Foggy Night

Spring is here and with it the grey clouds and fog.It's been doing a lot of this lately.

I like trying to take photographs at night and I have a nifty little digital camera which is good for this sort of thing.It is good because it is small so it is easy to carry around and you can tinker with the settings quite easily.These were taken on about a five second exposure.I am a bit lazy so I don't carry a tripod with me but have just put the camera down on walls and stones on the beach.

Golden Sea

I painted this in 2005.It is painted in acrylic and is 19 inches by 17.
This is a painting of the sea.I especially like looking at the sea from the clifftops because from up there you can see further out and see more shadows if there are clouds .Many of my paintings are of the sea.Sometimes they are memories of the sea and sometimes they are observations.Many of my paintings could be considered quite abstract but I find the natural world allready to be quite abstract.From the clifftops the sea doesn't always look like it does from the beach.Sometimes it works more like a mirror for the sky.From above the sound is more distant and removed but the endless movement of the waves can be more apparent.
I like the way that through binoculars the horizon flickers and moves; it seems to be in a state of flux with the sky.I enjoy the way that ships appear to slide over the horizon and then come back again.I like the smell of the beach.I like the beach at night when you can see stars reflected in the water or when the sea seems bouncy and alive or disturbed.It is a cliche but the sea always seems different. It can be surprising like when it is windy and you expect waves but find a strangely flat surface with just the patterns of the wind upon it.My own favourite times of the day on the beach are first thing in the morning when everything is fresh and the time after the sun goes down to darkness.
These experiences are quiet observations and they are the stuff that I try to put into my paintings.
It is difficult to write about art without sounding pretentious or mad.I will do my best but will at some points probably appear both.

Missing Cat Walks Back In Again

Minnie the missing cat walked back in through the catflap at two 'o' clock this afternoon so good news all round and many thanks to everyone helped with the search. She was very wet as it had been raining for a few hours and she was extremely hungry so my guess is that she had been trapped in someones garage for a few days.
Unfortunatly she does have a real thing about garages.She seems to have been spotted further up the road an hour and a half earlier so she must have been disorientated to take that long to find her way back. Still it's great to have her back on the sofa and I am looking forward to having her interfering with my sandwich making tomorrow morning in the hope of her getting a bit of cheese. So cheers Minnie and well done to the person who opened their garage door and thanks to all the people who we have met around the neighbourhood. I have been pleasently surprised by the level of concern shown.

Missing Cat

Nothing to do with art at the moment as we are busy looking for our cat. If you live in the centre of town here please keep your eyes open for this cat. Her name is Minnie and she has been missing since Friday the eleventh of April. She is a bit afraid of people and is a bit darker than in the photo.There are a lot of posters of her up with a phone number on . She likes going in garages a lot . It's a bit of a long shot but I thought it worth a try. Will keep you posted on any developments.

Paintings Art etc.