Sunday's spotlight - Gondoliers

By guest blogger Pete.

It's come. It's gone. It's come. It's finished.

At long last the white stuff, which came about 2 weeks ago, has gone. The World War II liberation of Paris could not have attracted greater press and TV coverage than the last two weeks and the glorious "Monday February 16th 2009". The prophets of doom are now saying that this was nothing like the winter of 1963/4, which lasted three months. Pretty useless remark, really, for I thought that all winters lasted three months! A bit like saying, "I love the countryside, it is so rural."! Yesterday we basked in the heat of 10 degrees Celsius - not quite warm enough for shorts and t shirt but still an improvement. I ventured forth to my art group and promptly froze in a church hall where the temperature was 5 degrees Celsius!

Anyway, as I sat 'sweltering' in the Church Hall I managed to finish the Las Vegas version of Venice. To be perfectly honest with you I wasn't sorry to see the back of the quarrelsome gondoliers. The strike still hasn't been settled. The knobbly kneed shorts wearers refuse to give in to the boss's demands that they wear long trousers to hide those unsightly appendages. If you can think of a solution to this strike then, for the sake of restoration of peace in Las Vegas, please let me know. In the meantime, here is the finished finished picture showing the wrangling still in progress. By the way, the water really IS that colour in Las Vegas' canals!


Help! Last spring my wife and I joined up with Ruth and John for a week's touring of Washington and Oregon States. One of the places we visited was Whidby Island. On that island there is an experimental Azalea centre (or center, depending on whether or not you were properly educated!!!)(Editors note : Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens - must see!). With digital camera at the ready I took a few photographs - but I cannot lie; it must have been something in the region of a hundred or so. Despite all the beauty of the massed Azaleas I captured the attached photograph. I eventually got around to "Photoshop"ing it and then the quest began. It doesn't look too rare but what is it called? Cosmos has been suggested but I though cosmos was a member of the daisy family and this chap isn't a daisy. How about "Aquilegia" (Granny Bonnet)? Somehow it doesn't quite look like it. Any help with identification would be appreciated.


Bye for now.

Sunday's spotlight - More snow

By guest blogger Pete.

"The snow that cameth last week cometh again this week as well." On Sunday last we were all hoping that we had seen the last of it but by evening if had returned with a vengeance. My mother in law had sayings for most things and she used to reckon that whilst there was the faintest amount of snow left we would get some more to clear it away. She was partly right! The newspapers and the radio were in their respective elements as harbingers of bad tidings and informed us that whereas last week was the worse weather we had had for 18 year this week's was the worse we had had for 20 years. I don't know if such information is supposed to be a comfort -- if it is then it certainly failed dismally. Once again I did without the mediocre hall temperature and conga dancing priest of the past few weeks and painted at home rather than go to the art group.
You were right with your 2nd guess, Florcita. This version of Venice has its origins in Las Vegas. I purposedly refrained from beginning to paint the water until this week. You could get that colour only in Las Vegas and certainly NOT in Venice. I MAY get the painting finished by next week - only reflections, etc, on the water and the gondolas to complete.

The snow painting shown below was completed in 2002. It's taken from the corner of Lincoln Cathedral grounds and just outside one of the old Roman entrances to the city, Eastgate. The folk who live there regard the district as Lincoln's "Nob Hill". I don't live in that area so think they are talking rubbish. I think the age of the house depicted does match its appearance. It's so easy to get weathered plastic beams and a pot of glue these days that you need to examine to be anything like sure. It's obvious that this was one of my earlier watercolour efforts. I was once told to keep earlier efforts so that you could see if I was making progress. Sometimes that maxim is all right but at other times it can be embarrassing!


Have a good week. Perhaps this coming seven days will see the beginning of that heat wave. Who was it that reckoned I was a pessimist?