Water, water everywhere...

Yes, there certainly is a lot of water here in Cookham and it's not advisable to drink it, because I am of course referring to flood water. Little did I know when I wrote my last blog about the flooding in the locality that it would happen again, and much worse this time. It has been the wettest winter for more than 100 years, according to the Met Office, and the Army was called in to defend the country from this 'unprecedented natural disaster'. Extraordinary times or perhaps not so if these weather patterns keep recurring.

The new waterways created by the swollen Thames kept the birds happy and I've seen plenty of seagulls. However none as well fed as the one in the painting I am blogging about. That's because it's from a photo of a seagull in Cornwall and it looks as though it has got away with a few tourists' fish 'n chips. I find them pretty scary actually. The painting is the second one I've done from a series of photos taken by my friend Lindsay FitzPatrick.

Here follows some pics showing how the painting progressed:

Seagull Mark II 

   

'Seagull Mark II' by Karen Davies
30cm x 30cm oil on canvas

For my next painting I plan to raid the fruit bowl to do a still life: I fancy painting something tangible rather resorting to photos for a change. In the meantime, let us hope for a dry spell.

New Year, New Studio

Hello,

Towards the end of 2013 things got rather hectic, owing to the upheaval of a house move. Relocating to nearby Cookham meant that I couldn't paint for a while, but I have managed to clear a space in a workshop behind the garage, which I am calling my studio. As you can see in the photo, it is not the most comfortable of spaces, but it has light and (some) heat, plus I have the guinea pigs, Comet and Rocket, for company.

The studio

The 'work in progress' for this eponymous blog is on the easel in the photo. Yes, it's another crab – the third painting I've done of this subject – but I don't have the other two in my possession anymore and I miss them and wanted another one. This latest one is painted on board, not canvas, and is just 19.5cm x 30cm:

Crab and shrimp II (oil on board) by Karen Davies

Many more people will have heard of Cookham now, because the village flooded last week and it even made the front page of The Times on Friday. An ariel shot showed the gardens of properties along the Thames and the surrounding fields submerged in river water. It's awful for the homeowners who have been affected, but the bird life are probably enjoying it. This is how the moor leading up to the high street looked this afternoon. The road connecting the other part of the village is still impassable.

Floods at Cookham moor, 2014

All this has come about because of the increasingly extreme weather patterns this country now experiences. Apparently, one month's worth of rain fell over the Maidenhead area in just one week. I wonder what Stanley Spencer would have made of his beloved Cookham being submerged. Pretty shocked, I suppose, but I reckon he'd be out there working away at his easel.

As it is my first blog for a while, and the first of 2014, I am offering a FREE giclee print of 'Three Mackerel on a Plate' to the first person to email me, via my website, to express his or her interest in it. I will print the winner's name in my next blog. The unframed print is 30cm x 25cm plus border, and is signed. It looks like this:

Three Mackerel on a Plate

Until next time, good-bye and good luck.


Karen