Our dog, Stan appears to become obsessed with licking the same spot on his leg, paw, side, unmentionables.
Telling myself I’m relaxing after a workday, I find myself mindlessly scrolling downwards on Insta and FB. At a breakneck velocity.
When I stop myself to doodle instead, creations appear. Some or parts of them may serve as inspiration for future paintings.
Previously, in an attempt to get things right, I sketched and refined in pencil then inked in. This is a valid approach when drawing something specific.
Most of the time I have no idea what to produce. Sketching with ink and trying not to judge the process or outcome frees my mind to wander. It has built my self confidence in using ink.
I am always amazed by surprises from the universe. Our focus over Yule was our fifteen year old fur child, Stan. He had surgery on 29 December to remove a kidney, spleen, and two benign tumours.
The other day returning after a gentle walk, we slowly climbed the two steps into the side entrance to the building. There amongst the tree and vegetation detritus lay a seed pod. Its markings reminded me of a street map layout.
Beware, this Be where the Bungles goes. Can’t tell ears from eyes from nose. Tales of able sable sailors, Falling fallow in the shallows. Fables of tallow tufts, midnight gusts, And Bungles’ gallows. So hunker in your bunkers b’low, Beware, this Be where the Bungles goes.
What a roller coaster ride, That was twenty twenty-five! Recently read my water snake Was stretching, expanding from within. Facing unknown, challenges, changes. Inner growth facilitating shedding skin. Ah-ha! Building up, rather than breaking down Preparing to jump aboard, The galloping fire horse of twenty-six.
I laughed out loud when I came across this picture on FB. I have included a rough pronounciation in Black Country English.
Recently, we unpacked the soft toys. A dusty, sun-bleached, Pooh, of late 80s vintage emerged.
This year’s Yule tree again includes a bauble depicting a snapshot of Pooh walking their path. I feel a connection with Pooh. They are one of my alter egos.
However, my soulmate in the journey poem below is a Tiger rather than a Tigger or a Piglet.
A shared legato Almost deafening Mezzo-staccato of “see-hearing” Zooming by Fermata Reflecting on The path here
Out of step Out of time Even in minority Faction of a fraction of inversion Lightness of spirit greyed by inner dark Misguided Misunderstood Yearning to fit in To be part Of something
Journey’s search Whilst learning life Decades taught Idealist dreams to be Reality soured Came to nought
There is I and those closest to Wakeup to then and now You gentle old Airhead fool For thirty-two years counterpoint In duet steadied the line A little out of step a little out of time A shared legato
World’s a blur of noise In home’s sotto voce Dark thins to quiet glimmer In warmth of being known In coda we crescendo
Flying between Brisbane and Cairns, in October 2024, I glimpsed sand surrounded by turquoise tropical waters, dropping away to deeper blue depths through small starboard panes.
Hastily taken snaps on my phone helped me to remember the moment. During the next twelve months, I tried out some of the colours in water element paintings.
Retracing the route, a year later, proved to be the catalyst for developing imagined sand bar shapes and layouts.
This A6 sized organic sketch was to be the design, on four times larger, A3 paper. At the last moment, I decided not to pencil an outline. I drew three shapes using the edge of a candle, saved from my niece’s birthday in September this year.
Relying on the light catching the wax on paper, viewed across the surface was hit and miss. I accepted whatever happened would what I would work with.
Beginning with thin turquoise washes, the white outlines emerged, revealing the paper beneath. The white reminded me of the waves gently breaking on unseen barriers.
When satisfied with the colour, I added recycled salt crystals to add texture. Next the inky depths began to form.
Again using wax resist, the exposed sand outlines were added along with light yellow ochre glazes. Adding wax to the sand and glazing with burnt umber provided streaks of matter caught in rivulets.
I usually start and finish a painting in a few hours. On this occasion, the creation process stretched over two delicious days.
Word sketch Urban nature Provides space To race Or to ponder What lies yonder Out of reach James’ magic peach Synapses snap Cogs whirl Mind unfurls This biological being’s Walking forth Sharing mirth Giving birth Ideas sparkling Magnificent malarkey Discombobulated balderdash Audaciously avalanching altitudially advancing
Inside a ninth-floor suite of natural neutrals accented by tropical hues – a light, lofty stateroom habitat of linen-clad lovelies. Warm, breezy beach vibes frame a palm-frond northern view – a timely bijoux retreat for two naive, nomadic flamingo sages to cook, entertain, chill, and enjoy their twilight decades.
Beyond, flopsy-hatted humans advance along the Hades’ halls – kaleidoscopic thongs flip-flopping euphonically, poolside accessory-laden carts jostling elevator-bound, transferring the host to resort-style amenities. Dotty, striped, and floral-flavoured swim-wearers recline, relax, relinquish their stressors – smiling, sunny-clad, solar seekers sailing by.
Pandora’s perspective:
Haunted, harrow-hued, scantly clad humans, paternoster-bound – cacophonous utility trollies jamming – hastening down the halls of Hades to access bought-and-paid for resort type amenities: A ghoulish, leathery-skinned haven or – hell?
theINFP 