Well birthdays come and go; as I leave this one, the splendid age of seventy three has been just about reached, with all my add-ons, such as legs and arms still attached and functioning of sorts, for which I am very thankful.

Today, with it being a tad damp and drizzly, we walked from Purford to the remains of the Royal Palace at Old Woking. We traveled across the fields, a golf coarse and various footpaths. Finding this amazing footpath, it could have been a thousand miles away from any civilization. We saw a large toad, hundreds of small frogs moving into the woods after leaving a pond, (they do it all together in the hope that a few make it), all the usual sorts of things such as rabbits, squirrels and best of all a roe deer. The dampness of the weather made all the colours shine; an truly, amazing walk.

The ink work is not forgotten as the above demonstrates; finished it last night. The latest boat sculpture is almost completed; now, being boxed, it just needs framing, painting and all the photographic record stuff and then it is finished; and them my next one. More about that in a little while.

See you soon, God Bless.

Following directions from a friend,  we went orchid hunting in Surrey this week. After three trips we finally found then in a meadow behind Worpleston in a lovely small meadow, surrounded by the woods of the Whitmoor common. I do not claim to be an orchid expert, so am prepared to be corrected, but it is probably a Heath Spotted orchid; is there any expert out there to confirm this. It was nice to have a go with my macro lens again; I had forgotten how hard macro photography was.

Then today as it is a little to warm too wander very far, a short stroll to the tree shaded Canal was in order. Sitting by the Bridge Barn I chilled out to sketch and then phone a couple of friends. A pleasant hour or so. Now after lunch a few hours in the study working on the Scilly Isles paintings. Life is busy but fun.

Good morning everybody and what a lovely day it is, Having just strolled down the road to get moving, having a chat with a neighbor and then into the study for a while; nice start. The plan today is for a short trip to a nursery to purchase a couple of ceramic plant pots, then a few hours house work plus some more time in the study, before we go for a walk on Whitmoor Common. Apparently there is an area with lots of wild orchids; hope we can find them. On the CD player is a recording by Sir Thomas Allen (baritone) of Victorian parlor songs; whilst on my desk is a "working on" water color of a deserted dumper truck on 

the island of St Martins one of the Scilly Isle arpeggio group. The painting above is of Norval's Point towards the north on St Mary's, also on the Scilly Isles. A beautiful, quiet and deserted area, good place to sit and think for a while.

Yesterday was fathers day and all my three boys contacted me for quite lengthy chats, which I enjoyed. I have a good relationship with them all and a major part of that relationship is of the boys teasing me mercilessly. One of the bees which I keep in my bonnet is a dislike of battery operated toys, well you will have seen the photo of my studio the other day, you will have noticed the arched array of lamps and fans. so the lapse in my ecological stance towards electrical toys was pointed out to me. I think that was one up for James, no matter how hard I tried to justified them. Not to worry, I love them all.

See you soon.

When watching telly I often see artists in their grandiose and palatial studios; they make me green with envy. So here is my stupendous, grandiose, palatial and spacious studio, The above is my corner, I would love more space, I need more space, but I am not going to get more space, I love my little studioette (my own made up word) so I must be contented; maybe I am

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Again, yet another good thing happened yesterday. One of my God children mailed me on the net; lovely. So Ben this is for you.

 You know although life can be tough, it is also most certainly very good, nice things are around every corner. We went for a walk this morning along the Wey valley; butterflies in profusion, flowers, trees, birds, even the rain kept off until we got back too the car. On the down side, two footpaths were closed, needing a lengthy detour on the walk, one bridge almost needed mountaineering skills to cross, one style needed similar skills. Oh it was good fun and we have great adventures.

I now have a water-colour to finish and an ink to work at; must get on.

Duncan

Had a lovely surprise yesterday; a full Devon afternoon tea, complete with various scones, butter, clotted cream, strawberry jam, even tea, (I hasten to add that it was in the tea bag form) arrived by post. Totally unexpected, an included note explained, that the sender had purchased a print of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem from me, I am pleased to say that she liked, indeed, she liked it a lot, so much so, that she sent me a delicious afternoon tea; I hasten to add that it was shared with Liz. Now that was very nice. Thank you.

We should be in the Channel islands, particularly Guernsey at the moment, obviously we did not go; but then many of us are not to pleased with this little virus which is floating around, so lets put up with it and do a little virtual digital travel instead. How about Chapel bay in Cornwall. We visited this windy and rain sodden beach a number of years ago and despite the elements loved the place. Nice memories, hope you like the picture.




The pen was not water proof, so the sketch was done quickly behind a sand dune, with me leaning over it to keep the rain away. It was finished in the comfort of the hotel later. Lovely memory.

The paper sculpture of the boat which I mentioned some time ago is finished, now it is slowly drying out and then it will be framed. It has to be completely dry, because you do not want to seal it framed with moisture in it; that would not be a good idea.

Whilst walking with Liz the other day we came across a massive old oak tree; which is the subject of my ink work at present. The drawing is A3 and deliberately being drawn with small, very faint ink marks and lines,  which are slowly built up to develop the contrasts slowly. Hope it works!!!

See you all soon.

Good morning everybody and the sun is still shining wonderfully. The farmers and gardeners are being given glimmers of hope as a little rain is forecast for later on in the week. But for now, I just love the sun.

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With the limiting of my movements to not very far from home, doing photographic research for my tree project is tricky. No trips to wonderful woods and forests; the the wild, wild woods sadly are not within reach. So as I walk around the streets and locality, my camera is normally over my shoulder and the bottom of hedgerows and tree trunks offer amazing views of complexity of growth and very real challenges to draw. See the above.

With each view, when looked at carefully, the complexity of vegetation growth, and the  range of contrasts are immense. Every square inch of the work needs differing methods of applying ink. Its a sharp learning curve, all good fun and keeping me on my toes. So fresh subjects are everywhere, get out there and have a go.

Regards Duncan