A Thousand Words

A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say.

This painting is one which I began working on quite a few years ago.   It hasn't been touched since then, I abandoned it.    Luckily, instead of throwing it out (like so many others) I propped it up on the top of my work cupboard, so that I would see it every day and perhaps one day feel like finishing it properly.

It has taken all this time, but finally, I feel like picking up my brushes and doing some more work on it.   Unfortunately all the animals which have been blocked in are no longer with us, but they remain in my heart, in my memories and in this painting.

During the last few months Max has been unwell, indeed he has become rather too well acquainted with the NHS recently.   He is on the mend, gradually regaining strength, thank goodness.

Without wishing to be morbid, things like that do make you think about life and legacies.

Some of my treasured items are old letters written by my parents, their diaries and, of course,  my old kitchen journals - recipe books handwritten by unknown cooks of old.   I love simply reading them and I adore making and baking some of the recipes they wrote down.   I often think about the women, what their lives were like, their characters.

Over the years I have collected together a small stash of paintings and stories about life around here, in Owl Wood and round and about.  They are for my grandchildren.   The drawings are not great and neither is the painting, but they tell some of the stories which are deep in the memory banks of my family and their children, my grandchildren.

Take the painting above, it isn't great but that was never my intention.   I wanted to tell stories with it for it contains elements of at least a dozen funny family stories within it, it will make them smile.

Max is great at spinning a yarn for the grandchildren.   It is not something I can do, I prefer to tell my stories in silly pictures, like this one.

It is time I went down to the dressing room and dug out my old paints.  Time to get the brushes out and tell some more stories.