Shed, window and door Scotland watercolours

 

On Thursday I completed five wee watercolours of a shed and a couple of doors and windows in northern Scotland - in villages close to the village in which we stay (Armadale).

I even got to write the subject matter etc on the back and put my stamp (bsa) on them as you can see in the photo above and those below.

A couple of process photos follow.

I did start 4 more watercolours - two abandoned boats and two ruinous buildings. I will blog on these when they are progressed a little more - maybe next week.

Watercolours will make an appearance on my online shop - probably early February!!!

'Tis berry and fungi time

 

Nature is going all out to ensure the species continue - amazing just how many different berries are out and dropping. No doubt in the forest or field there would be tress and bushes popping up everywhere - not so much in suburbia - but at least we can enjoy the beauty of the colours and forms. 

This blog post simple shares a bit of the berry bounty and beauty. As you can see from the second last berry image some berries get incorporated into the homes of others!!!

Not to be outdone the fungi are also showing their forms as a result of the recent rain. A few images of one of the more intricate fungi follows.

As always I'm in awe of nature to persist and offer such beauty.

Preparation and prototype

 

I did not get to finish anything over the weekend; but I made a start on a few things during the week including testing a prototype of a free standing brass leaf form that could become one of the pages of an unbound artists' book.  I cracked it with the form (see above); and have had the sense to trace the form before cutting and bending the prototype - see below. I will work on this book in the coming weeks.

In the spirit of sifting, sorting and shifting as part of the closure of our public studio-gallery I decided to have a good assessment and cutting up of metal in the workshop - see some of the chopped metal below.

In the sorting I discovered the half made stamped leaf forms below - these will now be ground-polished etc and possibly make their way into the revamped online shop when it happens.

I have had a couple of requests for my Daily Leaf Word Sets - I had sold out in December. So as part of the cutting process I have made enough bowl and word blanks for 4 sets.

I have also sold out of my tiny stamped silver plated books. Again I cut up various pieces of silver plated metal and offcuts and now have enough pieces to make seven books.

So there are a lot of future making options right there. 

I have been filling 10 litter buckets with metal offcuts over the last couple of years - I now  have a reasonably full bucket of pure copper scraps and a bucket of silver plated brass and brass offcuts. Fiona and I will do a run in the near future to sell the offcuts to a metal recycling company.

It started here

 

Ten years ago Peace in the Trees Sculptural Walk was officially opened - in 2015 actually. It was lovely to see how the pieces have aged and are being held by the trees and foliage on the precinct walk that runs from the Riverside carpark.

The signage reminded me that this started as an Art4place community activity under the tutelage of international sculpture Craig Medson. 

The opening photos are of the stone that Craig had delivered and broke into monoliths so 12 local artists could create the pieces for Peace in the Trees.

Following are photos of each of the pieces as I saw them on 29 December 2025.

I wonder if Kim, Katie, Vivienne, Judy, Michael, James, Edith-Ann, Cathy, Emma, Carolyn, Sally, Ken have seen their works in recent times. Thanks to Art4place for the vision, Craig for the teaching and Sunshine Coast Council for maintaining this sculptural walk.

Resilient grevilleas and other fragments

 

One of our words for today was resilience - so important in challenging times. As I walked I observed the number of grevillea bushes that continue to produce intricate blossoms - they could become a reminder during the year to persist and be resilient!!! Some of the grevillea beauty is above and below.

Still there are many other roadside bushes that create vistas of colour.

The collection of blossoms in the following image made me smile - it suggested a group of stick people peering out of the foliage; and on a closer look you can see a smily face on the centre yellow bit.

May we be open to the beauty around us so that it can lift us in challenging times.