Nice find. Sphingidae have a global distribution and even temperate species are usually big and beautiful. Their caterpillars are outrageous. I bet you have some really spectacular species in your garden.
Sphinx / hawk moth. Do you get them in your garden? Almost all are spectacular, even here.
Watercolour of a village by a junction very muted grey purpley colours not much light.
Little sketch of Burnhead village on the way back home, losing light
Small, five-petaled, white flowers on a slender branch.
Purple/black globular fungus growing out of a crack in tree bark.
Afternoon walk along the river bank. The first blackthorn flowers of the year and King Alfred's Cakes fungus. Also known as carbon balls.
Nice lesson. Merlin is a great app but it tells only part of the story. Starlings mimicking curlews is a local favourite. I'm losing my high frequency hearing, as we all do with age. Merlin picks up birds like goldcrest and long-tailed tit long before I hear them.
Katsushika Hokusai - Mt. Fuji and Lightning
#ShinHanga #Woodblock #Print #JapaneseArt #Ukiyo-e
Doorway of ruined mediaeval monastery photographed in 'warm' winter sunset light.
Wood engraving print, 100x65mm, in black ink, with pencil and engraving tool for scale. An ornate stone arch in a ruined, mediaeval monastery framing a distant arched window. First test print, work in progress.
Warm light in a cold, winter sunset at Byland Abbey in N Yorkshire, England, January 2025. One of several mediaeval monastic ruins in the area built in the beautiful local sandstone/limestone. A year later, a wood engraving in progress, the first test print made this morning.
Best Baronial Scots, hopefully well insulated from the cold northeasterlies.
On The Scores?
As a seasoned traveller I'm guessing you have the essentials with you.
I hope your schedule gives you time to see St Andrews - a wee gem. Did my PhD there, then off to Seattle for 2 before 6 more in StA.
And beyond it Fife. Enjoy St Andrews too - our home for 9 years.
Of those I have spent time in, home and abroad, the only city I would choose to live in. Enjoy it.
First test print in black ink of a wood engraving on the 100x65mm block of lemonwood on the right. A multi-peaked mountain rises above an island-filled loch.
Slioch (The Spear) overlooks Loch Maree and its islands. View from NW on the high point of the track from Poolewe to Slattadale. NW Scotland.
First test print of a wood engraving, 100x65mm. There is probably not a single 1cm square that doesn't need further work but all will be small refinements.
First correct answer! 🏆
We loved it as soon as we saw it, and knew the real thing would shine even brighter than any photo. And it really does.
Watercolour in a dark blue frame, floated on an off white mount on a pale wall. A deep blue sky, and a deep blue-grey path in a golden, sloping field draw the eyes to an off-centre focal point on the darkest of blue horizons.
Hi Wil, @freeborn.bsky.social
Picture float mounted, framed and on the wall. Gorgeous beyond words. Thank you!
That is a very fine portrait!
Photo. A view through trees, across a green valley to a snow-covered moorland, all under a clear winter sky. The snowline stands out clearly, the transition from white to green is abrupt.
A walk in winter sunshine on the north side of the valley, looking south to snow-covered Ilkley Moor. An otter below the weir as we crossed the old bridge. Kites and buzzards crossing the sky without a wingbeat.
The consensus is growing in favour of less over more...
Thanks, Deborah!
Looking out the window, the moor is under snow. Down here in the dale, it's just wet.
Print of wood engraving of stream tumbling down a rocky ravine. Backlit, minimal detail, emphasising light, rocks and water falls and splashes.
As last but with profusion of plant life.
Wood engraving. Black Beck, Ilkley Moor. 120x60mm. Less is more?
Rugged mountain under deep snow and a blue sky
Share a photograph of mountains that you've taken
Mountains inspire awe, which is easy to feel but hard to express. The duet of engraving & poem "Sgùrr nan Gillean" by @johnaltringham.bsky.social & me tries to capture this emotion with minimal means. Last planned installment of our "Light and Time" series.
Free at open.substack.com/pub/blots/p/...
Watercolour. The side of a colourful stone building with a history. Most of it is dressed sandstone but at the base is a more rubbly section. Some windows still in use (with satellite tv dishes) , most are bricked up, but with different materials, probably at different times, because another building was once attached to the wall. The line of the gable is still obvious due to differential weathering.
A palimpsest of a wall... the sort of painting you start when there's another long, wet day ahead of you.
Watercolour based on a photo taken by @thisismyglasgow.bsky.social
A giant knife blade of rock, Forcan Ridge in the Scottish Highlands cuts into the sky. The 3rd "Light and Time" duet (4 planned) pairs a splendid engraving by @johnaltringham.bsky.social & a poem by me on the mountain as part of a cycle that is shaping it.
Free at open.substack.com/pub/blots/p/...
Lovely work, particularly like the sense of movement captured in the crow.
A spectacular geological formation on the Isle of Skye has inspired the second "Light and Time" duet of a wood engraving by @johnaltringham.bsky.social, and then a poem by me. Enjoy!
Free at open.substack.com/pub/blots/p/...
Love it! Gorgeous colours/composition.
