Apples & Bears...

 I finally sat down and made a concerted effort to finish this little painting yesterday.  As it is the first painting since my eye op, I'm very happy how it has turned out.  I've had to change my painting position a little to account for the fact I cannot wear my reading/painting glasses any more so have to wear the varifocals with one lens missing.  It means I have to sit back a bit (better posture at least!) but after a while you get used to it. 

This is a watercolour on tinted paper and will be in my Etsy shop soon.

Last year we had only two apples on our tree - this year it appears to have over-compensated!  This box load is from one branch alone.  I don't know what to do with them all - how can I store them without them going bad?  There are only so many crumbles and pies we can eat...

Holiday Sketches...

 The view from our holiday cabin in Devon was stunning and I wanted to get it down on paper if I could.  The only problem was that if I sat down, I could not see it!  So this small painting was achieved standing up with the pad in one hand, brush in other, and paints on the coffee table.  Not my chosen way of working but I am pleased with how it turned out.

 The second sketch was a closer study of the water - this one I could do from a chair on the balcony, the only problems being the very bright sunlight and the dog drinking my paint water.

Interestingly, with each day that passes I am noticing that the eye I had the cataract removed from sees colour so much brighter now.  I am wondering just how badly having cataracts has affected my colour perception when painting - probably just as well I have been painting brown bears a lot!  I just cannot wait for the other eye to be done.

Hopefully now the catching up from being on holiday is done, I can get back to this little cutie - he's already got a buyer so I had better get a move on!

Refreshed & Raring To Go...

I've just spent a week at this wonderful place in Devon - a well needed chance to step away from the world and re-charge my batteries.  I can't wait to get back to painting...once I've finished sorting out the mess we seem to have brought home with us!

Still A Grey Area...

It turns out that while I am able to paint during daylight hours after my eye op, sewing under electric light is still a problem.  It took me three evenings to make this tiny panda, mainly because sewing black felt was nigh on impossible to see! I've got my 'new' eye with no glasses prescription for close work yet and my other eye still labouring with a cataract and dull vision.

Yesterday I looked at the half finished article under daylight and was horrified to see places I'd missed, resulting in holes with stuffing showing through and worst of all, thread wrapped around one arm in a tight loop where I had supposedly sewn the thread joints.  Oh dear...

Bearly There...

Wish I could devote more time to this, but it's getting there.

Taking It Slow...

I had drawn this picture out before my eye op, then ruined it a few days ago by painting in a background that looked like a five year old had done it.  So I started it again and yesterday began painting - it's a bit difficult with my 'new' eye and my old glasses, but I need the glasses in order to focus this close.  I can work for about an hour before getting tired - that's OK, there is no hurry.  I'm just glad to be able to put brush to paper!

Update...

It's been a week since my eye surgery and all has gone well.  It took a few days for the blurriness to subside but now I am seeing incredibly well from that eye - it is amazing the difference it has made to clarity and colour.  I can't wait to have the other eye done, but that will not be until late September/October.

In the meantime, I am trying to find a way to get back to painting.  Initially I was still wearing my old glasses but it reached the point where one good eye and one duff eye was meaning my vision was a bit wonky both with and  without glasses.  So after consulting the optician, I have had the lens on the left removed from my glasses which has made things better - felt a bit seasick at the beginning but after a couple of days my brain adjusted to it!  It's still a bit tricky to focus on close work - the first brushstrokes I made a couple of days ago ruined the work I drew out before my surgery and I have started again.  But yesterday I was able to draw with very few problems - can't do it for too long yet though.  Same goes for sewing/knitting - it's do-able but not for long periods.  But it's early days still - every day gets better!

Eye Can See Clearly Now...

 ...well, no actually I can't just yet!  I had my cataract surgery yesterday, plus a new lens put in my eye.  It was quite uncomfortable but not nearly as bad as I had been playing it out in my mind for the past few weeks.  The operation only took about fifteen minutes, then I was sent home with a plastic shield taped to my face and a bushel of eye drops to use over the coming month.

It will take a couple more days for the blurriness to go - I can't wait to see what I can see!  I have noticed one significant difference already though - for weeks, nay months, I have thought that the light bulbs I have been using in the living room were faulty and too dim - turns out it was my eye that was dim, everything is so much brighter now!

I guess no crafting or painting for a while - I'll have to find something else to keep my hands occupied or go crazy!