Although I have been concentrating on Sketching and Painting in the last 3-4 years, Photography remains very dear to my Heart and I look forward this year to upgrading my current equipment etc and going in a different direction, photographically, i.e. away from DSLR’s to Mirrorless, but the first point of call will be a higher end compact. Long-gone are the days when I would carry 2 x SLR/DSLR bodies, 4 lenses and more.
I was thinking about photography today and I thought I would revisit some of my earlier, pre-Digital images. All the images below were taken on photographic Slides, Fujichrome Sensia ISO 100 rated at 125. I hope you enjoy them.
As mentioned previously on this Blog, I am a Cactus and Succulent enthusiast but certainly not an expert in this area. I was given a Euphorbia Succulent by my Aunt Beryl in 1977, when I was 14 and, if you’ll pardon the pun, my interest grew from there.
A few years back I had a 35square metre Cacti and Succulent garden. Currently, all my plants are in pots as we live in a different place, though when we move in the next two years I feel sure I will have a combination of a garden and pots.
One of the challenges regardless of where they are planted is weeds. Some Cacti (particularly) are harder to weed than others which gives rise to another problem i.e. the enthusiast getting stabbed (usually more than once) with Cacti spines. These spines can range from less than a millimetre or two to over three centimetres long, and regardless of the size, they are all quite painful. Sometimes, you cannot see them with the naked eye.
So, what is the solution or workaround?
Gloves are the obvious thought, however, trust me, they offer little protection against the stronger spines i.e. the spine will go straight through them. Maybe a pair of flexible Kevlar gloves would be good…
I often weed in and around Cacti bare-handed and work slowly, methodically and carefully as I can though even then I still get stabbed and sometimes you cannot see the spine or it may have broken off inside your skin…but you can certainly feel it…
In the event of getting stabbed by a smaller spine, and particularly ones not visible to the naked eye, I have a bottle of Ichthammol 25% w/w Drawing Ointment at the ready. As it says on the bottle, it is a ‘Drawing Ointment’ meaning you apply a small amount to the area where the spine went in and it draws it out overnight. Just pop a bandaid loosely over the affected area and next morning the spine is magically gone!
Not surprisingly, I get a lot of use out of this product…maybe too much!
I have also tried using a pair of Long-Nosed Pliers with varying degrees of success.
This Christmas, my Wife Susan surprised me with an additional mini-present within my actual present and it was a set of unusually long pair of straight and angle ‘Tweezers’ for pulling out weeds around Cacti that she had stumbled across online. There are 27cm in length and made of steel.
I road-tested these last weekend and must say that I am delighted with them. One of the Cacti I have the most trouble weeding is from the Echinopsis family, pictured below. The weeds seem to come up between the ‘Balls’ of Cacti and can be most difficult to remove. Today it was relatively easy.
Obviously, the goal is not to let the weeds get as bad as this but as usual, life gets in the way sometimes or it rains for long periods or we get so busy etc.
Now that I am armed with these tools I just need to ‘get onto the weeds’ before they get too big and unwieldy. At least now, I can look forward to my hands getting punctured less. That is, in itself a great way to start a New Year!
One of the presents I was very grateful to receive yesterday for Christmas was the book pictured below. I had spotted it in my local Art store and (as usual) when approaching Christmas, my Wife, Susan said ‘do you have any ideas for presents just in case anyone in the family is stumped for what to buy you?’
I only started keeping a sketchbook regularly at hand in the past 3-4 years and have been searching around for ‘that elusive all-purpose sketchbook’ that apparently does not exist.
We are so spoilt for choice these days in terms of Art supplies, including sketchbooks, not so in days gone past.
The book is beautifully presented and highlights 70 Explorers and what they used to document their journeys and their discoveries. The sketchbooks go back as far as the 1600’s to the 21st century.
I imagine they were ‘not spoiled for choice’ back then in terms of sketchbook and paper types. I think sometimes ‘we have too many choices’ and ‘get too wrapped up’ in the myriad of tools available. Maybe we should apply the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Super Simple) method more often?
I am looking forward to diving in to read about not only the Explorer’s adventures but also what they used to record their adventures and discoveries. It is going to be a fascinating journey!
This morning, for Day 1,058 of a Watercolour Sketch a Day I decided that I wanted to sketch something Christmas-related and, as I haven’t done a tutorial for a while, I searched on YouTube for just that.
I came across Lois Davidson’s channel and found ‘How To Paint A Beautiful Ink & Watercolour Snow Landscape, loose Watercolor Christmas Card Tutorial’.
Where I live, 60km South West of Sydney, Australia does not see snow at Christmas, in fact temperatures are often in the high 30’s (Celsius)+/ 90’s (Fahrenheit)+ on Christmas Day so the attraction to sketch and paint a subject at the opposite end of the spectrum was quite attractive.
The YouTube tutorials I have done in the past (and enjoyed) have been Peter Sheeler and Nil Rocha Art, though there is no verbal instruction just the occasional writing on the screen i.e. a few tips and colour tips.
It was a pleasant change to hear some instruction and tips in Lois’ tutorial. I believe I will be doing more of Lois’ tutorials and have subscribed to the channel.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my Blog followers and visitors a very Merry, Happy and Safe Christmas!
I’ve recently started another sketchbook and as mentioned in the previous article on this thread, I am using a Moleskine A4 200gsm where the pages are made up with 25% Cotton.
I haven’t found one yet, but I would love to find a sketchbook where the pages are made up with 50% Cotton. Judging from my experiences so far with 100% Cotton and 25% Cotton sketchbooks, 50% would be ideal.
I’m still enjoying Line and Wash. Today is Day 1,055 of a Watercolour Sketch a Day and am still posting them each day on Instagram. It is fascinating to look back at where I’ve come from, acknowledging though, that I still have a long way to go in terms of where I want to be. I’ve also been pushing myself to do mainly images from my imagination and the occasional reference image, rather than tutorials.
I have included some of my recent Watercolour Sketches a Day below, done in the Moleskine.
Communicating Creatively 