Kinghorn: Whale Wall

Just a wee catch up on what some of the summer entailed. 

I was commissioned, and my daughter Freya Ledingham helped me, to create a mural on a very unimposing (low and long) brick wall overlooking Kinghorn harbour. 

Kinghorn in Fife is a great spot for whale watching and Ronnie Mackie has secured funding for an enhanced whale watching area, including our mural, a bench and a notice board among other improvements. 

Even painting the wall white was a huge improvement. We started with the whales and basking shark and went down in size through the sea mammals that appear here. Originally we kept to a fairly limited palette, but as we started on the smaller birds and sea creatures that changed, not all were painted in their true colours. 

As we worked we had many appreciative and lovely visitors and we noticed kids asking their parents what each creature was, sometimes they knew and sometimes they didn't so we labelled everything as we went on. The labels have become a mantra for people and kids walking the wall and it is lovely to hear. So if you are ever visiting, then pop and see the wall and see the amazing sea life and beauty of this part of the Scottish coastline.

Hazel Terry: Mary Poppins Challenge Day 4

 

This is the best prompt I adore all of the illustrations created and I am now behind as I had to give my dancing red cow more attention.

"On this night the Red Cow stood up suddenly and began to dance. She danced wildly and beautifully and in perfect time, though she had no music to go by." PL Travers

Hazel Terry: Mary Poppins Challenge Day 3

 

Prompt 3 'Mr Wiggins began to laugh again loudly, and as he laughed he went bouncing and bobbling about in the air, with the newspaper rattling in his hand and spectacles half on and half off.'

 I wanted Mr Wiggins to be that eccentric hoarder so he is floating above one of his towers of newspapers.

Hazel Terry: Mary Poppins Day 2

 

"The merry-go-round was just slowing down and as they approached it they lept upon it, Mary Poppins on a black horse and Bert, the Match Man on a grey horse." PL Travers

I lost my first version of this illustration and had to start again, hay ho. This time the printer chewed it, but the colour separation was a great thing to work with and add to. I wanted it to be like a magical spinning top

Collaged merry go round and watercolour.

Thank you to Monty Lee for wonderful challenges and to the co-hosts for their amazing work.

Pieces of String

 

Last tetrapak challenge took me a while but at last here it is. 

Whistling Swans (Hazel Terry)

I really wanted more time but challenges are hard to keep to with so many other demands, Therefore there is just one whistling swan, for now. 

 

They Sailed Away (Hazel Terry)

 

Todays tetrapak print challenge is, 'They Sailed Away'. 

Secret Sorrow (Hazel Terry)

 

For this prompt I remembered the strange fact that our tear structure changes depending on why we are crying, which I just think is mind blowing. I tried to get different textural imprints n the Tetrapak to show that different molecular form. 

The sorrow is depicted in the colour, end genocide!

Handstands (Hazel Terry)

 

Tiny tetrapak challenge day two, today's prompt is handstands. 

My first attempt was a trunk stand.

Inside of Nowhere

 

So it is the first day of the tiny tetrapak challenge, today's subject is 'Inside of Nowhere', I thought of Dorothy from 'The Wizard of Oz' in her tornado and so here she is whirling away, with a bubble of hair whirled above her.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone makes. 

They Call Me Wild Cactus

 

Above by me, yes at last I got time to make some Imaginary Book Covers  and I'm so glad I did. The last challenge is 'They Call Me Wild Cactus'. and it seems we like our cacti to have feet!!!!

Above: Anna Holló

Above: Mark Timmins

Above: Jana

Above: Sudden Strangeness

It was a wild weekend

 

It was a wild weekend, I set out to work. I am an elf on pre-Christmas weekends (It's amazing how artists and illustrators work to survive). Unfortunately I had to abandon my vehicle which does not hold the road in snow at all, and get a lift from Santa, which allowed me take this photograph as we arrived in snow bound Perth. 

Have a good week. 

Endpaper Challenge Day 6: Sea

To make my 'Sea' Themed paper I again used pastepaper, but his time with layered and combed white paste on top of the dried blue and I then used the grainy white paste to paint on all the whales. I haven't cropped and digitally polished this because I like the rough wavy effect.

Below; are some of the paste textures and tools used in their creation.

                       Above: Bamboo knife

Above: potato masher

        Above: Bamboo cutlery, Below: Meat tenderiser

The extra papers were too nice to leave so I made Narwhals ... chasing cod and squid.