Drawing for fun...
Adios February!
And there goes February, over in the blink of an eye if you aren’t careful! I sometimes wonder if February was picked to be the shortest month to hurry along the arrival of March, the month that most consider the start of Spring? Someone who knows more about how modern time came into being will be able to tell me that I’m wrong about this but I like the idea all the same.
This month I have continued my drawing from life most days which has also inspired me to just draw more for fun too…I’m really enjoying it. So as well as the little notebook I have been scribbling away in outdoors in all weathers (it has yet to turn to paper maché you’ll be pleased to hear) I have also resumed an indoor sketchbook practise, again drawing with pencils, which I am enjoying thoroughly!
It’s also in an effort to be more intentional with my time. Last year I installed an app blocking app on my phone which for 8 hours a day stops me using social media. I was finding that in moments of procrastination I was reaching for my phone and then losing 10-15 minutes of time, on what? Well, nothing I can really remember to be honest. It kind of made me feel itchy too, like I knew I was wasting time and I knew I had stuff I wanted to be doing but I couldn’t break out of it.
The Refocus app has been life changing! I actually feel for the first time in ages that I am getting my brain back a bit and I’m actually doing the things that I thought I didn’t have time to do.
I love social media for keeping up with the art, interiors, music and friends accounts that I follow, but how much life have I wasted mindlessly scrolling? I’m going to try not to think about that and show you some of these new drawings instead. They’re detailed and time consuming but also they’ve been excellent for finding flow, improving my drawing and also giving me the confidence to jump the ‘blank page’ hurdle a bit faster each time I start anew…
And it’s FULFILLING to do something like this. To feel like I am improving at something I love to do and also, in a likely vain attempt but I will try anyway, lead by example showing my children (who do really love to draw and read and play guitar and drums but the pull of screens is so strong to them) that entertainment exists in creating and thinking and not just consuming.
I’m trying not to chastise myself for mostly wanting to draw birds and flowers in these moments. They are rather safe from an art point of view but I love them to look at so why not? I think everyone should have a creative ‘screen saver’, that thing you really love to do and that you come back to again and again, not because it’s easy and quick but because you know that the outcome will be relatively pleasing. Because who wants to be frustrated by the thing they are doing for fun? That’s the quickest way to make a hobby a chore…
And what else this month?
It started with Rosie, our eldest pony getting a foot abscess…When the ground is so endlessly wet, hooves can get soft and little cracks and holes appear and take in all sorts of muck and bacteria which can in some cases cause an infection. It can be very painful for them until the abscess bursts (gross!) and releases the pressure. To hurry this process along the hoof needs to be poulticed and kept clean to draw out the grim goo inside, so I spent the first week or so of the month poulticing and wrapping Rosies tiny hoof until she wasn’t lame any more. I have to deal with abscesses in various hooves fairly regularly so I am quite adept at fashioning a waterproof boot from a nappy (soaks up any water ingress), a piece of haylage bag (thick plastic that doesn’t wear through in a hurry) and gaffa tape (nice and strong) to go over the poultice and keep any more mud out until it is all healed up.
It’s a pretty gross and smelly job and once this time around I managed to get spray back all over my face from the purple antiseptic spray I was squirting into the offending hoof hole, which was worrying because that stuff can stain hands for weeks. Thankfully I washed it off straight away and wasn’t afflicted with purple freckles for long…It would have been interesting trying to explain that to the mums at the school gate!
The snowdrops were beautiful at the start of the month as were the crocus, carrying on their Winter spectacle. The primroses are out too which I always think look like Skips, those little prawn cocktail melty snacks…anyone else see it?
There have been beautiful mists hanging between the valleys on the mornings that weren’t wet. Though the rain has been relentless. The horses have been very fed up with it, all being a bit naughty and out of sorts at times like they just need a good dry and still spell to warm through and relax a bit…
I have made a new friend in the field, a lovely large pheasant who appears morning and evening when I check on the horses, he comes quite close now. Obviously my threat has been deemed minimal which I am pleased about. They are such handsome birds, pheasants, though I don’t think they are the brightest birds around. I don’t even know what it is that makes me think that…the look in their eye perhaps? A bit vacant?!
Mid month I was the luckiest girl around when I got to fly to Fuertaventura with my family for 10 WHOLE DAYS! Sunshine! Reading! Drawing! Exploring!
I have been to this island before but this time because of heavier than usual rainfall through December and January, instead of the barren brown and black Mars-like landscape that the Canaries are known for, the island was in a rare full bloom. A fantastic treat for anyone let alone a nature lover like me!
Driving to the supermarket on the first morning we were greeting with acres and acres of beautiful purple hills covered with Matthiola Bolleana flowers, known locally as Alhelí Canario. A kind of Mediterranean stock but this type is endemic to Lanzarote and Fuertaventura (both of which are my favourites of the Canary Islands). Also lots of yellow and crown daisies, onionweeds, heliotropes and more. It was stunning.
What I love about these islands is that you don’t have to go too far off the beaten track to feel like you are stepping back in time. Many roads are unpaved which makes for an adventure in itself, but alongside that they are dotted with little surf communities and shacks, small fishing harbours and farms. It all has a very relaxing natural and uncomplicated vibe to it. A world away from glittering cities with all of their hustle and bustle.
We stayed in a rural village called Tefia in the centre of the island, it was so peaceful and upon first arriving at our villa I had one of the highlights of the whole trip…spotting not one, not two, but THREE Hoopoes all at once. I was so excited I almost crashed the car into the little stone wall that they popped up on to as we were driving past. They seemed to like the trees next door and I only caught glimpses of them after that initial encounter but heard their booping call every day. What a treat.
It was a glorious trip, the right balance of flopping around in the sun, swimming and exploring and spending time with my loved ones.
Then it was back to reality, which hit us full in the face when disembarking the aeroplane onto the tarmac at Bristol Airport in the form of drizzle driven by strong gusts. BUT! There’s noticeably less mud at home which has been a relief so far. While the snowdrops went over while we were away the daffodils are still putting on an excellent show, primroses are blooming all over and the gorse flowers and celandines are bringing their golden blooms into the mix. The forsythias will be next and we will be full into the yellow weeks of Spring!
The bare branches are still making it look very wintry but it has definitely warmed up while I have been away. I have spotted buds forming and new growth appearing on the brambles. Catkins droop from hazels and willows, and the ornamental cherry has popped her beautiful pink flowers in the corner of our garden. My hellebores are looking wonderful too.
We also returned to find the horses and cats all moulting. As well as the yellow weeks these will be the hair weeks…hair on everything. Best stock up on the lint rollers…
The fields are greening up a little bit too, time to keep a closer eye on the weight of this horses, too much sugary Spring grass can make them ill. So they are having no extra and have been following me around the field while I pick up their poos whinnying at me to be let into the far field for more. But I have to stay strong against their guilt tripping. It’s for their own good, don’t they know?!
I think the birds know that Spring is nearly here too, they seem louder. The other morning was a cacophony of wren (she was by far the loudest kid on the block) greenfinch, chaffinch, jackdaws, crows, robins, dunnock, bluetits, goldfinch, redwings and sparrows. I highly recommend the Merlin Bird ID app for moments like that. One app that definitely isn’t blocked on my phone!
I’m looking forward to seeing them start to build their nests, with all of the hair going free here they have the plushest nests around.
Canada geese have been flying over morning and evening, and woodpeckers have been drilling fresh holes announcing their territories and claiming the best snack spots.
I am also pleased to report that the pair of partridge lovers in the bottom field have so far evaded the sly old fox (as have the remaining two ducks) I spotted them among the daffodils near to where I last saw them so I’m pretty sure it’s the same pair. I wish them luck for the coming spring and finding a safe spot for their ground nest.
Tomorrow it is Spring which is my favourite time of year with all of the fresh growth and promise! I must start my planting soon and see to my very neglected garden. Jobs for the weekend and all that…
I will leave you with some drawings from my trip, these ones are in the ‘Drawings from life’ notebook, which I think was as pleased to see the sun. as I was!
Lee X