A busy spring - and a busier summer

My blogging activities ground to a halt back in February as 'real life' issues took over my time. With household projects, the demands of the constantly growing vegetation in my garden (why can't plants wait until we're available?), and the building of my house, there just weren't enough hours in the day for chitter chatter. 

Did I say "building of my house"? Yes! But it's not what it sounds like. You have all seen my various modelling posts and will be aware that I moved gradually from shop-bought plastic kits, through Diorama's and finally, as my last post shows, into scratch-build scenes. Well this latter stage, scratch building, gave me much more satisfaction than the ready-moulded plastic kits. 

My first attempts came by adding detail and foliage to my World War II diorama's, and then in the making of a complete model as shown in my previous post. Now I felt ready to tackle something BIG and I decided to build a scale replica of the house I lived in for 20 years from 1998 to 2018. 

The house was very special to my wife and I and was our 'forever' home and we couldn't imagine ever leaving it, but in 2016 we were blessed with a granddaughter and the weekly, chaotic, 100 miles each way journeys up and down the motorway soon persuaded us the sensible thing to do was move.

I knew this would be the biggest modelling project I had attempted as I had no clue as to how I would achieve all of the things I needed to achieve. But that's the beauty of our arts and crafts world ... it's great just to dive in and figure it out as we go.

Now, 8 months later, the model is still not finished but as you can see, it's a good likeness to the real version. I will be making posts about the building process for those who are interested. 

I am also adding new pages to my main website which, like this blog, is also dedicated to encouraging beginners to dive in and have a go at whatever their particular interest is. Currently I am adding pages about my Marquetry, Pyrography and Modelling journeys and I often forget that creating pages for my website is a journey in its own right - but I'm far from sure I know enough about that to write about it. LOL.

WW2 diorama from scratch

Following the creation of my two World War II Dioramas, I felt the urge to do another. One thing that I particularly liked when making the diorama's was making things from scratch. Adding things that didn't come in the box. 

I found I had a number of pieces left over from my previous diorama's, especially a Willys MB Jeep, a 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 and a random selection of miniature soldiers. As my previous models didn't include much by way of foliage I thought a small countryside scene would give me an opportunity to try some new making skills.

In my minds eye I conjured up a corner of a field in Normandy in the summer of 1944 and set to work building from scratch. 

For trees I used some bent and twisted copper wire (old electrical cable, stripped of its covering), a well shredded kitchen sponge and dried used Tea Leaves painted in various colours. 

Grasses were made from short lengths of rope, untwisted to reveal the individual strands. A dry stone wall was constructed from tiny pieces of grit and the ground was from dried soil, both collected from my garden. 

All of the elements of this diorama could be bought from model shops but for me, making everything from scratch was the real challenge - and that's where the fun came from.

My previous WW2 Diorama's

World War II Battlefront

D-Day Operation Overlord

Treasure chest box

It's been a while since I last did some Marquetry. When in "The Works" (a UK Arts and Crafts store) some months ago I spotted a small plain wooden Chest priced at just £3. It just screamed at me to buy it for marquetry - so I did. 

One thing that took me quite some time was coming up with a suitable design. I'm not at all creative and I have zero imagination, so designing anything is really hard work for me. Anyway, I eventually decided on this fan or sunbeam type pattern and I think it's worked quite well. I had the usual mistakes and cock-ups along the way, which I won't bore you with this time but, as is always the case, I learned a lot from doing it and had immense fun.

More Marquetry posts

Hexagonal box

Tess & Sally - a tribute in wood

My First box

Wooden Steam Train model

 

When at "The Range" (see my last post) I found that they also sell the ROKR-style Steam train. Though being a little larger and a little more complicated than the vintage car, it was still priced at only £3.29. Obviously buying one of these at the same time as the car was a no-brainer.

Just like other ROKR-style wooden models, construction is simply a case of pressing the parts out of the sheet of laser-cut wood and slotting them together. The precision of the components is what causes them to hold together firmly such that no glue or other fixings are necessary.

The concentration needed for the meticulous assembly of these superb wooden kits make them extremely absorbing and seeing the finished model brings a wonderful sense of achievement  and satisfaction. 

Other ROKR-style models I've made

Vintage Car

Racing Car

Wooden Vintage car model

A year ago I constructed my first ROKR wooden model - a Formula One Racing Car. My post about this wonderful method of modelling was one of surprise at the outstanding quality of these models and my sheer delight in having built one for myself. 

Some months ago I was in The Range (Home & Leisure store) browsing the shelves of the craft section when I spotted a 3D Wooden car kit. The picture on the box showed it to be of the same type of construction as the Racing car. I was delighted to find it but even more so when I saw it's price ... £3.29. That's a tenth of the cheapest models in the ROKR stable and so cheap that I was very sceptical as to it's detail and quality. Still, at that price, I couldn't go wrong even it was a load of rubbish.

As it turns out, it was NOT a load of rubbish. I found it to be of the same build quality as the first model I made, and only the name on the box stopped me from believing this was a genuine ROKR product. I have since seen this same model with the ROKR logo on the box selling on Amazon for £24.99. This price comparison isn't me criticising ROKR for overcharging but it is me praising The Range for it's commercial skills in bringing a £25 product to its stores for less than £4.

My first ROKR wooden model

Racing Car

Sycamore Gap Tree

From what I've been able to find out, "The Sycamore Gap" tree is well known outside of the UK. Located beside Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England, it gained global fame partly due to its appearance in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. International condemnation was widespread when the 150-year-old tree was deliberately and illegally cut down in September 2023.

A while ago there was a discussion in my Art Forum about drawing trees and how most people felt they couldn't really draw or paint them properly. In response, by way of providing an opportunity for some practice, I decided to choose a tree as the subject for the forums next Monthly Painting and Drawing Project, and what better specimen than the famous Sycamore Gap tree. 

Though most members reached for their watercolours or coloured pencils, I reached for my Pigma Micron Pens. I'm very pleased with the resulting drawing but keep thinking I ought to splash some green watercolour on it. I've resisted so far.

More monochrome tree projects

Canal Cottages

Web sites and stuff

Paynes Greye

Stamps with borders

Though I collect postage stamps, I know very little about them and my collection of just over 13,000 is very modest and juvenile compared to those of real enthusiasts and experts. Whatever I say on here about stamps is likely to be inaccurate and wide open to criticism. That's fine .... I'm a hobbyist not an expert. 

That disclaimer out of the way, I often find I am drawn as much to the periphery of stamp collecting, as I am to the stamps themselves. For example, a couple of years ago I posted about "Cinderella" stamps and other non-postal issues, which are interesting in themselves.

This post is about the borders that surround the sheets of stamps. Until recently I thought the borders were mostly plain and served no other purpose than providing a Colour Swatch. But then I came across some German stamps with highly decorated borders. Though the patterns and decoration on the borders is usually very repetitive, I found some stamps where the borders were far from repetitive. 

Take the commemorative stamps of illustrious composer Carl Orff, issued in 1995 to celebrate 100 years since his birth. All around the border of the sheet is a musical score. Viewed as a complete sheet, the musical legend would be continuous and complete, but when separated each individual stamp is more unique with it's border attached than it would be without it.

Another example is the 1994 issue commemorating 500-years since the birth of Hans Sachs, a master of poetry and song. The border here is of Court Jesters climbing through Vines, with some titles printed along the top and bottom borders.

Though I have many examples of these decorative borders, in the main they are just individual stamps. The nearest I have to a complete border is with the 1996 issue marking 450-years since the death of Martin Luther.

For me, these unique borders add another dimension to the stamps they adorn. I don't buy mint condition unused sheets of stamps, which seems like the only way to see complete borders. But to discover these gems unseparated and stuck onto envelopes and parcels, is quite magical. Given how many people discard stamp borders without a thought, it raises the question, how many stamps with borders still attached actually get posted and survive to become part of someone's collection.

Previous posts about Postage Stamps

When is a stamp, not a stamp ....

Stamp Collecting

Old Railway Shed

Back in 2023 we visited the Beamish Living Museum in County Durham. We had been before, several decades ago, and it was great to get back there for another look round. For those who haven't heard of it, the museum is a village and surrounding area that has been restored back to the early and mid 20th century. Visiting the museum is like stepping back in time.

One area consists of railway paraphernalia including steam engines, wagons and railway sidings and it was there that I spotted this old wooden shed tucked away in a corner. It instantly appealed greatly as a painting/drawing subject so I took some photos for reference. 

Though the shed was old, weather beaten, and smoke tarnished dark grey wood, the door and the boards around the edge of the roof were red. This fitted perfectly with my intention of doing some more ink drawings with a touch of red, as I did with the Lakeside Cottage and Vintage Petrol Pump. I'm very pleased with how it's turned out and happy that I now have 3 pictures in my "Touch of red" series.

Previous drawings in my "Touch of Red" series

Lakeside Cottage

Vintage Petrol Pump

Hand Pulling Rope

Once again I lapsed with my blog posting. A while ago I was determined to keep my blog active and interesting by posting regularly and varying the subject matter. A great plan and good intentions but as as happened so many times before, I failed to stay the pace. So here I am, for the umpteenth time, wondering what to write and how best to catch up on what I've been doing since September. 

I must confess that most of my leisure time has been spent on Marquetry and Model making, and very little on painting and drawing. One of my models, a scale replica of Nelsons flagship HMS Victory, has occupied me totally from the beginning of November, and is still quite a way from being finished. Prior to that I messed about with various small projects and I'm certainly finding variety very rewarding.

I'll start by sharing this pencil drawing of a hand pulling a rope. I actually drew this in April but I was so behind with my posts that I didn't get to show it. 

This is a statue called "Hand Pulling Rope" by Derek Tristram and is situated in St.Aubin, Jersey. On the back of the hand an inscription reads "Ships are the nearest thing to dreams that hands have ever made". It's part of a quote by Robert N Rose and it commemorates the village's boat-building history and maritime traditions.

A selection of other pencil drawings

A faithful servant

Sunset over Buttermere

Contre jours

Puppy with Snow on his face

So one day, I was taking my 8-year old Granddaughter back to my house after collecting her from school and stopped at a local supermarket to pick up a magazine for my other half. Granddaughter spotted a comic she liked the look of, so I bought it for her. A while later, we were all sitting around quietly at home and the peace was shattered with a loud, piercing shriek. It was a squeal of delight and excitement. Granddaughter started jumping up and down and shouting "How cute, how cute, I just love him!!!". When she'd calmed down enough to talk coherently, she showed us a photo of a really cute little puppy playing  in the snow, with snow on his nose and plastered all around his muzzle. "Yes, he's really cute" I said supportively as my heart gradually returned back to a more normal rhythm.

A couple of hours later, I heard those words that mean "Uh-huh .... what's coming next". Granddaughter said "Gra-an-d-dad". "Yes" I replied. "Would you do a painting, just for me?". "Of course, if I can" I replied, "What of?". "This really cute Puppy" came back the response.

The rest as they say, is history, and "Puppy with Snow on his face" now hangs on her bedroom wall.

Dog Portraits I've had the pleasure of painting

Kiya

Rocky & Alfie

Buddy