Isnt Technology Wonderful! NO.

Once upon a time a tablet was something you swallowed with a glass of water.

After much deliberation, and some careful budgeting, I decided to purchase one of the above.  There it is sitting on my desk/dressing table.  Just sitting.  And sitting.  Nowhere in the instructions, after telling you how to connect it to the electric to power the battery, does it tell you for how long.  Will it ping like a microwave when its done?  The DP airily did something mysterious on the edge and up came the battery charging picture.  And then went again.

Its times like this I miss the daughters.  

However what they would do is no help to me.  They whiz about with their fingers, press buttons, and I end up with a phone I cant stand the ring tone of and still have no idea what to do when it plays Nirvana at full blast.  

Well I do have an idea.  I pretend its not mine, specially if in the middle of Tescos.  

Its taken me years and only after taking advice from a fellow wrinkly I found out how to delete messages received and sent that spanned years, and could not face deleting every one individually, not knowing there was a 'check all' and then delete the lot.

When the clocks go back and forward I need at least a couple of hours to remember how to change the time on the phone and in the car too.  By the time I finish they both say different to each other and then for months I am trying to remember which is fast, which is slow, and am always glad when I have to drive past the church clock in Fraserburgh which I hope is right.

Now you may well ask why on earth does this techno dim wit want a tablet.  Well.  A lot of artists use photography to paint from, or use as a guide.  Once you enlarge a photograph it becomes blurred. 
Ok possibly the DP would love to spend even more money on some equipment that didnt do that, but hey, its my turn.  

The screen on the tablet is sharper and you can zoom in on parts and get even sharper definition, such as the colour of an eye.  

A tablet is also more portable than lugging a lap top round with you, and mine takes a lot of messing about with to see detail.  Apparently all you have to do with a tablet is wave your finger at it.  

So I can take it, with uploaded photos, to art class/group and down the shed, and well, just anywhere.

However, I now have another problem.  I need it upright to paint from the photo it is showing me.  So - its back to t'internet to source a stand.  And me and t'internet, well thats another story.

Meanwhile the tablet is just sitting there and if I prod it it shows me a picture.

Exhibiting - a Tutorial.

S - o - m -e of the day WAS spent on chores, cleaning, dusting, wiping, mopping, usual hanging up of clothes cast over the bedroom chair..... just a slut really.

But then twas a rush to get stuff sorted for the exhibition on Monday.  This is not just gathering up ones works of art rubbish .  But some of those works of art have to be photographed, printed off, and stuck onto card, that has been folded, and making labels for the back of cards, and placing envelopes and putting all in a sealed plastic see through effort to present it for sale!  Never count your labour costs, no one would ever be able to afford you.

Then there are the 'Prints'.  Take picture of work of art (rubbish)  print out, frame with mount place on piece of very expensive backing paper , and put into large clear plastic envelope, equally expensive.

Work out cost of backing paper, frame, envelope, take no account of hours involved  - and price.

 Framed original art work.  Ensure pricing takes into account cost of framing. (ignore hours labouring)

Make labels, title, media, price, print off, laminate, cut, not forgetting ones biography.

"I live in a rural part of this North East Corner.  But only minutes away from the sea.

My inspiration comes from what I see around me.

Struggling to portray what I see keeps me quiet – a blessing to many.

Most of my painting are in water colour, but I do love pen an and ink, which does tend to creep in, the purists will say far too much.

I hope you enjoy my pictures.

Just remember there is a lot to be said for Artistic Licence, though to date, I have not got one.

JUST JILL."

Pack into bags, distributing weight so one can carry from car park to exhibition.  Ensure inhaler packed.

Then go down shed/studio/drinking den/opera theatre/bird hide.

And PLAY with Christmas Gifts.  Daughter number 3 gave me a set of inks, all different colours, eight of them.  Had to wait until today for the nibs to arrive for me to play.

Whooooo.  

Guess what I am doing now?  Cheers.

A snapshot of the year of the Dawn Patroller.

Roe Deer in the field behind our house.

Whooper Swans above the house.

Fraserburgh Harbour.

Cairnbulg Harbour, three fishermen.

Mute Swans with pink legged Goose tagging along.

Short Eared Owl.

 Great Tit

                                    

Fox

Grey Partridge.

Dawn is now coming a bit earlier as the earth tilts again, so I shall be booting him out, watch this space.

Framed!

Christmas and New Year has seemed to go on and on this year.  My normal shooting here there and everywhere was stymied as here there and everywhere was shut.  In Scotland New Year is the biggie and although many places are open on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day), here everything shuts for two days at Hogmanay.  Unlike the rest of Great Britain where the return to work is the 2nd January.

So as I rose this morning I suddenly realised that on Monday I am to exhibit my paintings at the Cafe Connect.

After doing a quick run through of what I have finished, panic really took over.  Many of my paintings had been happily donated as Christmas Gifts to friends and family (whether they liked it or not.)  

So, into town, fell through the door of Doug Irvine, framer, frightened him to death as I was so pleased he was back open, and presented him with the wet hens.

Doug is a lovely bloke, but not one you can zoom in and out from.  It takes time to choose a mount, as he has so many, and even more time to choose a frame. ( And I am still not sure I have got it right. ) 

Also we did tend to converse at different tangents and when he suddenly yanked down the ceiling of his workshop shouting, "I have the very thing!"  I did get a bit worried.   

However, all was well, in fact very well, as he produced a spotlight.  This being the answer to my problem discussed a few minutes earlier about lighting work at the exhibitions to be held at the Museum.  In fact there were a number of these spotlights.  Which will mean when his Art Group exhibit there they will all be well lit.  You scratch my back?

The wet hens should be framed by tomorrow.  At which point I will be taking along the Redshanks.  For framing.  Plus I am hoping to do some more (oh not not more)  wet hens,  (small ones) which I have frames for, and that should be enough to put on a good show.  Well reasonable, okay sufficient, well, should raise a smile?

Back to the drawing board.

Not sure whether it is a blessing or a curse, but I like to make people smile.  Sometimes my approach is not always appreciated.  (Remember the Bee Gees song?  "I started a joke which started the whole world crying.") 

But to make people laugh is worth more to me than winning the lottery.

I have the same approach to my painting and drawing.  If the subject makes me smile I want to share it.

Redshanks, work in progress.   And loving every minute.

Sometimes, I struggle.  I want my friend to smile as she asked me to do a painting of her house.  But I think I am on a loser here.

It is such a boring looking house.  Even the DP said, "Can't you paint some climbers up it?" Well I could, but there aren't any.  The orange bush thing I shall alter as it screams WRONG at one.  Even though that is what is there.  (And it might cover up the awful bench thing.)  So the orange bush will become blue/purple, even though it isn't in real life.  Artistic licence ?  Still haven't got one.

Back to the drawing board.  Through gritted teeth.  

Temperance Marches.

Each year the North East of Scotland Aberdeenshire villagers of Inverallochy, Cairnbulg and St Combs take part in a temperance walk to shake off the winter cobwebs. Each village in the Buchan Rathen Coast takes turns to host the walk which has been happening for over 160 years. 

The history of these walks dates back to an evangelical time in the villages when they were regenerated after a bad period during the 19th Century when there was much village fighting and drunkenness which only ended after an outbreak of cholera in 1847. After this epidemic the communities grew and turned to religion. The tradition of the temperance walks started at this time. 

Inverallochy and Cairnbulg are two fishing villages, only separated by a road, that once was a ditch.  

Inverallochy has first go and has their Temperance March on Christmas Day.  

Today, New Year's Day, they cross the road and Cairnbulg has their Temperance March.  Which was joined by the Dawn Patroller, and his camera.

Now I, for one, was deeply moved to see that this is not just for the oldies.  Young children, and teenagers, carrying on the traditions of this part of Scotland.

Before they set off a man with a loud voice asked, "Did any o ye hae a drink last night?"

And all the kids shouted, "Yes!"

As they moved around the village various stops were made for local worthies to come out and bash the drum.  One of which, from the DP's description was Count Dracula (not far from Slains Castle) but was probably the local vicar.

Tomorrow the Temperance March is at St.Combs.

None of the three villages had a pub.  Nor did they have 'offies'   Though now there is the local shoppies which have a very good selection of cans, bottles, wines, spirits, oh dear.  And also we have The Tufted Duck, a hotel with a bar situated some hundred yards from the South edge of St Combs.  It is the only restaurant in our corner which has a view of the sea from its windows.

Wee bit further than a march for us, but then we are not Temperance......

Lang may your lum reek.

       

                                 May the best ye hae ivver seen be the warst ye'll ivver see. 


                                 May the moose ne'er lea' yer girnal wi a tear-drap in its ee. 


                                 May ye aye keep hail an hertie till ye'r auld eneuch tae dee. 

                                May ye aye juist be sae happie as A wuss ye aye tae be.

All the best to all the best for 2013.