Painting of Rhossili

When I do commissions I often don't post them straight away as they are often birthday, wedding or anniversary gifts. Of course as time passes I tend to forget I haven't posted them. Here is a commission I did for a couple getting married at Rhossili. Although the figures are small they were dressed as shown as was given  photos of the outfits to be worn on the day.

Painting of Cadair Idris

The above painting was brought to mind when I was speaking to old friends last week who had just climbed Cadair Idris. It is not the usual view from the estuary but very dramatic nevertheless. It sold pretty well straight away.

I note John Houser is having an exhibition of his plein air works at Picton Castle from 31st August 2017. Well worth a look if you get the chance. He has a lovely loose style that is evocative of the Pre and Post War British Impressionists. A style I very much like.

Llansteffan in moonlight from the sea

This is one of my favourite paintings. It shows Llansteffan in moonlight from the sea. It was painted from a recollection of coming over Carmarthen Bar into the estuary one evening. 

The profile of the castle and headland is very different from the seaward side. I have seen it from this position on many occasions but haven't sketched it surprisingly, well I suppose I was sailing at the time.

Ferryside is in the distance on the right. To the left of the Castle is Scotts Bay.  The painting is sold

Oil Painting of Carew Castle

The painting of Carew Castle above is sold.

I am quite safety conscious but not so much as Alex. Anyway we do have smoke detectors about the place and carbon monoxide alarm. In all we have about 5 battery alarms. A while back I heard the ping of a smoke detector indicating its end of battery life.

 It isn’t always easy to identify which one is going off particularly as they go off intermittently and are at ceiling height. I was up and downstairs trying to identify which one it was and eventually tracked it down to one in our hall.

I found a new battery and removed the detector only to find it had a non-replaceable battery. I put it in the garage and then thought, “I will still be able to hear that annoying ping,” so I got the pincers, snipped the wires and threw it in the bin.

As I walked back into the hall I heard that “Ping” again. Yes, I had binned the wrong one!

Fish

This is an old painting of mine showing fishermen cleaning their catch. It was actually at Newquay.

I post this picture as I went into a bespoke fishmonger on the Welsh Borders the other day. The price of their fish was a bit steep but considering where we were that was okay. The choice to be honest was pretty minimal and I thought they were a bit up themselves. The mackerel looked a bit passed it and when I asked for them to turn over the fillets of sea bass for me to look at, they just looked at me. So I had to ask again and then I bought two. They were actually first class despite being farmed.

I compare them to my local Tescos where the choice of fish is excellent, the staff are engaging and quickly gut or fillet the fish for you in seconds.

Today I wanted salmon fillets and asked for any four. He chose four and then I said , "Not that four!"
He looked at me and then burst out laughing. Yes Alex says I have an odd sense of humour.

“I have to remind myself to breathe -- almost to remind my heart to beat!” ― Emily Brontë

The painting above is of Alex and lightly references a painting by Manet. I wasn't sure what to post this morning but conversation over breakfast sealed it.

I don't believe in re-incarnation but occasionally I think Alex may have lived with the Bronte sisters.
She has a habit of breaking into a speaking part from one of their novels. This morning for example:

"I was in correspondence with our youngest daughter and she advocated..."

"Hang on," I said, "Before you bring Mr. Darcy into this, you mean you have been emailing Rhian and she suggested ...?"

She really is hilarious and it all comes out so naturally. God knows where it comes from.

Selma

I think most people respect the Queen, well okay maybe not Jeremy Corbyn but heh, ho. I just feel a bit sorry for Prince Charles. I am not an avid Royal supporter but I have had something to do with them over the years. My experience suggests that Charles does a good job and is very genuine. He raises a lot of money for charity and is a big exponent of the Organic movement. He is very personable and unassuming. The same may not be said for some of the the Royals.

I haven't read any of the tittle tattle about Princess Dianna and frankly it doesn't interest me. I just think Charles has had a rough deal with the press for years. The painting above is a fraud. It was a present for Sue at the Waverley Stores. The Queen has never been there, but maybe she should have.

On to more serious thing. Last night I watched "Selma", essential viewing. A film/documentary about the marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King in the struggle for voting rights in the 1960's. Its frightening that this happened so recently. Anyway watching it was a sobering experience and a reminder of the bigotry that was and is still about.