Keep your mind on the driving......

But it's so hard. If I'm in the car with the kids it's actually easier, because I'm making an effort to ignore their antics and drive carefully. But when I'm on my own, especially on the drive to and from work, it's easy for my mind to wander. This is one of the sights I pass on the way into my work each day (in fact this would be the view in my rear-view window on the drive home, as I took this photo on a late December afternoon, but you get the idea, yes?).

This time of year, when driving on a morning I'm heading west with the sun low in the sky behind me. This can cast a gleaming pale yellow light onto the buildings I pass. And if there's a stormy sky in the west, blowing down from the Scottish Boarders, then the gilded houses are set against a dark grey-blue sky. That's when I say a prayer of thanks to God, and start singing 'Then Sings My Soul, or suchlike.

But it's also when I am known to start swearing too. You see, hubby got me a compact digital camera for Christmas, and I have cursed often for not bringing it with me when I see such a glorious sight. When we went to Vienna last year I only took out my other camera once on the whole trip, as it's a digital SLR, and it's very bulky. That's why he thoughtfully bought me a teeny tiny one, for my arty stuff.
So, at last, I've found how to re-charge the battery for it, and how to download from it, and now it's residing in my bag.

So if you're driving behind me on the way into work, and you are familiar with seeing me swerving as I catch sight of a bird, or a nice view, please now keep your distance even more, as I might just slam on the breaks and leap out with my camera in hand. You have been warned.

Getting organised to draw more

I don't have time to sit, without distraction, and draw during the daytime most days. My hubby sometimes arranges to have the kids to give me some 'art time', but, as we both work, when we have the chance we'd rather spend time with the kids together. He's working all hours at the moment, and yesterday I made him a pecan pie as a treat to keep his spirits high. The kids didn't like it much, but that just meant all the more for us.

I've been thinking about what I can and what I can't do when I'm with the kids. What I can do is take them to interesting places. I can't expect them to amuse themselves while I sit down in an interesting place for a 40 minute sketching session. But I can take photographs of views and objects, then draw them on an evening while the kids are in bed.

So, this morning, I made up three accordion sketchbooks, an idea I got from Laurelines' travels, then spent 15 minutes in the garden taking photos of the views. The accordion sketchbooks seem like a fantastic way to collect together views and images on a theme.

I love my garden. It's a peaceful space, even though it's the size of a postage stamp with walls on all sides. I have a number of bird feeders, and even in winter I'll stand at the back door watching the activity of the goldfinches and blackbirds, and the changing sky overhead against the terraced rooftops beyond. Because it's so small, I can only ever see a narrow area at a time depending on where I stand or sit. Because of this, I've arranged it so that every corner and wall is a landscape in itself, with areas of interest, as well as space to let your eye wander so that I don't feel too enclosed.

The photos I've taken will provide me with plenty of starting points for drawings and studies.