Bagpuss

[Sue]

Maz have you finished knitting Bagpuss yet

[PanBiker]

"Once upon a time
Not so long ago
There was a little girl and her name was Emily
And she had a shop".....

Bagpuss

[Sue]

Spot on.....

[Marilyn]

Not yet Sue.
The hot weather hit, and Christmas, then more hot weather. So BAGPUSS has been put in a shoebox in the cupboard until knitting can recommence. Think I have three paws left to do. I was doing so well and thought it would be finished before Christmas. Never mind.
It is impossible to paint this weather too, as the paint dries on the brush. ( so my mural is half done too...and I am a person who likes to finish what they start)

[Sue]

Hot weather. I wish!!!!!!

[Stanley]

I love it when the kids in Perth report 25C and being in the pool. Not envious, just glad they aren't suffering our winter. Mind you, they demand snow pictures!

[Marilyn]

25 degrees is pleasant, Stanley.
40 degrees is not....pool or no pool.
I start to get fed up by about 32 degrees these days.

[Stanley]

I agree Maz. Lots to be said for a 'temperate' climate but I have to admit that our present frost and snow is a bit wearing. Never mind, it will pass.

[Marilyn]

Well I can't complain about today. Cool enough to paint, so I spent two hours doing so.
I always feel so relaxed after a painting session, and the mural is so big ( six full length panels) that I get to indulge in all sorts of painting from slapping it on any which way, to fine and fiddly detail.
So I am one happy bunny this afternoon.
Hope the weather is similar tomorrow.

[Nolic]

Can we have some pics Maz? Nolic

[Marilyn]

Soon, Nolic.
I have been taking pics along the way.
Might take some toward the end of the week...I have a large area of paddock I want to grass first.
(it is based on a collection of photos I took on a drive around Pendle in 2009)

[Marilyn]

mazpic006.jpg

mazpic007.jpg

Here are a couple of pics I took after this morning's little painting session.
I expect that I am about half way into what I want to achieve...lots of fine detail, highlights and softening to do yet.
Stone wall at front will be covered in blackberry and moss.

You won't find this exact view anywhere you look. It is my inerpretation of Pendle countryside (which I find truly beautiful).
These mural sections will hang a little way apart from each other, along the back wall of our courtyard...visible from our Dining Room and Kitchen. There will be plants in front of them in some areas, so overall it should be a subtle glimpse into a world I love and miss.
Living in Australia, we get the silvery/grey greens in our foliage. I do love the colours of Yorkshire...and I am mad about those dry stone walls.

(picked up the camera to discover battery only had a breath of juice left in it, so I was lucky to get these pics)

[Stanley]

I like them Maz! Impressive amount of work, no wonder Bagpuss is languishing. Why does my mind keep skipping back to the thread we ran once on knitting vaginas? (I'll bet that was a mistake, no doubt someone will tell me! Puts tin hat on and hides under table.)

[Marilyn]

Oh my Lord...I have no idea why you suddenly think of knitted female genitalia!
Was it the way I painted my valley? Or were my hills reclining in a provocative manner? Or are you just up too early this morning and suffering from sleep deprivation?
I do recall a comment made about knitting body parts and having trouble completing an elbow...or something...but it is back in the dim, dark depths...and possibly best not resurrected...
(or is it the name BAGPUSS? I must say I am not keen on the name. Even Pussbag would be better than BAGPUSS. Or perhaps not....now that I have looked at it a few times! Oh this is dreadful. Don't get me started, Stanley! )

[Stanley]

Love it Maz! You are so easy to wind up! Mind you, I wasn't making it up, I must have a good, if selective, memory.

[Nolic]

Very impressive Maz. The style is very similar to what David Hockney has been doing recently. Nolic

http://img.artknowledgenews.com/files20 ... nterTu.jpg

[Wendyf]

Wow, it is stunning Maz.

[Marilyn]

I do like the David Hockney style.
I shouldn't look at things like that. It is easy to be influenced. ( I was hoping to work some purple into my mural and it was the first thing I noticed when looking at David's work. Just letting you know that so you don't think I copied!)
Thank you for your comments. The pleasure I get out of painting far exceeds any real talent, but that is what hobbies are all about, I think.

[Stanley]

I think you are dead right Maz. There is much to be said for doing things with your hands even though you know where all the faults are. Exactly the same philosophy drives me in the Shed and if I ever got to the stage where obsession with perfection crept in I think I'd give it up. Its enjoyment I am after, not punishment!

[Nolic]

Maz, now't wrong with being influenced by anyone's work-as long as we express it in our own way. Even direct copying is fine by me as long as you credit the original artist or photographer. Nolic