Monday 27 April 2015

More Lisbon... street Art

Happy Monday!

Anyone that knows me or has been reading my blog for a while will know that I love graffiti -the colours, messages and its ephemeral nature.



It often features in my work and our recent holiday was a rich source of inspiration.



I reckon some of these images will make their way onto my textiles somewhere along the way, maybe as a backdrop for a lonesome chair...




I've mostly stopped photographing the whole piece now. I prefer to get in closer and abstact it a bit.


That way I seem to notice more of the details and unexpected shapes...


...and the textures of the wall beneath.


Have a good week....

Friday 24 April 2015

All This Used to Be Fields

This morning the dog and I set off for our very local walk. It's a short stroll from our front door, along a pathway and a quiet road where the oil depot sits. It is very peaceful - the oil tankers are few and far between and are very respectful of walkers. There is a little pond in an adjacent field and the route is often populated by sheep, horses and cows in the fields.

We climb a stile into a large field, where Alfie can run free if there are no sheep (he's a bit of a sheep rustler at heart). After that we climb another stile and mooch along a leafy pathway next to the golf course before emerging back onto the road back home, where we sometimes pass children on their way to school.

Occasionally we bump into other dog walkers, rarely we see a golfer, but we are always accompanied by birdsong. I've walked this route in all weathers, learnt to run here and it is very close to my heart.

 Which is why I feel so sad this morning, having seen the early stages of devastation that the new by-pass road is causing.




 The boundaries of these fields were lined with trees and hedgerows. I can't help wondering what has happened to any nesting birds.



All of the trees and hedges have been uprooted and shredded leaving just a mess of sawdust.

Just beyond the sawdust there used to be a line of trees screening the golf course beyond.


Alfie is looking a bit confused- this is where I used to lift him over the stile and there were trees screening us from the field on the right.

It seems such a shame. I think I may have to walk elsewhere for a while.

Monday 20 April 2015

Mr Blue Sky



The first day and a half of our holiday we had showery weather. From my experience, when it rains in Portugal, it rains a deluge! After that though, our trip to Lisbon gave us mostly blue and cloudless skies....

 
...which contrasted beautifully with the pale buildings.


















Saturday 18 April 2015

Lisbon 2015

Hello lovely people.

The sun is shining and I'm holding on to the holiday feeling after our wonderful trip to Lisbon.


I'm slowly working through my photos and the tonnes of washing (thank goodness for the dry weather) and easing my way back into day to day life. It has been so good to spend time with my family- walking, eating and laughing. Come September our daughter will be moving away to uni and the following year one of our sons will probably be on his way too, so these times together are very precious.


I will bring more pictures here later in the week.

In the meantime, I'd like to show you my shiny new website;

www.dottyb.co.uk

I'd love you to pop by and have a browse and let me know what you think.

Have a lovely weekend.xx