It all started innocently enough with a goldfish. A friend was added to prevent loneliness and it soon became clear that the small plastic bowl was not going to accommodate it’s residents. Enter the 85 litre, filtered, illuminated and heated glass palace. Complete with stand that doubled up as cupboards to house all the chemistry.
Two little fish were never going to fill out their new home so a trip to the garden centre was inevitable. Ghost Koi. If you buy them young enough you don’t need a bank loan and they look stunning all lit up indoors. For about five minutes. Then you have to find someone with a pond and a plastic heron.
Soon after the goldfish did what they do best and another trip to the garden centre was needed. It was time for something a bit more exotic and after much research and/or a quick chat with the fish man, Lake Tanganyikan Cychlids were chosen. A beautiful selection of colours and stripes swam around in harmony for a while. Territories were picked and fought over, bigger fish got bigger, and half chewed carcasses were fished out. As it goes, this type of fish doesn’t like newcomers to the tank, so for what seemed like decades the last remaining biggest hung around motionless, staring.
Mercifully, it moved on, blocking the toilet on it’s way out, and the palace was passed on to a friend. This photo was taken in those innocent days when the originals, ‘Fishy’ and ‘Fanny’ lived briefly in splendour.
I wasn’t going to post anything this weekend. It’s Easter and we’re too busy! Unfortunately, an overindulgence of chocolate, an extremely disrupted sleep and a pile of bed clothes to wash means I am house bound and sickly child sitting.
Every two years we descend on the lucky ones living under Farnborough Airport’s landing path to enjoy the air show for free. This photo was selected from many many duplicates of planes I’ll never remember the names of.
Other places to visit in Farnborough are PC World and McDonald’s drive thru.
The hedges are taking over!! In the summer our garden seems to shrink by several feet around the edges, and I think this represents that phenomenon. I think a fair bit of my work comes from bad photos. Over/under-exposed, blurry and shaky. Waste not want not! This was painted with really thick tasty wet paint that has dried disappointingly flat.
In other news, I have been experimenting with hanging systems, namely drilling holes in the backs to hang off screws. Can I get that right for 99? I can feel a trip to Homebase coming on…
To varnish or not to varnish?
Looking at Sussex Heights from the NCP car park in Brighton. From a series of car park photos that I don’t know what to do with. Look out for the one I haven’t done yet from Aldershot…
I lived in Brighton once or twice. Now we just go for day trips. Other cool places in Brighton to visit are: The Pier, Dig in the Ribs, The Lego shop and that kebab shop on Western Road that sells really nice falafel.
All easily do-able in a day.
This is from a very over-exposed photo of ‘Meditation’ at the Musee Rodin in Paris. I think it’s one of the nicest places in Paris. Other cool places to go are The Catacombs, the Pere Lachaise Cemetry, and the Pompidou. I’ve been to Paris three times and each time it’s been for my birthday in February. I wonder what the place is like in the Spring…
I have worked out that nine rows of 11 paintings will fit comfortably on one studio wall. I may begin to put them up for the Surrey Arts Open Studios event in June. I’d like to show them in a gallery in just one row. Approx 26 linear metres needed. That’s not much. Still haven’t quite worked out how to hang them yet. Blu-tack?
