Outside the studio, the Lilacs are just past their very finest and are beginning to fade. The garden is filled with birdsong and abundant foliage, although the late frost pinched the Wisteria and scorched the leaves of the Japanese Maple. But this has been a glorious and relaxing weekend. The roughs for Katie In Scotland are now with Orchard books and so I have a few days of peace before cracking on with that book.
It was too hot to dig the garden so I just relaxed and even found time to paint a picture. I was going to use oils but being so hot and bothered found some emulsion paint first and started dabbling. I chose the lilacs as my wife has a particular fondness for them (partly because of Stephen Duffy’s The Lilac Time – her favourite band). I used an old canvas which had a not very nice painting on it but a beautiful frame, bought from a charity shop. So the picture was instantly framed. It’s not very good, but it’s a nice way to remember a really lovely family weekend filled with Scout camps, pool parties and home-made cake, all finished off with a hot air balloon above the garden, rubbing shoulders with the moon.
Leave a Reply