Going for world domination

Oh April - where have you gone? Admittedly you were mostly shrouded in cloud and often drenched in rain but were also bathed in sunlight and lifted by the most glorious blue skies.

Among many things keeping me occupied (work, life, gardening, living) I have been quietly painting - a tiny picture a day. I can't explain the simple joy they brought me.  A mini escape in watercolour.

Now, suddenly it is the last day of April and the last day of the challenge - #30minipaintings, so I thought I would, to commiserate/celebrate/acknowledge the last day of the month by sharing them here.

Each little picture (well - 28 of the 30) is a record of a real event on the day or the day before they were painted - 28 little stories of my life. The other two were just quickly done late on in an evening when I'd not had time earlier to paint.

Cats, plants, gardens, adventures, family, tea and life - that sums up April. And to show how small they really are .....

A small and furry for comparison.

Post Script - I am on with another painting/drawing challenge - one I kick started at work at the beginning of the year to encourage folk to get creative - it gently grows with more people joining in - we're going for world domination through the medium of art!
 

Another brick in the wall*

I find that I look forward to the days I can 'art' for a couple of hours. As the weather warms up and I return to my seasonal garden work, my time to get the brushes and pens out has reduced. The escapism it provides is turning out to be cathartic so I am going to try to ensure I can still 'play'.

The small group which we have started at work seems to be enjoying 'arting' too. I am not the only one benefiting from the results. There is a wonderful small wave of pride as the books and work are shared - including one or two who I quite wrongly suspected would not even participate - how wrong I was!

Between us, we share the theme choice - so some are quite out of my comfort zone (as it is for others) and my results each week are rather variable. Below are some from the last few weeks.

World of Whimsy (I went down a rather dark route with this one rather than the cutesy style the others did)

Thunderstorms and Cloudy Skies

Communication - poison arrow frog 

I am also playing around with different ways - so at the moment one of my favourite things to do is 'art-small'. I found a rather tiny tin, cut papers to fit and paint mini pictures to fit the tin! Pocket painting💙

You can not believe the joy this brings me! I have made a bit of a traveling art studio in an old pencil case, small enough to fit in my haversack and plan to do a painting or two, when we are out walking. (Cue eye roll from Himself!🙄🤪) Fortunately they are surprisingly quick thanks to their teeny tiny size.

And, what have I been working on today? Well, this week's theme is 'Building' - happy heart jump! I love drawing wonky houses, tumbled stones, shingles, slate roofing - so - happy me!

It was at this point I discovered that the black pen I'd used was not water fast and as soon as I tried to apply a sepia colour wash - it smudged - oh well, c'est la vie!

Post Script: The title? Well, I was wondering what to call today's post when on the radio -  Pink Floyds' Another Brick in the Wall was requested by a listener - cheers mate!