Sketching again and showers . . . .

We have had some "plowtery" days this last week. Isn't that a lovely word, it's Scottish for showery, I think it sums up this wet weather very well. There are so many wonderfully expressive words in Scots language, I especially like these for wet weather. "Smirr" meaning very light rain or a "dreep" for a steady fall of light rain. I love being inside cosy by the fire whilst listening to the rain pattering outside, but in between the showers I did dodge out to capture these photos.

The snow drops caught my eye too, nodding in the rain, tiny splashes of white against the vibrant green grass down the lane. They always feel like a sign to me that Spring is on it's way.

A couple of weeks ago I happened to hear that folk singer, songwriter Seth Lakeman was coming to play at the annual Big Burns Supper Festival, and of course had to go, and what a treat! His music has inspired me on many occasions whilst working away in my studio. One of my favourites has to be 'The white hare' , you can have a listen here.

Some of you might remember that back at the beginning of 2015 I was desperate to establish a good sketching routine (having failed miserably the year before) and so set up a Facebook group called 'Sketch-a-day', where a daily sketch topic was set and members of the group were invited to post their sketches on the page.

By the end of that 1st year not only did we have 60 members from all around the world contributing, but the group had become a gathering of lovely like minded, friendly folk, supporting and encouragement each other along the way. It also resulted in my actually doing a sketch just about every day, almost 365 sketches!

Last year life got so busy that sadly my daily sketching fell by the wayside, though I still enjoyed seeing the sketches that other members of the group put up. There were so many positives that came from that daily sketching habit, my sketching improved hugely, my confidence grew and I tackled topics I would never normally have attempted, so I have decided: new year, new start and I am very happy to report that as the group enters it's third year, I am going back to doing a daily sketch again.