Azure Seas off Australia

When I saw this sparkling card from Alison, I thought, Wow, do they have such turquoise seas in England?... but reading the other side I found that she'd done it from a sketch on her recent holiday on Lizard Island, part of the Great Barrier Reef!

It sounds quite idyllic, fringed by coral and with shallow waters so the colour of the sea changes constantly, not surprising that Alison sat and watched it for hours. I love the way she's allowed the watercolours to blend freely, suggesting so subtly 'things' under the surface and the movement and breaking of the waves.

Its a lovely, uplifting card that reminds me of a few perfect holidays at the coast where I've been lucky enough to occasionally experience such gorgeous sea colours.

I loved the Roald Dahl stamp too, in spite of the P.O. smudging their stamp of officialdom rather carelessly.

Monotype Beauty

Ink sketch on monotype - Martin Stankewitz

Martin created this beautiful postcard from a monotype.  He called it 'scrap' but it only took a few magical pen strokes for him to turn it into a wonderfully evocative landscape.  

This card is particularly precious to me as Martin's monotypes have long been an inspiration and he is so generous in sharing his knowledge.  The bonus is the characteristic penmanship that picks out the details of the scene with the little village and church steeple on the horizon.  Do you get the impression I am delighted?

Flip the card over and there are two beautiful floral stamps with their promise of Spring.

This is my second last card.  How sad it will be when the postman again brings only bills!

My last card - Birdies from Robyn

Robins and a blue tit by Robyn

I have a folder on my computer and inside it are all the scans of the postcards I've received over the last twelve months from A Postcard from my Walk project.  It's a mini gallery - as this blog is - of all the postcards from this wonderful project which I have enjoyed so much - even if I've been a little late with my own postcards from time to time!

This image has just joined them and, if my reckoning is correct, this makes it the last card that I'm due to receive from this project.

How appropriate then that that my last card should be Robins by Robyn!

She tells me that her exercise during winter is climbing up her garden steps in Castiglion Fiorentino to fill the bird feeders which apparently the local cats think is the new locale of a brand new restaurant for them.  It's so tricky getting bird feeders located where you get at them easily but the cats can't!

It must be even trickier now that the garden in Castiglion Fiorentino has had snow and expeditions by manly blokes are required to bring home the bird seed!

Robyn has sketched her birds in fluid acrylic - which surprised me as I initially thought it was watercolour.  I'm still trying to work out how she managed the splendid spattered background without getting it all over the birds too!

Thank you so much for my Italian birdies which will always remind me of Robin!

A snowy card in the middle of summer

It is such a treat to be part of this postcard exchange and to get such wonderful cards from such a varied group - in location and style. I must say that I have been looking forward to seeing one of Charlene's masterpieces in real life and was very excited to get this stunner in the post! Wow! I love the way she handles a snowy landscape.

Painting snow is something that I have never done... in fact I have only seen snow 4 times (up close) in my life. One skiing trip as a kid, 2 summer visits to our snow fields(there were a few remaining drifts only) and a white Xmas in Scotland... so this majestic scene of Castle Mountain half way between Banff and Lake Louise is extra special.

Thanks Charlene! I love it!

Five things which are important to Liz Steel

Architecture, her religious belief and a cup of tea!

I love this card because it tells me it's been painted by Liz Steel - even if I didn't recognise her very characteristic sketching.

There are three things which are important to Liz Steel.

Liz loves sketching architecture (see Sketching Architecture).  This is the church of St Francis of Assisi in the Paddington area of Sydney.  (The link in the name tells the interesting story of the architecture of this church - just in case Liz doesn't already know it.)

Not a very Australian subject...  Most parish churches in Sydney are simplified English Gothic...so of course the dramatic morning shadow of the main arch caught my eye.

Liz's religious belief is very important to her - and I regard the church as symbolic of that

Liz also believes in the vital importance of a cup of tea - I do love the fact that her cups of tea appear all the time in her sketches and now I've got one of my own!

Finished the card off with a cup of tea - Taylors of Harrogate Earl Grey in a Royal Albert Regency Blue cup + using a surprise gift teapot from Cris in Malaga Spain who I met in Lisbon

Actually - make that four things most important to Liz Steel.  Sketching with friends is also high on her list of very important activities - and it's nice to see this also reflected in her card.  Lisbon was the venue for the 2nd Urban Sketchers Symposium and the link goes to all Liz' posts about sketching in that city.

Borromini looks after this sketch - as per usual

I also loved the Borromini Bear stamp on the rear!  As if any sketch by Liz could be produced without his presence! :)

Duh!  Make that five things which are important to Liz Steel - architecture, her religious belief, a cup of tea, sketching with friends and little Borromini - who's a very well travelled little bear!

PS  Now I've got it I want to know what Liz used for her postcard.  It looks like the ideal surface and weight for painting postcards.

Sacred Ibis conquers previously-impossible South Africa-Canada route!

 

 

Turns out only postcards sent from Canada to South Africa are doomed. This splendid bird, and the Johannesburg park over which he reigns, made it the other way with no problems at all. Here’s a link to a map showing some of the other delightful sketches Cathy has done in this same park.

The other side is beautifully painted and in perfect condition as well, so have a look at the totally-readable and wonderfully welcome message from Cathy. Isn't it terrific!

The Sad Tale of Two Postcards

 As the Chinese Year of the Dragon starts today, I have to finally accept that the postcard Charlene sent me at the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit is probably never going to get here - the joyously colourful Gate of Harmonius Interest in Chinatown, Victoria that she luckily scanned for her records and eventually emailed to me. When it became obvious that some misfortune had befallen it, I begged Charlene for another one to complete my collection, and in her busy life and travels she found time to create the beautiful, crisp Banff glacial scene of Mt.Lefroy and Victoria Glacier below.

After a few weeks I once again became anxious that it hadn't arrived yet, and went to investigate my garden more closely....

 ...and this is what I found, bedraggled and forlorn under a bush nearby. Our postbox had its brass stolen by metal thieves some weeks before, and if letters are pushed too enthusiastically into the hole left behind, they shoot right through to the other side. Which is what happened to postcard #2 from Victoria to Johannesburg, plus some heavy Highveld thunderstorms and a few paper-munching snails - a very sorry end to a long journey and Charlene's lovely artwork.