Kat3 is evolving

Well I have played around a bit more with Kat3 OH says I am bonkers!!

A little bit more playing and then things will get serious I will actually use the Air Dry Modelling Clay and start learning its drawbacks !!

Back to Modelling - Kat3

Today it was too hot for most escapes so after a nice walk down to the local canal (Saul Junction ) and a Honey and ginger Ice Cream I had another bash at modelling.

He is supposed to look a litle kooky gremlin like maybe he is Kookie-Katt. This was my first experiment using a cocktail stick embedded in his neck to attach the head. Ouch!!!

This work is still being done in plasticine I will wait for cooler weather before I hit the clay.

Ginger Cake a Sucess!!!

Well here it is in its scrumminess. I got the recipe on an Internet Forum. It said I should leave overnight after cooking and this seemed to be suggested in some other recipes. Well what a difference it seemed too fluffy and fragile when it was cooked and being me  I couldnt wait to get it out of the tin. Got it out once and put it back in quickly.

Took it out of the tin last night jast as it cooled down and it nearly fell apart.

Today at 11am we had coffee and Ginger Cake very pleased with the recipe. And here it is after cutting. Didnt have time to take a pic of the first slices as they were eaten too fast!!

Making a Ginger Cake

I decided that a good way to deal with my guilt and worry about my mums illness was to try and step into her cake making shoes. This is my first effort in a long while in making a Ginger Cake. Its not her recipe as thats mostly in her head and due to the onset of dementia a bit dodgy.

Ok so here we have the assembled ingredients :

Oops not forgetting the butter

All the wet ingredients and sugar weighed out in a saucepan

Then the sifted Flour and spices including Ginger Powder made a well in the centre

Got an egg then beat it

Gently melted the butter and sticky stuff over a low heat

At the same time adding the beaten egg and cold milk to the sifted flour

Stirred the gloopy sugary treacly mix into this to produce a lovely smelling gloop.

Watched it baking and wished my Oven door was cleaner

Result a bit miffed it has sunk a bit in the middle but recipe says leave overnight before you eat!

Can we wait that long!!

Lester waiting to be viewed

My poor client is really busy and wont be coming to view the lad until next week.

But in the meantime here he is :-

And Another Go!! Katt 2

Here we go another bash not trying to be clever (yet) just playing.

Is this the Start of My Modelling Career ?

Everyone has to start somewhere so....

I am going to teach myself how to model in Clay.

Attempt Number one is nothing serious it is just playing around with a lump of Off-White Plasticine and here is Katt1.

Palaces and Coblets

Had a lovely week so far the Icing on the cake being a visit to Blenheim Palace.

This is me posing by the waterfall at the end of the lake.

Rejuvenated I have cracked on with Lester and here he is in my eyes nearly completed.

Grassing Up

Progressing Well with Lester for some reason the photo isnt as good as the actual picture.

I have spent time on the background as a mistake I have made in the past is leaving this until last. You can never get the colour balance quite right if you do that.

A Day of Mud and Horses

I have had a wonderful day to day. I dug a new part for my shade border. I have a spot along the fenceline where the grass fails and moss and weeds grow at the end of the border. Its my quiet comtemplative corner on hot days always in the shade so I have cleared part of it and dug it over to let the heavy rain that is forecast knock the lumps about. I have rescued and potted up some self-seeded ferns and foxgloves and over the next week I shall plant the spot up. I would post photos but its now chucking it down.

I really got stuck into my painting of Lester today using a lot of pastel pencils. I took a few photos of my progress. I could not see enough detail in the original photo so I wacked up the brightness in Paint Shop Pro to get some of the detail right. Here he is today.

Its now 9 weeks since I gave up my horse and just over 3 weeks since he was sold. For the first time in ages I actually felt like playing with horses and as my friend Diane is on holiday I went over to her place and played with her horse Bella. She is somewhat overweight so needs work so I took her out to the field and worked her on the lunge. She was quiet challenging but I did get some decent work out of her. Then I spent an hour poo picking her field and loved every minute of it how sad is that.

I phoned her later to let her know that I had worked her horse and asked if she was always so tricky on the lunge and she said I dont know I have never lunged her well they say ignorance is bliss!!

Ups and Downs with my Luck Dragon

It is a long time since I posted on here I am horrified to discover it was January. Well as they say a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then. I finally bit the bullet and sold my beloved horse Drifter he proved to be too much horse for me as him needing more time spent on him coincided with my mother becoming ill. She has been in hospital twice since March but now I appear to have my head back together.

Well that was the Down. I have been very lucky to be asked to do portraits of two lovely horses by previous clients.

Firstly here is Robbie painted posthumously a cheeky chap who lived to a ripe old age before his heartbroken owner Judy had to have him put to sleep. I painted him as my first ever commission when he and I were both a lot younger. Here is his portrait happily grazing in his field.

This will be Judys 3rd Commission as I painted her Lurcher Pebbles in 2002.

My second Commission which I am just working on is of a rather lovely Piebald Cob called Lester. He is only 5 and he is an absolute sweetheart.

So heres a quick progress pic.