Painting Poo...

I'm between commissions at the moment, which gives me a few days to get on with a painting that has been in my head for weeks.  This will be a pair of gannets on a cliff face, based on a fabulous photograph taken by a friend of mine while in Scotland.  I've started by painting the background, because I felt that had to go in first as the birds are so white that I need to be able to see what they are against when they are painted.  This is in watercolour. 

I started with some mixed washes and sprinkles of salt for texture, but I think most of the texture achieved has been lost after painting in the shadows and deeper colours.  Not too bothered about that, if it shows, it shows.  The further the painting progresses, the more I realise just how much guano there is to be painted!  A lot of that is being added with white acrylic on a stick and smeared with fingers.  I love painting...

Been struggling over this - had a real mental blockage, but I think I'm on the right track now.  Can you guess what it is yet?

We visited a shop called The Range yesterday - not been there before, and probably just as well as I came out much lighter in the wallet.  They have a huge selection of art materials, and as well as all the framing essentials I was after for an upcoming exhibition, I found this nifty little tool kit - hole punchers, tweezers, needle nosed pliers, big needles and a dinky little hammer. Because a girl can never have enough tools. 

Meanwhile, the garden is going great guns - discovered our potted Torbay palm has flowers for the first time ever.  Very excited to see how they turn out.

Plus the tomato plants are flowering like mad - praying the weather stays reasonably warm so that we actually get some early tomatoes.  Have to admit, with all the goings on while nursing Clovis over the past few months, I cheated and bought small tomato plants from the garden centre - not much time or enthusiasm for planting seeds this year.  Just as well I think as we appear to have a bumper crop of slugs and snails who are making short work of any seedlings I do manage to grow.

On the needles...nothing, it's all sewing this week!