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I think that my hubby got this from a car boot sale and I wish I’d taken a photo of it before I painted it, but basically it was just plain black metal. Having never painted a weather vane before, I put it off until he really started nagging me to paint it!

Sometime I need a little nagging and once I got going with it I enjoyed painting it, mixing the colours on the vane itself. It’s painted on both sides in acrylic paint. First he sanded it down which then meant the paint would adhere more easily! I think we’re going to varnish it and hope that it remains reasonably permanent.

I started painting in my living room, after a while hubby got fed up of paints and pens etc lying around so I moved my stuff into the dining room but that didn’t last as I had to clear it all away too often. Next I moved into a spare bedroom and there I painted happily for a number of years! As time went on my selection of art materials and paintings, sketchbooks and art books grew until I could hardly move.

So I got myself a studio in an old mill a few miles away. It was good for a number of years but every winter I had to leave by 4pm when it got dark. The reason was that the old mill became very creepy after dark! But I would go in the morning and paint all day and I loved it! I had my studio at the mill for about 6 years.

1. My Home studio

My husband decided to build me a studio at home! It took ages but it was worth the wait! This is it

And it’s fabulous. I have all my art stuff in my studio, all my sketchbooks and materials etc etc!

And my cat loves it too!

So I am one happy artist, it means I can paint all day and night too and I think my hubby likes me being around a bit more (even though I’m in the garden Studio).

I think I might paint it, lots of flowers, birds, butterflies and cats!!!!!! I don’t think he’ll agree!

I dropped off my car at the garage and walked back home along the lanes and up into the beautiful village of STORTH.  Storth was looking particularly colourful on this bright and sunny day.  The flowers and shrubs looked fantastic giving some big and bold bursts of colour all over the village.

Good job I had my sketchbook with me and took a little time out from my busy schedule to do a few quick pen and ink sketches in my little village.

This view from the back lane is one I’ve passed so many times and love looking over the fields, past the horses and the rabbits to the house on the hill.

I didn’t have my WalkStool with me and so had to sketch standing up which meant that I couldn’t add colour on the spot to my sketch.  So I took a photo to remind me of the colours and added watercolour later that day in my studio!

I wonder if you can see the horse in my sketch.  It is nearly always in the field but this morning the horse was not coming out of its shed! So in an hour or two I’ll go back and see is the horse is around. I’m sure it’s a chestnut brown but just want to check. If I spot it I’ll add the colour later.

Further up into the village 

Still sketching Storth but not too happy with this sketch as I just didn’t catch the fabulous colours of the flowers in the bright sunlight. Note my favourite brush which is a ROSEMARY DAGGER. Too long to put in my pencil case so my hubby sawed off the end and filed it for me and now it fits perfectly and it doesn’t seem to matter that it’s a few inches shorter!