Latterbarrow - Cumbria Wildlife Trust Reserve

A bit early for the fly orchids, but well worth a visit nonetheless!

Cowslips, columbine, dandelions and rock-rose

Fly, brimstone, speckled wood, spiderlings and dingy skipper.

Columbine.

Foulshaw Moss Reserve

A short, but very enjoyable wander - good views of ospreys through Cumbria Wildlife Trust's scopes...very few dragon or damselflies as cloudy but plenty of lizards to photograph!

Reflections......

Sedge warbler ...singing away ...

Copious lizards !

Humphrey Head ....floristic splendour!

An annual pilgrimage down to south Cumbria to Humphrey Head to see the green-winged orchids and the general colourful carpets of buttercup, daisy and crane's-bill. A couple of hail showers, but that's what made the sky so dramatic.

Daisies,  hoary rockrose, common rock-rose and kidney vetch.

Hawthorn, thrift and Lancastrian whitebeam.

Green-winged orchids.

Rocky and Humphrey Head.

Carrifran ....

An oil painting from last year's visit to Carrifran Click here for that blog with the photos I used for this painting.

Moss Force above Newlands Hause

...a quick and small oil painting last night - fun - I like the different format!

Plaster casts of garden flowers

Well the first couple of plaster casts have come out well...following on from yesterday I have found that using my frame and lining it with sellotape works - I just unscrew two of the corner screws a little and the cast pops out - for the frame - with an inside aperture of 17 x 12 cm, I used 250 g of plaster of Paris and half that of water. Now to investigate strengthening the plaster with PVA or cement. This project is great as I can keep reusing the same lump of clay too!

Some serious experimenting!

This morning was spent experimenting with clay. First pressing flowers in to create a cast to use plaster of Paris with that can then be painted with acrylic and second with using collagraph to create a textured tile for firing and adding iron oxide. Currently I am trying to find out how to make my frame for the plaster of Paris both leak proof and plaster resistant for easy release. I'll then have to wait before applying dilute PVA and then wait again before experimenting with the painting...I'm not very good at waiting!

Pressing in....

Ready for plaster of Paris ....

The imprint ready to dry prior to firing.

The collagraph.