'The Naming of The Hare'

The children returned to school this morning after a wonderful half term week, one of those times that remain in your memory for always. The sun has shone gloriously, and we have picnicked amongst bluebells, while dangling our toes in the river, we have walked over hills with friends and sunbathed while children spent hours climbing tors and scrabbling under rocks looking for treasure. Eldest daughter has set out on her own, with her beloved pony Matthew, pack lunch on her back, to meet friends and play, while I have pottered around the lanes and the open moor with smaller children and a motley collection of bikes and dogs and ponies. This is truly bliss! In amongst this I clutched sewing needles and sticks and endeavoured to finish mounting quilts in time for the exhibition. It's done! The exhibition is up, in the Courtyard Cafe , Chagford, until the end of June, so do pop by if you are in the area, or pass the word on to anyone who may be interested. They serve delicious cakes ( gluten free) and hot chocolate!

'Sleeping Hare'
I managed one last tiny painting to join the others. It is approximately 6 by 4 inches. I will try and get in with my camera over the next couple of days, as the quilts look quite different now they have been mounted and hung.

And now for a brief 'proud mother' moment! This is my young son, who at 6 years old completed the Chagford Two Hills race in blistering sun shine on Bank Holiday Monday. This is a gruelling race up the face of Meldon hill, (shown in picture below) down, and back up Nattadon hill (where the shot was taken from). It is a total climb of 1076 feet and is fractionally under three and a half miles. He did it in 58 minutes , which is brilliant! I have never run the Two Hills Race, even in my fit teenage years, and I am just bursting with pride!

And here is my baby, Sandpiper, maturing into a beautiful filly. She is three now, and I just adore her. I had originally thought I would back her this summer, but I now think I will leave it a year, as I think she still has some growing to do. Native pony breeds mature more slowly than horses, and though she has plenty of bone, I expect her to get much greater depth of chest, and to generally broaden, so I think I will stick with ground work this summer.

Dartmoor Drums

In between racing to finish work for exhibition, I managed to squeeze in this commissioned piece of work for a friend. It is intended as a business postcard ( although the original is A4 in size) for Suzi Crockford, of Dartmoor Drums. Suzi creates extraordinarily beautiful handmade drums - I'm hankering after one myself after seeing and hearing them ;)

There is a ray of hope on the Bethan front. As you can see, she has rubbed bare patches on her face and her front legs, but the good news is that she appears to be free of lumps and bumps where the fly rug covers. I have added the Global Herbs 'Fly free' supplement to her feed to see whether this is effective, and yesterday morning my bottle of Avon 'Skin so Soft' arrived! Thankyou to those who recommended this - I am waiting to see whether this really does work as a fly repellent. I read the ingredients when it arrived, and my heart sank when I read Benzyl Benzoate is one of them, but it would appear it is only in trace amounts, and I patch tested it on myself before applying it to her 12 hours later. It didn't bring on an allergic reaction in me, so hopefully we will be ok with it. Of course, the other option is this :

The full face mask to provide a barrier from the biting midges. I gave in and purchased one yesterday, but I have real concerns about these. If a horse's main means of communication is through facial expression, how does it feel for them to have their face and ears completely masked? Does it hinder her natural communication? Or worse, put her at a disadvantage with 'the herd' because she can't interact naturally? So, I have tried it as a stop gap, because I don't want open sores on her face, but I am hoping we can find a DEET free fly repellent that really works, and remove the need to cover her face.

Though all of this sounds like bad news, actually, in a general sense, I am really pleased with her health. She is looking better over all, her coat is soft now, her skin feels loose , no longer stretched tight over her, she has lost some of the wrinkling around her eyes that always indicates stress or discomfort to me, and generally seems to be more relaxed.
So, we'll just keep plodding on!

A foxy dog, and a doggish fox

'Boris and Bracken'


Oh my! It seems two weeks have flown by, and I have barely had a chance to go near my computer! I'm sorry - things are happening so fast here, it feels a bit like my life has been turned upside down ( in a good way!). It has made me stop and think a bit about this blog. There are lots of things I am starting to work on with the horses which I would like to document as I go, but I am worried that putting it here will bore my loyal readers ( well, many of you - I know there are one or two who are as horse obsessed as I am!). So, this is my question - should I include a bit more of the horsey stuff here, or should I start a separate blog just for that? Your opinions would be gratefully received ;)

In between taking large steps forward with my life, and listening to Regina Spektor ( listen above if you don't know her work - she's fab!) I have been out with the dogs in this glorious sunshine, taking pictures of stone walls and hedge banks for my latest foxy painting. Here is a little peek - I'll show you the whole thing as soon as it is finished!

A Sneaky Peek at an Easter Hare

Just a quickie tonight, to show you my latest Work in Progress.
I wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts on the last post, it was great to see what everyone thought. The result is that I will invest in some better brushes for acrylics, and keep practising ;)
Have a wonderful Easter weekend, and hopefully I'll have the hare woman finished by the end of it.

Spot The Difference

Watercolour painting

I've spent the last couple of days playing with paints. The torrential rain this week meant that I felt justified in doing this - how could I be doing those important outdoor jobs when the weather was so awful? I have for a long time been feeling the need to get the acrylic paints out and try and remind myself how to use them. It has been MANY years since I used acrylics, and I have to admit to being way out of my comfort zone. But you know, it was great fun, although I have mixed feelings about the results. It went through 'the Uglies' pretty badly in the middle - I thought it was going to need to be binned, but I persevered and the final result is the painting below. I was definitely hindered by having only large square brushes - I couldn't bear to sacrifice any of my precious, dearly beloved watercolour brushes. The colours are slightly muddy, not as zingingly clear as my usual watercolours, but I suspect that is simply because the acrylic paints are very cheap unbranded ones, whereas my watercolours are top of the range, professional quality. Still, wondering how they compared , I decided to repaint the image exactly using watercolours ( the top image). There are qualities I like about both mediums, and it was a fascinating little experiment. Which do you prefer?

Acrylic painting

The rain lessened for a brief moment, becoming that soft rain that I associate more with autumn than spring. I visited a friend, and took a walk to the top of her hill to gaze outwards. When I was a child we used to dare each other to climb the hill to the cross in the dark, telling ourselves ghost stories on the way. It never really scared us though - there is such a friendly feel at the rocky outcrop here. I noticed today that there is a tiny crescent shaped pool in the rock up here - a moon puddle.

New Hare Paintings

( * I thought I ought to point out that the hare's ear in this , my latest quilt, is actually a piece of voile with an embroidered pattern that I found in an old samples book. The shape just seemed to make a perfect hare's ear, and I couldn't resist using it for that square!*)

Firstly, can I apologise to anyone who has been trying to get hold of me for the last week or so - my email account has been giving me lots of grief, often just disappearing completely. So I'm sorry I haven't answered you. I think it is ok again now, and I will be playing catch -up for a couple of days!

I have been at home all this time looking after my small son, who has been poorly. ( He has returned to school today, still not 100 %, but it is World Book Day, and he got to dress like a pirate for the day) So, although the housekeeping has completeley gone out of the window this week, I did at least manage to get plenty of time to sit and paint, while small boy dozed on the sofa, listening to stories.

Hare Study 1
12cm x 16cm
Watercolour on heavy paper

Hare Study 2
12cm x 16 cm
Watercolour on heavy paper
Both these paintings are UNMOUNTED AND UNFRAMED
These are both offered for sale here on the blog, before going into my Etsy shop after the weekend, for the princely sum of £45 each, plus postage ( £4 UK, or £7 elsewhere in the world)
If you would like one, give me a shout - dbarlowart at aol.com
As usual, it will be on a 'first come, first served' basis.

Moon and Magic, Witch and Woman

I finally put down my needles and thread, and picked up a pencil instead! This is what I have been working on for the last couple of days. Unfortunately my scanner can't pick up graphite lines very well - it's actually an extremely detailed drawing, but the paler lines are lost here. I had a very wobbly moment when I began painting. It is on Bristol board, and watercolour paint runs and dries very strangely on it's satiny surface. It buckled lots to start with , and I had a moment when I thought it was going to be ruined. But thankfully, it all came together eventually, and the end result is just what I had in mind. I am going to have to get it professionally scanned and printed though, as I want prints to be just as crisp and sharp as the original, and the moon should be palest gold, rather than the copper that my scanner has registered. Shiny paint always confuses the scanners :)

I'll leave you with a couple of songs which I have been listening to, while thinking about hares! The first is Maddy Prior's song cycle 'The Fabled Hare'. This has the most wonderful lyrics, most of which I shan't copy for you here, as I am not entirely sure of the copyright issues surrounding it, but I'll give you the first verse, which is taken from the confession of Isobel Gowdie, a Scottish woman tried for witchcraft in 1662. She claimed that this was the spell which she and her coven used to transform themselves into Hares.

I sall goe until a hare

Wi sorrow and sick mickle care

I sall goe in the devil's name

An while I come home again

You can hear Maddy Prior singing it here. (It's a rather rubbish video - needless to say , not her own, but it was the only one I could find to embed here)

(EDIT: I have removed the youtube video, as I had initial doubts about the photographs and artwork used on it, and Karen Davies from Moonlight and Hares has pointed out that one of the images was one of her paintings, used without permission :( BUT, instead I have added a link HERE where you can listen to the track in all it's glory, without a video!)

And then there is this - one of my favourite songs ever. This is Seth Lakeman, singing 'The White Hare'. You have probably heard it before, as it has been on my blog playlist forever, but this is just in case you needed to see him as well :)

Illustration Friday ' Confined '

"Confined"
Indian ink and watercolour
approx 11 x 8 inches (A4)
For Sale £50.
As always, email me if you would like to purchase this, otherwise it will go on sale in my Etsy shop next week, at a slightly higher price to cover fees. Price includes UK shipping, but international shipping will be extra.

I had meant to say so much more this week, but life tripped me up good and proper at the beginning of the week, and so work has been the last thing on my mind. So I'm posting this, a very belated submission for the Illustration Friday theme 'Confined'. I sketched it out two weeks ago, but it wasn't till yesterday that I got a chance to finish it.

What I want to write about most is the overwhelming and heartwarming response to posting my textile piece 'Long Lugs' up here on the blog, but I have so much to say about that, and so many people I want to mention, that it must wait a day or so. So please, bear with me while I just get things straight at home.

Thankyou, all who came, and commented, and I'm sorry if I haven't yet had time to visit you back. I will do very soon!

An Eeyore moment.

The cold and dark has crept into everything this week, even my mood. All I have wanted to do is tuck myself up in the little armchair beside the fire. I had a rummage at the book store at Proper Job, and found, to my delight, a whole pile of my childhood favourites. I brought them all back - ostensibly for the children to read, but I feel the need to reacquaint myself with them first!

Even a Sunday walk with the family and their dogs seemed to be in semi- darkness. Tonight I think it is time to bring in the christmas tree, bring light and greenery to the house, and sweep the gloom outside!

The Spirit of the Ice Bear

"Ice Bear Spirit"
11 x 7 1/2 inches
Original Watercolour painting

******
This blog goes days and days without a post from me, and then TWO in one day! Stick with me, it's worth it I promise you!
Here is the finished painting, which I've been working my socks off to get completed today. I've framed it, and it goes up for auction tomorrow night, at the Fire and Ice fundraiser at Castle Drogo. This is in aid of the Ice Bear Project, the brainchild of sculptor Mark Coreth, who aims to raise awareness of the effects of climate change by bringing his truly amazing ice sculpture of a polar bear to Trafalgar Square, London and Nytorv square, Copenhagen. Over the course of several days this imposing bear will melt leaving nothing but a bronze skeleton and a puddle of water. Each hand that touches the bear melts a little bit more of the ice, giving a stark message about the effect each and every one of us has on the fate of the Arctic.

If you wish to put in a bid for this painting, please email the ice bear team here: kesella@icebearproject.org


And please, I'm asking a favour here, if you have time, and love what Mark is doing, please pass this message on! Time is short, the auction is tomorrow night, and the first bear arrives in Trafalgar Square on the 8th of December. We aim to raise as much money as possible tomorrow night, so please tweet this, blog this or pass on this facebook link.
Many, many thanks!

You are welcome to use these images in passing the message on (but please respect the rest of my artwork and images - all are copyrighted!)

If you like to let me know in the comments section of this post, I will send a print of this painting to one 'passer - on' drawn at random on Saturday morning 9 o'clock UK time. So hurry along - only 24 hours :)

Christmas Crow and a ballad of the seas.

"Yuletide Wreath"
SOLD
Ok, I managed to finish the second card design! Believe it or not this took nearly two days. It's working title was ' Christmas Knocker' which made my husband and I snigger, and has unfortunately stuck, as silly names do.
Can you tell it's Friday night and I have had two glasses of wine?
This is also for sale - it is fractionally larger than the last one - 5 x 7 inches, and costs £60. I know that seems terribly expensive, but it still barely covers the cost of two days work.
Postage is £3 to the UK and Europe, £5 elsewhere. Do drop me an email if you want it. It will also be available as a christmas card in a couple of weeks time.
I will also be reprinting last year's cards: 'The Longest Night' and 'Red and the Robin'

While in my painting frenzy today, I was listening to a favourite album, and an especial favourite song at the moment. It is 'The Mariner's Revenge ' by The Decemberists.

Ideas were bursting forth for an animation to this song. My New Years resolution is going to be to try my hand at Stop Motion Animation. Maybe something a little less ambitious than an 8 minute song for my first go! It led me to google the song and see if any one else had already animated it, and it turns out that several people have done so. My favourite was this lego version here, which amused me greatly. ( Not nearly as funny as Eddie Izzard's 'Death Star Canteen' which has me in tears on the floor every time I watch it, but still, you can't beat a good bit of Lego.

Speaking of music, you may have noticed that my Playlists have been missing for a while. This is because licensing laws mean that Playlist no longer works in the UK, but I have been trying out other options and think I have found one that will work. As before, it is not on autoplay, so you have to click on the icon to start it playing. It's a fairly Folky/ bluesy mix at the moment.

A Midwinter Hare

"Midwinter Hare"
SOLD
I have been working like a woman possessed for the last couple of days, trying to get my christmas card designs finished. This little hare on a frosty midwinter night is the first of them. It is a watercolour on very heavy paper and measures approximately 6 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches. The cards should be in stock in a couple of weeks time, but in the meantime I am selling this original painting. I will add it to my Etsy shop on Sunday, but thought I would offer my readers a sneak preview and first chance . I need the princely sum of Forty Five English pounds for it. Please email me if you want to buy it.
Thankyou :)

Jack' o lanterns and crows by moonlight

"The Mouse Lantern"
ACEO 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches.
For sale HERE

A couple of ACEO's to get me back into the swing of painting. I am just thrilled with the vibrancy of colour my new paints give.
I can't believe how this term has flown by, and I have struggled to get any of my own work in. That is the trouble with working from home - it is too easy to put work off till another day, especially at this time of year, when preparations for winter are so time consuming, both inside and out. Still, the rain has come now, the harvest is in, my hay is all packed in the barn, the horses rugs are sorted out and mended ready for use, the cupboard is packed with preserves, the wood pile is still very low, but my husband is on the case. I think I am nearly there!

"Pride"
ACEO 3 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches
for sale HERE

Black Birds and Black Berries

'Gluttony'

ACEO ( 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches)
(that is smaller than shown in the picture here!)

I took time out of jam - making today to work on this little miniature painting (couldn't resist painting fruit though!). I LOVE my new paints, the colour is beautifully saturated, and flows perfectly. I got rather bogged down in the detail on this, but it was lovely to be working again!
I fancy working on a set depicting the seven deadly sins, and there is a matching cat picture at the sketch stage. This one has just been put on sale here.

Oh, and I keep 'losing' blogs that I follow. Is this happening to anyone else?

Time to make space!

So, it's the summer holidays, and as it's hard to get much painting done, it is time instead for the annual tidy up of my studio! ( and I have family coming to visit next week, and at least one of them will have to sleep on the little cabin bed in there!). I have finally got around to making prints of all the transformations paintings. These are listed on Etsy here. I also have a very limited number of cards with these printed on. I have not listed them on Etsy, as it's not really economical to do so, but if there are any you particularly want, do please contact me, and I will see if I have them.( they are £1.50 each)

And, after much deliberation, I have decided to offer up the originals of all these shown here. I'm not very good at parting with originals, but my house is tiny, and I like to have most of my wallspace crammed with other people's artwork, so there really isn't much room for my own. These larger originals, are all listed on ebay here.

And that brings me to this little mare, purchased on a whim, because I liked her, although I have had to scrabble around and borrow from the housekeeping money to find enough to pay for her. (Another reason for deciding to part with original paintings) Thankfully, the family agreed they didn't mind me doing this! She is 2, possibly 3 ( a little bit of uncertainty there) approximately 13hh at the moment, and has a pair of piercing blue eyes. Her name is Mahogany Mist ( she is by the connemara stallion Timber in the Mist) but I promised the children they could choose an every day name for her. I had to rule out Misty from the start - we already have a pony called Foggy, and although we do live in the wettest place in the UK, I really don't need any more reminding of it. Instead they opted for a tree name, and chose Hazel, which I think suits her, so Hazel she will be. She is kind natured, and trusting, but very nervous and anxious about her new home at the moment. Marlene is grudgingly playing nursemaid to her, though she is starting to get annoyed by Hazel following her so closely that she bumps into her everytime she stops.

Illustration Friday "Idle"

The school holidays are well and truly here! My house seems to be bursting with children, my sofa's are in danger of collapsing from the amount of jumping on them that occurred while it pours with rain, and my studio has been commandeered by my middle daughter - I can barely get through the door because of her creative explosion. So I huddled myself on a stool in the kitchen, between the phone and the washing up, and got out my smallest set of paints. There wasn't space to work on anything but miniatures, so here are a pair of ACEO's. They are my submission for this week's illustration Friday topic : "Idle"
A rather loose association, I admit, but the wish to avoid being idle is what prompted it!

If a man devotes himself to art, much evil is avoided that happens otherwise if one is idle.
Albrecht Durer

Two Rooks

I finished another pair of transformation paintings this week - two rooks.
These are actually portraits of myself and my sister ( I'm the one on the right, for those of you who don't know me - and those who do, but still don't recognise me with a bird's head stuck on top of mine!)

And a busy day in the allotment! I picked elderflowers for elderflower champagne, and thinned the beetroot. We had the beetroot for supper, both roots and leaves - they were so sweet and delicious! The fruit will go in the freezer for a few days until I have got enough to start making batches of jam. The blackcurrant bushes are laden, branches almost snapping under the weight of fruit, but something is scrumping our strawberries, despite them being carefully netted.

Midsummer nights

I love these long hot summer evenings. Walking on the hills this evening I stopped to watch the hay being baled and brought in all around me. The grass is nearly waist high, pinky seedheads puffing pollen at me as I wade through. As the sun sets in an orange glow, the hills looked as though they were burning, an echo of the real flames that licked across them as they were swailed earlier in the year.

The forecast is good for the next couple of days, and everyone will be baling through the night. Even I suddenly have a glut of grass on my poor, dry hill pasture. The small ponies are grumbling at being shut away from most of it.

I've almost finished the painting too. It is still continuing on with the transformation theme. Can you see that this is my crow girl again?