Photo vs. Sketchbook

I almost always carry my camera, and I definitely always have my phone on me. If I can't take a quick snap of something then I feel very lost indeed. I also generally have a sketchbook with me even if I don't have my full watercolour set. What I don't generally have is the time to sketch on the spot, especially if we are in the middle of a walk somewhere. I've been dithering a bit over putting sketches from photos in my journal, because it sort of feels like I'm not doing it 'properly'. Thankfully, I seem to have got myself over that now and I am enjoying transferring some of my favourite photos into my sketchbook.

Like anything, it takes practice. I don't want my pieces to be photo-realistic because I don't have the time for that, but I guess I'm aiming for a certain amount of realism. Working in the comfort of home means I can also take the time to sketch in pencil first without adding ink, and I'm enjoying this new challenge.

Have a little faith

 It felt like Spring was never going to arrive. I should have had more faith, really.

Nature is doing its thing. Slowly, but it's coming.

 Every little flower, every little bird...it's all beautiful and makes me quite emotional, actually.

There is still lots of grey and brown. Lots of bare branches. But in between there are green leaves, tiny flowers, and splashes of colour.

 The wind brought with it some beautiful blue skies and clouds that left wispy, frothy trails.

I am SO going to sketch that shed. I took more than 90 photos on this walk and any one of them would make a lovely picture.

I'm thinking maybe a large-scale canvas/ I've been in this house for two years and there still isn't anything on the walls, so these photos might be the prompt I need to change that.

Don't get me wrong, it's still cold. There was a fresh, biting wind that made my eyes water and my nose run. I was very glad to get back into the warmth of the car and eat our picnic.

But Spring is a promise. A promise of sunny days and warmth that reaches your bones. A promise of new growth, renewal and opportunity. 

Life is good.

An autumn weekend

This weekend I have mostly been...

Finding new paths. I have driven on these roads all my life and I've never parked up and explored beyond the hedge. It's very special to walk slowly along, looking for fruit, listening for squirrels and soaking in the beauty of it all.

Foraging for blackberries. More than I can carry, mostly small but sweet and full of flavour. Every so often you can find a big juicy one, hidden behind a leaf or protected by a bramble. They taste all the better for having to fight to get them. 

Being grateful. Somewhere after crossing this stile I dropped my phone (which is what I was using to take these photos). We walked on and eventually left....a couple of hours later I realised what had happened and we returned to trace our steps. Before we had even parked the car, someone rang to say they had found my phone in the long grass and where could they meet me to return it. I am amazed that they found it, and that they returned it. People are good.

Resting. Much like these little sweeties in the pet shop. I wish I could take them home, but I don't think a certain pussy cat would approve.

Being inspired. Taking photographs for future reference (and sketching). Enjoying colours, shapes and scents.

Doing things differently. Being outdoors doing stuff means I'm not indoors making stuff. I'm making the most of it while the sun still shines, and it feels good.

Hey

Er, I seem to have missed June. What happened there?

There definitely hasn't been any creating, that's for sure. I've been studying like mad - only two assignments left until the exam now. Sitting on my desk are some new paints which are just dying to meet a canvas...I'm promising myself a crafty weekend.

In the meantime...I only took photos on three days in June. This was the prettiest.

Hoping for perfect

Slightly late in the season perhaps, but I love the blue/yellow combo in this picture. Also, I love the shallow depth of field which only serves to remind me that upgrading my camera is a definite must.

Which is a round-about way of saying...I had a hospital check up yesterday and the tumour markers are all clear. Yay. But there is something else which I am trying not to Google too much, but means I have to go back for another blood test in two weeks. Nobody is freaking out just yet (well, apart from when I do the Google thing) but obviously I would quite like those tests in two weeks to come back with perfect numbers in every box.

Inspiration

When I actually studied art, Rene Magritte was always one of my favourites. Not the most fashionable surrealist, I liked his thought-provoking images. This one, Empire of Light, is not one of his most famous paintings, but I love it. I'm not sure how long I looked at it before I realised what was 'wrong' with it.


I used to have a copy of it on my bedroom door. It was the first thing I thought of when I took this photo yesterday:

Sunset over Newport and the sky looked like it was on fire. This photo is almost SOOC, but I will admit to bumping up the colours a little bit. Who could resist?

Far too easily pleased

You know when you give a child a present, and they spend longer playing with the wrapping than they do with the toy?

If you give me flowers, I will spend at least as long taking photos of them as I will admiring them. And I'll take some more photos in a couple of days when they have all fully opened. And then all of those photos will give me hours of fun in Photoshop, because no photo of mine will live unedited.



You can see some more of my flower photos here

Over the sea and far away

Pont du Raz
Originally uploaded by kate bucci

In the beginning when I was first diagnosed, I decided that everything could be put on hold until my treatment was finished. The doctors gave me a timescale and in my head I was planning what I would do when it was all over.

Fast forward ten months and I've realised that it really doesn't work like that. Doctors are not accurate, diagnoses change and their original estimate of "six months of treatment" has already nearly doubled. By the time I am anything approaching normal again, it will probably be nearer 18 months.

That's a long time to put your life on hold...and somewhere in the midst of it all, I realised that I couldn't. Life goes on, whether you like it or not. And even if I can't do everything I want to right now, there are still things I can do, things I can enjoy. I don't have to just fight the cancer, I can live with it too.

Goal setting is one of those things I swore I'd never too (too self-help manual) but has actually been really positive. Whether I write it in my journal, or just mentally promise myself, having a checklist makes me happy. On my worst days, my goal can be to get dressed. On better days, having something to aim for really makes a difference.

My biggest goal was to go with the choir on tour to France. I got my surgeon to bring the op forward so I'd have eight weeks to recover, and hoped like mad. A two-week stay in hospital didn't help, and the day before we were due to leave I sat down and cried because I didn't think I'd manage it....but I did. I spent a week riding around Brittany in a coach with the most wonderful, beautiful, amazing group of people who carried my bags, sat with me when I couldn't walk, took hundreds of silly photos and shared more than a few bottles of wine. We sang in some amazing places and it was truly inspirational. I returned feeling very, very blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends and to have shared such an amazing time.

Right now, those memories are making me smile and keeping me going. 74 more days to go.