...still a wild jack-hare

Hello everyone - I'm back. Apologies for having gone AWOL for a few weeks but I think I just needed a break from blogging for a while and it's often hard to get back into the swing of things once you've taken that step. Thank you for your continued support and kind comments though - particularly to Sherry who expressed concern.

Have you noticed how popular paintings of hares have become now? I thought I'd join the party with my own interpretation. Painted in acrylics on MDF, there's a lot of texturing going on and even some interference paint, giving a coppery metallic sheen to the background. Keith has made me a lovely sycamore frame for him and he'll soon be up for sale on the ArtgalleryUK website. 8x6.5inches.

For the title I looked for and found this poem by William Cowper (1731-1800). It's an epitaph to his cosseted, but obviously ungrateful, pet hare.

Epitaph on a Hare

BY WILLIAM COWPER

Here lies, whom hound did ne’er pursue,

    Nor swifter greyhound follow,

Whose foot ne’er tainted morning dew,

    Nor ear heard huntsman’s hallo’,

Old Tiney, surliest of his kind,

    Who, nursed with tender care,

And to domesticate bounds confined,

    Was still a wild jack-hare.

Though duly from my hand he took

    His pittance every night,

He did it with a jealous look,

    And, when he could, would bite.

His diet was of wheaten bread,

    And milk, and oats, and straw,

Thistles, or lettuces instead,

    With sand to scour his maw.

On twigs of hawthorn he regaled,

    On pippins’ russet peel;

And, when his juicy salads failed,

    Sliced carrot pleased him well.

A Turkey carpet was his lawn,

    Whereon he loved to bound,

To skip and gambol like a fawn,

    And swing his rump around.

His frisking was at evening hours,

    For then he lost his fear;

But most before approaching showers,

    Or when a storm drew near.

Eight years and five round-rolling moons

    He thus saw steal away,

Dozing out all his idle noons,

    And every night at play.

I kept him for his humor’s sake,

    For he would oft beguile

My heart of thoughts that made it ache,

    And force me to a smile.

But now, beneath this walnut-shade

    He finds his long, last home,

And waits in snug concealment laid,

    Till gentler Puss shall come.

He, still more agèd, feels the shocks

    From which no care can save,

And, partner once of Tiney’s box,

    Must soon partake his grave.

Pendre

                                                                     *SOLD*

I'm still a bit shattered after the village Christmas fair but very happy to report that I sold four paintings, one of which you can see above. It shows a row of terrace houses on the main road through the village, the first few houses known as Pendre, but often collectively named Crown Row, after the former temperance inn in the middle - the one with a red-painted canopy.

It was a successive event for all concerned, I think, and helped to raise a lot of money for charity.

Selling paintings of local interest was definitely the way to go, in this instance, especially pre-Christmas, as they made original gifts. Having declared that, I was sad not to have sold any of my art cards of prints of the paintings. What do I do with them now?

Open garden ....

This is a scene from the gardens of Llysdinum House, the large country house that overlooks our village. Every year they open the grounds and gardens to the public under the National Gardens Scheme, in aid of charity.

It's a bit of a departure for me as I don't recall ever having painted a garden before. I enjoyed doing it immensely and maybe I'll try some others, but for now, this will add to my collection of local scenes to display at the upcoming Christmas fair.

Acylic on Cryla paper, 12 x 8inches.

Disserth revisited ...

This is the 3rd time that I've painted the little church of St Cewydd in Disserth, near my village. The first was in watercolour, the 2nd was in oils and now this one, in acrylics on Cryla paper.

I've been wanting to get a photo of this view for years but somehow never got around to it, as there are no parking places along the very narrow lane and it involves climbing a steep hill if you park at the church. One chilly Sunday morning a few weeks back we finally did it and, between us, we managed to get quite a few images in the bag. This view is from about halfway up the hill. Nothing I paint can really do this charming church justice but I'll keep on trying.

The Hostelry

                                                                        *SOLD*


Another scene from our village - this time it's the turn of the largest of our two pubs, called the New Inn. There were in fact many pubs and shops in the village in years gone by, formerly because it was an important stopping place on the drovers' route from Wales to the English markets across the border and more recently because there was a railway station here. The station has long gone sadly, after the short sighted cuts by Dr Beeching in the 1960s, and we now have only one shop, excellent though it is.

All Saints Church

                                                                             *SOLD*


In a moment of madness I've booked a table at our village Christmas Fair in early December, in order to help promote my artwork and maybe, if there's a following wind, to even sell something. With that in mind, the general idea is to paint some local views on the off-chance that someone might see an unusual gift opportunity.

On a lovely Autumn afternoon, with that golden light that we're sometimes blessed with, I walked around the village with my camera to snap a few scenes to add to my already quite well-stocked local file. I was very pleased with the image of our church, All Saints, as I had to wait for the sun to reappear from behind some clouds, and when it did, I was rewarded by a fabulous play of light across the trees and building. This painting will form a centrepiece for my table at the fair, I think.

Any advice for selling art at fairs and shows would be gratefully received from those of you who have tested the water! It should be noted that I have few expectations from a purely local event.

Watercolour on NOT paper. 14x10 inches.

Tumbledown

 The first of my Anglesey works shows a little old disused cottage that we found on our travels through the heart of the island. My shouted 'oh look at that seriously cute cottage' had Keith screeching to an abrupt halt so I could make a quick sketch and take some photos. It's just as well that this was in a quiet country lane.

I went back to watercolours for this, with some penwork for detailing.
Approx.11x8 inches.