedgehog in on top of a towel.  Then we called the local vet as our nearest RSPCA centre was shut.  The nurse at the vets gave us the number of Little-prickles , a hedgehog rescue centre which is quite close to us.

The Teen with "our" hedgehog.



He  even looks a bit sad.

Paul from Little Prickles came this evening to fetch him, and it was apparently definitely a 'him' and has taken him off for treatment.  If the hedgehog recovers he will be returned to us so he can take up residence in the garden again. 

Hopefully he will be back with us soon. 















Weekend and a Ta-da!

On Friday I took the Teen out for lunch.  We went to Lilly's Tea Shop in Wickham; this is a lovely, old building with exposed beams and old sash windows.  Its full of vintage furniture and tea is served in a proper pot with a cup and saucer. The staff are brilliant; they are friendly, helpful and feel like friends.  The food is amazing.  In fact there is often a queue for tables, its so popular.  There is a terrace outside which overlooks the Wickham Square.

Lilly's in Wickham Square

They do wonderful afternoon tea, sandwiches, cake and light airy scones with clotted cream and jam all served on a cake stand.
Today I had a smoked salmon sandwich and the Teen had a slice of chocolate cake.  Yes, chocolate cake for lunch!  This was after cold pizza for breakfast!


Delicious

Wickham is one of my favourite places, it boasts the second largest medieval market square in England and this is one of the places you can park.  We usually park a little further out of the village (for free) and walk in so we can admire the  architecture from tiny cottages to Georgian houses.  Around the square are a lot of independent shops selling unique gifts, chocolates (the most yummy chocolates ever), crafts, vintage things and antiques.  There is a small art gallery displaying and selling art by local artists.  In fact if you want a gift for someone special or something unusual just go to Wickham.

My favourite shop is J' adore La Maison which sells furniture, Annie Sloan chalk paint and lots of other lovely bits and pieces.   It has a small haberdashery section and they run craft workshops.  I did their crochet workshop which is what got me hooked (sorry) on crochet. 

J'adore la Maison

 A two minute walk from the Square are the Water Meadows.  On a hot summer's day the river is usually populated with excited children and the odd dog.   Running beside the water meadows is the old railway line which is used by walkers and cyclists.
 
Just down the hill from the square, past some beautiful houses is the Chesapeake Mill which was the flour mill for Wickham village.  Its called the Chesapeake as the timbers used to build it were sourced from the United States frigate Chesapeake, captured by the Royal Navy during the War of 1812.  It is now a place that sells vintage stuff of every kind, antiques and crafts.  Its a brilliant place to take a wander and look out of the windows and see the mill race.  There is also a cute little tea room.

On Saturday the Engineer was off doing engineery things and on the way he dropped my little car, Blossom (yes she has a name) into the garage to have new tyres fitted. A couple of hours later I walked in to pick her up.  I could have walked in via the noisy main road but instead I walked in the back way via the Gillies footpath and this was my view. 

The sun was very bright and the path lined with Lesser Celandine.  The flowers were all open and glowing in the sunshine although these photos don't show that very well. The birds were singing and as this area is quiet it felt like I was in the countryside rather than the town. 

I have now finished my crochet scarf. 

Ta-da!

I was quite pleased with it.  The only thing I would do differently is to make sure the 'triples' that I put in just before the turn are a little looser as some of them are a bit tight on this scarf and it makes it bulge.  But it is nice and soft so I will probably end up wearing it quite a bit. 

I am now doing the counted cross stitch I bought - its going ok at the moment but I do seem to be unpicking quite often.  I dChesapeake Millidn't do much in the garden this weekend, just watering my seedlings.  My peas are finally geminating making me very excited. 

Did you all have a good weekend?












Yarn & tomato seeds

After work today I popped down to my local haberdashery shop.  Its called the Jolly Stitcher and is full of wonderful yarns, fabrics and other bits and pieces. Today I bought some more yarn to finish off my scarf and a small counted cross stitch project.  I've never done one before so I thought I would give it a try. 

Cross stitch and yarn.

I also planted my tomato seeds.  I have only done four plants as I love tomatoes but no one else at Su plus 2 does.  They are now in a propagator on my kitchen floor. 

 

 

Joyful Wednesday morning

This morning the birds were singing and the sun was shining: a perfect morning to go to an art class. 

It was our first class back after the Easter break and it was lovely to see everyone.  We drank tea and ate biscuits; some of us used colour pencils and others used watercolour paints.  The back door of the studio room was open and we could hear the birds and enjoy the art teacher's garden. 



Essential tools for a morning of drawing & painting.

I was drawing the leaves on a pea shoot which I so enjoyed.  The two hour lesson flew by and before I knew it I had to pack up and drive to work. 

What hobbies or jobs do you do that fill you with joy and make the time fly by?

Seeds

I planted my seeds today in the glorious sunshine.  A friend dropped by later and pointed out that I had planted them by colour:  red onion, beetroot and then leeks.   

Praying over my seeds, I did too.

The Engineer planted a climbing rose against a boring bit of wall for me.  The rose is bright pink and fragrant and we will be able to see it from the kitchen windows. 

 

Indoors, my amaryllis is sprouting again. I crocheted the pot cover using a pattern by Lucy at Attic 24. I simply made it taller to fit my pot.  This plant has lovely deep red flowers and I am looking forward to drawing it; I drew it last year and will be interested to see how much I have improved.

 

Roast chicken for dinner, this will do 5 meal portions: the main roast tonight, a small roast put together for my lunch at work on Monday and Chicken carbonara for Monday night's dinner.  I won't boil these bones as I have stock in the freezer already. 

Yum

Compost

What a beautiful afternoon it has been here in Hampshire.  So, taking advantage of the lovely weather I asked the Engineer if he would empty the compost out of the compost bins for me. 

The bins were put together over 3 years ago and have only been emptied of compost once so it was quite a tough job. 

The Engineer tipped the compost onto my newly constructed vegetable beds. 

                       

 

And I dug it in

These are the seeds I am hoping will grow in my garden.  I have already planted the peas in a big pot because none of us in the Su+2 household like peas, except me, and only then when they are raw.

 
 

 

As you can see the beans are starting to germinate and my courgettes are doing well. 

I know there are only 3 courgette plants but I am the only one in the house who likes them so I didn't want to plant too many. 

The first Runner Bean to pop its head up and see the sun.

 

I am not a gardener, but this year I really wanted to grow my own veg, not just because I like veg to eat but because I am hoping to draw it too from germination to seed.

I have already started to draw peas and runner beans as they germinate and I hope I can show you soon.