Black on Grey on White

Peeking out of my cave studio with a big guilty look on my face and a wee timid wave. The winter weather/ pre-Xmas rush have me totally in their grip and have mercilessly stung me with silence. I have been neglecting you all. Sorry! As the sting is likely to have lasting effects (I'm optimistically estimating two weeks) and due to the nature of my work (top secret presents) I can't show you any progress reports or finished works for a while to come. In an honest try to make amends, I have a mix (seasonal and not so seasonal) of images I would like to share until the act of secrecy has been lifted. "Snowed Under" 2010 Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved. "That Way" 2010 Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved. "Zoom" 2010 Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved. "Right at ya!" 2010 Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved. "Touch of Red!" 2010 Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved. Thank you all, once ag...

It's been a crazy classic sunny summer complete with banjo playing tin men, static herons, green butterflies silky white roses. Today's walked raised the all important question . Are the colours fading, beautifully, but nevertheless fading...? The chill in the wind confirmed autumns presence...sadly. Had a great summer working in colour, discovering new harmonies . School starts in 36 hours. I'll be back in my "scribble" world. Back to working with drama, with contrast, with soul. Back to my beloved black on grey on white...

Sadly, at this end, we are back to muddy puddles, grotty light and diluted Dettol. The rejuvenating energy and sparkle that seems to tag alongside extra low temperatures and extra white snow has most definitely thawed. January is cold time, flu time; too many visits to the chemist time. It is the time when my main mission becomes keeping these things in check and the many cold and the flu virus at arms length. Confirmation came yesterday, a pleasant radio presenter, cheerfully announced that yes the flu viruses were on the rampage and would be affecting at least one in ten of us… Ah, I thought, let the cheeky blighters come… Like a well drilled duty officer, I have the home fires burning, dish-out warm meals daily, have stocked -up on packets & boxes of tissues, checked the sell-by-date on the Vitamin C jar, filled the fruit bowl with mandarins (a firm favorite in our house) and washed the floors with diluted Dettol. Agreed this has sidetracked me from getting a serious amount of ...

The week flew by. My silence: a direct result of a virus "thingy" (the one that hit our household a whole 2 weeks ago). Not only has it made my family ill... but proceeded, shamelessly, to nibble away any work and me time... Today, the sun made a rare appearance and sent us off for a good battery recharging traditional Sunday stroll (i.e: a walk). For your viewing pleasure: a couple of "proof pics" that explain, in the way only pics can, the afternoon we so enjoyed.  I hope you, wherever you are, are enjoying or have enjoyed a great second of Advent. Cheers for now.

Mid-term has set in and my drawing board has been cleared away until Monday next week. The time for drawing and creating seriously diminished. The time for discovering and relishing in what others have done with a mastery strangely enough increased. I'm not one for landscapes...well not until I  (virtually) saw Churches' 7 foot wide Aurora Borealis. This masterpiece is anchoring the To the Ends of the Earth, Painting the Polar Landscape  at the Peabody Essex Museum. (Runs from 8 November through 1 March, 2009.) I had to dig further. I did and... found a master.  The purpose of this post is not to bore you with my interpretation of his work, or the impact it has on me, or even to tell you that he was born in Connecticut on May 4th 1826 and died 74 years later in New York his reputation  firmly established and incredibly well respected.  The purpose is rather to let you enjoy in silence the magnificence of his work. However, before I bring on this silence, let me just throw i...