figure drawing

I am still going to figure drawing class on Wednesday evenings, I missed one when I was in Edinburgh and then they had a half-term week, so only had 2 classes in October,
then the tutor decided to have the model moving which I just cannot draw, I am not very good when the model is still and it felt to me that I was being asked to run before I could walk,
I have difficulty with proportion and the drawing of the head and hands so trying to get these things right when the model was moving just made me give up and feel very stupid,
anyway I phoned her before I went to class last Weds and she said the model was going to be still so I went along, on the first drawing after I had a go at the proportions I decided to concentrate on the hands, there was no time to do any more,

then with the second pose I thought I would add a bit of colour, I do like working with the pastels but the colour range in the boxes they have are very limited so I think I will have to find the ones I have lurking somewhere in the house and take them, as you can see the leg proportions are way to small for the size of the torso, I will keep trying,

atc

I haven't posted anything textile for a while because I haven't done any since I got back 2 weeks ago, that has got to change ~ soon.....

anyhoo these are from some atcs I made to take down to Edinburgh for the Edge agm and guess what I then nearly forgot they were in my bag, my excuse is all the upheavel of the weather and plans not going to plan!!

Harris

Tuesday I went down to Leverburgh on Harris, I was on the bus and so did not have long, the weather was nice and sunny, most of these photos were taken through the bus window,

Ardvourlie and Bowglass

the Clisham mountain

the island in this photo is Taransay

Luskentyre

Leverburgh

Scalpay with the Shiant isles behind, (this is as close as the bus gets)

Loch seaforth, the sun was going down, the days are drawing in,

delays and overstays

my planned journey was to leave the island Friday for Edinburgh, spend the weekend in Edinburgh and return Monday, the second ferry Friday was cancelled due to the strong winds, if I had planned to travel on the first ferry out both these days I would have been fine, a little delayed but not too much, however I could not travel on the first ferry from the island Friday or any other day because there is no public transport on the island into town for the early ferry, this means that whereas car owners have access to 12 ferries journeys a week non car owners have only six,
so I did not get away Friday and woke Saturday morning to even stronger winds than the previous 2 days, there was no early ferry but the captain decided that he could run a ferry leaving the island at 4 pm. oh good I could at least get to Edinburgh for the Edge agm and the talk by James Hunting, errr….maybe not……now the buses to take me to town had been suspended, so I finally did what I do not like doing I phoned friends to see if anyone could/would take me to get the ferry, strangely the actual crossing was not very rough at all, I got to Inverness at about 9 pm so stayed at the YHA and continued to Edinburgh the next morning, I only missed a few minuets of the agm and really enjoyed James Hunting’s talk, it was lovely to meet more members of the group and to see the people I had met when I was there 2 weeks earlier,

I had planned on staying with a friend so did see her Sunday night thinking this would only delay my return by about 7 hours, if I had left immediately after the agm for Inverness I would have been in Inverness for the early bus to the first ferry from Ullapool which ran and I would have arrived home Monday afternoon, my penalty for seeing my friend was that the second ferry did not return to Ullapool and there were no ferries Tuesday due to a ‘swell’ on the Minch (sea we have to cross), so I was stuck in Ullapool 2 nights and eventually got home Wednesday afternoon, I have been travelling this ferry often in winter for 9 years and have not known the weather so bad before,

some photos,
when I travelled between Inverness and Edinburgh on the Sunday morning there was very little snow but coming back Monday morning it had snow quite a bit during that 24 hours, not just on the mountains but road too, these were taken through the bus window,
Road from Perth to Inverness,

the sun was shining in Inverness Monday so we could hardly believe it when the bus driver said the ferry had been cancelled, this was the sun as we left Inverness on the road to Ullapool,

but as we approached Ullapool the sun gave way to wind and snow,

all these next photos were taken early Tuesday morning in Ullapool, it had snowed a little overnight but the air was calm and peaceful, so I was very hopeful that the ferry would be going, no and by nine o’clock the wind was up and the rest of the day was horrendous,

Wednesday morning when I walked down to the ferry terminal as I approach you can see over a wall to the car park for boarding vehicles and I could see a line of juggernauts and hear their engines running, I would never before have thought that a line of juggernauts with engines purring could be sooooo poetic and magical … bliss,