Artful Readers Club - November Read

Up until last weekend, I hadn't read so much as a bus ticket  this month and thought that I would have to call it a day on this year's challenge.  I find reading a huge effort these days, unless it is a subject that really takes my interest.
John and I went on a pre-anniversary mini-break to Ballater in the Scottish Highlands for two nights.  It is about 90 minutes drive from where we live and is right on the doorstep of the Cairngorm mountains.  As usual, I had a poke around the second-hand shops that abound in these touristy places and found Shakespeare Cats by Susan Herbert.

  It is a beautifully illustrated book, of 32 colour plates of  feline paintings depicting famous scenes from a variety of Shakespeare's plays.  I love this type of illustration and was highly delighted that she had also included a pen and ink drawing of some of the minor characters on each double page spread.  As we were in Scotland, I felt it only right and proper that I should attempt a character from "that Scottish play", Macbeth.

Here is my depiction of Macduff.  He, of course,  had to be a ginger tom.  Macduff is the archetype of the avenging hero, not simply out for revenge but with a good and holy purpose.  "I have no words, my voice is my sword".

I sketched him in pencil and then watercoloured him with  Caran d'Ache Neocolours.  I thoroughly enjoyed making this month's painting and know I will re-visit the literary cats for more drawing practice.  The lovely Darcy's Artful Readers Club has certainly got a lot to answer for!

Thank you for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate them all very much.

October Journal Page

I am very lucky.  We live in a very beautiful part of the country (Scotland)  and each month I have tried to depict the changes I have seen in the fields and woods surrounding our house.  The idea is to make a memory book of the changing seasons.  The month of October is a big card in the annual change.  We see the foliage on the native broad-leaf woodland change colour and, in some cases disappear altogether, and due to the reducing canopy, we  notice the abundance of roe deer in the wood - all preparing for the annual rut.  Fungi has been very common this year due to the damp, warm autumn.

This is an A4 spread on two A5 pages, hence the centre fold.  I have used stamps from Impression Obsession and Chocolate Baroque (trees), Stampin' USA (leaves), Lavinia Stamps (shrubs), roe deer (Penny Black), fungi (Chocolate Baroque).  I have used various Distress Inks and dye based inks from Stampin' Up.

I should like to enter this layout in the Craft a Scene challenge "Trees".  Thank you for visiting my blog and for your encouraging comments.  I do appreciate them all.