…I may be old and I may be bent
But I had the money till it all got spent
I had the money till they made me pay
Then I had the sense to be on my way
I had to stay in the underground
I was in the house when the house burned down…
This is Lidgett Lane Larder in Leeds 8, a popular cafe serving home-made and locally sourced food. It is also an Art Gallery! Step inside this month, have a cup of tea and see a small exhibition of my tree pictures. Paintings, prints and cards will be for sale.
Waterloo Lake in Roundhay Park, Leeds. These are views from the North end,
as I saw it one cold Sunday afternoon in January.
View from the living room window.
This is back-to-back housing in Leeds,
where you occupy either the front or the back of the house
(both look pretty much the same)
and have neighbours on 3 sides.
A local bar in Chapel Allerton, LS7.
The fires in my garden were festive, exciting –
Stars and sparks mingling
Woodsmoke a spicy scent, in your hair lingering.
The fires in my fireplace were friendly, inviting –
Warming and mellowing music and wine
The glow in the hearth made your eyes gleam and shine.
But this was a fire that was bitter and frightening
It came uninvited
Rapacious as lightning
Tore through the house, left my life dark and hollow
Its flames soon extinguished
Then long-lasting sorrow.
Weeks of toil, months of mourning, confusion and grieving
And realisation of what is not here –
Then sweep up the ashes and dump what we’re leaving –
We’ll build a new bonfire
The first of the year.
Poem by TW
The Humber Bridge crosses the estuary between Hessle in East Yorkshire and Barton upon Humber in North Lincolnshire.
At the time it was built in 1981, it was the world’s longest single-span suspension bridge (1.4 miles). That record was beaten in the late 1990s but the Humber Bridge remains the longest in the world that can be crossed on foot or by cycle.
The bridge is a beautiful achievement, and I am not the only one to be inspired by it.
Thanks to Skipper Bruce, for giving me the opportunity to see it from this viewpoint!
‘One of the great buildings of the world’
– Sir John Betjeman
A dark and rainy winter afternoon last year. Liverpool Cathedral is a complicated and difficult building to draw. I was in my hometown to show paintings in ‘Who is My Neighbour?’, an exhibition about migration and refugee issues.
The sky meets the sea
on the Isle of Tiree
The Isle of Tiree is the most westerly island of the Inner Hebrides.
It is relatively small – about twelve miles long and three miles wide
– and very flat.
Sky, sky, sky, sky.
And a bit of flat land.
My new view walking home, looking across Chapel Allerton Park. I moved across the border to Leeds 7 a few weeks ago. The house is on a very steep hill but so far I’ve only fallen over once. There are lots of dogs and cats here.
In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan ;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone ;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow ;
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago…
From the poem ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Christina Rossetti, published in 1872.
I was driving, so this is a memory of a glimpse of the view from the A61 near Pannal, North Yorkshire.
A82, 14 mls N of Tyndrum.
It’s dark at 4 o’clock.
The willow tree is adorned with fairy lights
for the festive season.
Cars and people are on the move and
I’m drawing in a doorway.
Today is World Toilet Day, a UN initiative to highlight the global sanitation crisis. Over 4.5 billion people around the world live without a household toilet that safely disposes of their waste. The consequences for health and child survival are severe.
These public toilets are in Bramhope, Leeds.
Data from the Great British Public Toilet Analysis indicates there are about 9000 public toilets left in the UK. Find your nearest convenience at The Great British Public Toilet Map.
See also:
Public Toilets, Woodhouse Moor
Public Toilets, New Brighton
And there is still life.
Leeds – like I’ve never seen it before!
The trees in the foreground are along the edge of Soldier’s Field, Roundhay Park. On the far right, you might just make out the Parkinson Building.
These paintings are from 3 weeks ago, the first time I painted outdoors this year. I worked alongside artist Michael Daly. He asked me to use his paints, brushes and preparation techniques, which are all different to mine. I’m very happy with the results.
And thanks to David, for his kindness and hospitality in allowing us to splash and daub in his lovely garden.
Had to stand on top of step ladders leaning against the ivy hedge for this one, it took nearly an hour. Managed not to lose balance or get arrested for snooping.
Over 20 artists living in Roundhay invite you in for 2 days this weekend during the annual Roundhay Artists Opens Studios event.
I’m one of three artists who will be showing our work at St Edmund’s Church, Lidgett Park Road, LS8 1JN.
Open: Sunday 30th April 1pm – 5pm
Monday 1st May 11am – 5pm
Wheelchair accessible.
An art lover’s house in Roundhay, Leeds. The owners requested a drawing in colour and I was happy to oblige. Painted last week on watermarked T & J H Kent paper from c.1950.
Emley Moor transmitting station in Kirklees, West Yorkshire. The tallest freestanding structure in the UK at 1084 feet high, and a Grade II listed building.
Here’s a 5 minute video showing the history of the mast and the incredible view from the top.
Finally… it is Spring in Leeds.
My stall at Oakwood Craft Market
Oakwood, Roundhay, Leeds 8 ~
once a month, usually the last Saturday.
This was a particularly windy day
~ and I did not blow away.
A local Viking who kindly agreed to sit. Pet has striking features which I am drawn to draw.
An art lover’s house in Oakwood, Leeds – early one morning, the end of August. The trampoline is going soon, but the owners and I were glad it features in the drawing. Can you see the Witch on her broomstick weathervane?
The last day of the summer holidays…
warm, sunny and showery.
Walking and scooting round the lake,
having a good time and
eating ice cream,
feeding the ducks and
holding hands,
looking at the clouds and
drawing pictures.
Our house, is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy, ’cause of you…
Late August, the leaves seem more black than green.
I don’t want to go in the woods when they are like this.
Flies buzzing.
Heavy and sweet smells of rotting.
“I believe that much unseen is also here.”
Galloway – a good place to rest, no need to count sheep…
The Rhins of Galloway, trying to think about nothing.
The Rhins of Galloway, a good place to get away when the world’s gone mad. It’s very green and peaceful, and the sheep don’t bother you.
This tree in my local park is wider than it’s tall. Two weeks ago, the candles were at their best. I’ve painted horse chestnuts in blossom for a few years – it’s not easy and this is my favourite attempt so far. I’ll have another go next year…
This is the View From Birkrigg Common. It’s hanging in a group show in Leeds called And Did Those Feet, an exhibition exploring William Blake’s poem, Jerusalem.
The inspiration for the picture came in March this year when I visited Birkrigg Common, Ulverston, Cumbria, and was struck by the panorama visible from the triangulation point.
Since then I have painted it several times, usually as a series of 4 interlocking images, that to me represent many of the elements of Blake’s Jerusalem:
1. England’s mountains green are there – the fells of the Lake District.
2. Ancient times have left traces such as the Bronze Age stone circle.
3. The pleasant pastures of Bardsea, with their sheep and lambs, look down on the purple sands of Morecambe Bay at low tide, and the island where monks built a holy chapel in the 14th Century.
4. Here can be seen more clouded hills, and at the far right of the painting, Heysham nuclear power station – our latest version of a satanic mill.
The exhibition runs until 24th May 2016 at St Edmund’s Church, Lidgett Park Road, Leeds LS8 1JN. I’ll be there on Sunday 22nd May, 11:30am – 1pm, if you’d like to say hello and see my longest painting yet – it’s 10 feet wide.
Sunset on Monday night – the sky and the trees go crazy – in a good way.
Recent journeys into Lancashire.
Poplar tree blowin’ in the wind on stormy Monday.
The River Wharfe at Harewood Bridge a week or two ago, still roaring from all the rain it drank at Christmas.
East Float, 2015
Standing at Tower Wharf in the chilly choppy wind, looking across East Float, one of Birkenhead’s inland docks.
The area is due for transformation in the Wirral Waters development project, a 30 year plan to regenerate the area.
In 2045, this could be the view…
East Float, 2045
No sun – no moon!
No morn – no noon!
No dawn – no dusk – no proper time of day –
No sky – no earthly view –
No distance looking blue –
No road – no street – no “t’other side this way” –
No end to any Row –
No indications where the Crescents go –
No top to any steeple –
No recognitions of familiar people –
No courtesies for showing ’em –
No knowing ’em!
No traveling at all – no locomotion –
No inkling of the way – no notion –
“No go” by land or ocean –
No mail – no post –
No news from any foreign coast –
No Park, no Ring, no afternoon gentility –
No company – no nobility –
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member –
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds –
November!
Thomas Hood
(1799-1840)
Today is World Toilet Day, a UN program to draw attention to the sanitation crisis. 1-in-3 people in the world don’t have a clean, safe toilet!
These public toilets at Hyde Park corner in LS6 are now disused – a slash in the Council’s budget, we assume.
There are about 8000 public toilets left in the UK.
See also:
Public toilets, New Brighton, Wirral
Public toilets, Sea Palling, Norfolk
The UN says that over half a million people have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe this year.
Chapel Allerton Arts Trail 2015 is underway! A good opportunity to see art work by local artists in your area!
I have 4 paintings at The Mustard Pot on Stainbeck Lane, LS7. You can also see work by James Bywood and Amanda Burton. The Mustard Pot is a friendly venue with a lovely garden, tea and coffee, real ale and award-winning food – not to mention the award winning artists…
The Arts Trail has been organised by Inkwell and is on until 12th September.
England women’s football team in the World Cup semi-final tonight…
The 175th anniversary of the Cunard Line, Liverpool, May 25th 2015 – the three ships Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and Queen Mary II, meet in the River Mersey and perform aquatic manoeuvres neither seen nor attempted before.
It was a sight to behold – a strange and unexpectedly emotional experience. Many scousers, including me, wept with pride.
Jo Dunn 