Four Rods on the Arun

This painting was a product of my memories/photos of a walk in the height of summer along the banks of the Arun near Burpham, West Sussex.

I had spent a couple of afternoons painting on ‘plein air’ in this beautiful valley and wanted to return to become more familiar with it. Like the Chinese artists, I blend first-hand experience of the landscape with evocative memory. Chinese landscape artists would often take walks in the countryside then return to their studios and, while mixing their paints, they would meditate on the scenes inscribed in their memory.

Here is one of the photographs from this walk which helped to inspire the painting.

This painting combines landscape with figurative painting and was directly influenced by the composition and techniques of the work of American artist Andrew Wyeth.

Piers Ottey of The Mill Studio near Arundel introduced me to Andrew Wyeth’s work by showing me the catalogue from the exhibition: An American Vision : Three Generations of Wyeth Art.

I loved the modern, realistic style and the technical skill of Andrew’s watercolours and tempera work. I was so inspired, that I purchased Andrew’s autobiography from Amazon where I have reviewed the book under the pseudonym ‘Ginger Lily’ - (sorry but I have a horror of identity fraud and sign myself under various names across the internet!).

I also made the effort to go to the English version of this exhibition being staged at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

I had explored ‘dry brush’ before but came to it again with renewed vigour.
In this painting, Four Rods on the Arun I have contrasted loose ‘wet-in-wet’ for the river with the more controlled application used for the figure and the extremely detailed ‘dry brush’ technique of the foreground. illustrated in this detailed section:

The composition has been designed to suggest an almost surreal, dream-like quality by combining the realism of the angler and the foreground with the almost abstract interpretation of the reeds on the far bank.

This watercolour painting (24x31cm) is for sale mounted but unframed for £85.00 (plus p&p) and offers a considerable saving on the price I will have to ask once it is framed and exhibited.

If you would like to buy this painting please contact me using the form on my website or by telephone on 023 9213 7595. Payment is via Paypal or cheque.

Golfing Lesson No 1

Armed with irons number 7 and 9, I descended on the golfing range, pausing at the shop to be fitted with a glove. The gopher is on hold until I have demonstrated the ability to survive one complete round of golf! He will be the ultimate prize!

For ladies who shop I must say that my glove is very attractive but extremely tight fitting. I protested that it was too small but the ‘men in the know’ insisted that they had to be like a second skin. Mine is very pretty, as you can see from the photograph, and comes complete with three ball markers in attractive shades of pink, silver and blue. It is made by Callaway, who I understand to be a reputable name in the game. There is a magnetic patch on the glove where one can attach one of these markers in preparation for the putting green. Be warned, they do not come in pairs! So don’t return to the desk complaining that you’ve been short-changed when you open the packet.

Red faced, gloved, but not gophered, and wearing suitable flat shoes I carried my bucket of 50 balls to the artificial tee and dropped them into the feeder. A few moments later one reappeared on the end of a rubber tube. Peter, knowing how to operate the machine, adjusted the height and then began to instruct me in the art of the ‘swing’.

I had read this section in one of his books the previous evening: BETTER GOLF – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GOLF AND HOW TO PLAY THE GAME . I must say that I found this manual extremely easy to read and follow with clear illustrations.
It was in the above named book that I realised how difficult it might be to hit the ball with the old set of clubs we had brought for me. Now I understand why Peter had wondered if they would be suitable, or merely deter me from the sacred game for good. You see, I had got old fashioned blades which are smaller than the more modern ones favoured by most amateurs.

After much practice at addressing the ball correctly, adjusting my grip, keeping my left elbow straight, bending my knees, balancing on the balls of my feet and keeping my hips in line with the tee while twisting my upper torso - and all this while keeping my eye on the ball - I finally swung my iron and despatched my first ball straight down the range.

Beginners luck? Not a bit.

Several others followed along with several hooked to the left and sliced to the right and some which bumped their way along the grass instead of taking to elegant flight! But, and I must emphasise this, BUT, despite my narrow blades, I only missed the ball four times.

I was well pleased, particularly as a surreptitious glance at my fellows in the adjoining bays assured me that my aim was as good, if not better, than most of theirs. (I must admit that many of them were a lot younger- in fact mostly children accompanied by their dads). However, I departed on a high, confident that the gopher will be mine!

To conclude : in lesson 1 I have mastered the art of repairing divots in artificial grass.

Watch this space for more tales of progress towards the greens. and the elusive gopher!

Another iron in my fire!

I tried blogging a few years ago- unsuccessfully. I hope to remedy that failure and maintain this new blog now that I have greater (although not great) IT knowledge- and hopefully the time, now that my degree is finished.

As if all the interests listed in 'about me' are not sufficient to keep me occupied, I have today acquired my first set of golf clubs! They have cost a grand total of £5.50 off ebay plus the cost of petrol to pick them up from two counties away and the cost of the puncture we experienced on the way home. The lawn is now minus a few daisy heads after Peter, my other half, gave me a preliminary lesson.

I always swore to those who know me that I would never take up the game.
In fact, I quite enjoyed being a 'golf widow' as it allowed me uninterrupted hours to write, paint and commune with the flowers. So why have I changed my mind?

I believe it was because I fell in love with a furry gopher 'driver head' while waiting for Peter to examine drivers in the local golf shop. I wanted to buy him a new one for his birthday. He refused to let me buy Mr. Gopher as he rightly pointed out that I owned no clubs.

I have now remedied that omission!

Tomorrow we go to the driving range where I shall take possession of a bucket of balls. He has advised I take the number 7 iron to practise with. I tell myself that this is all fuel for the fire of knowledge and experience - who knows but that my next novel may involve a golf afficionado! - My own version of Murder on the Links.

Along with the new sport of golf, which I hope will not undo all the good work three years of yoga has done for my body, I am also considering starting an astrology course. I have not yet committed to this but I'm pretty sure that I will do the beginners module as I have a feeling that it will be an integral part of my second novel. I already have a lot of knowledge about esoteric astrology but have never drawn up a chart etc.

The second novel is actually part two of a trilogy and is directed towards children and young adults. I'm also half way through an adult saga based in Italy - a land I adore and secretly aspire to living in. The picture at the head of my blog is of Lake Maggiore. We haven't visited it for two years as we have the 'builders from hell' hammering and creating mayhem next door and, as they seem to disregard the convention of planning regulations, we have had to keep a wary eye on them. They too may become the leading characters in a later novel - a horror story, no doubt.

Well, as most mums of school age children know, the summer holidays are upon us.
We are going to be loooking after two of our grandchildren for a couple of days while their mum and dad are working. They are 12 and 14 years old so don't take a lot of watching but they have expressed an interest in photography and art so Peter (who is a professional photographer) is going to take them out with their cameras and then I'm going to let them loose with canvas and oils to create paintings from their photographs.
Maybe I'll post their efforts, if they'll let me, on this blog - always assuming I master the uploading of images.

I hope to chat about more of my work, the writing, painting and esoteric stuff as I go along. I have promised myself to update this blog at least once a week. For those who already know me from the reikiplus site, I apologise for not maintaining that blog but the software was too complicated - hopefully blogspot stuff is much easier.

I have not been and will not be maintaining the reikiplus site any more, although it will be available to view as it contains so much information and therapist listings. I have moved on and now need to concentrate on the writing and art (which is as much a part of my spiritual mission as the healing side of my life).

My other web site at berylnoyce.com is still relevant and will be updated on a regular basis. I still sell my art and esoteric books from that site and will occasionally be found at shows and societies where I'm invited to speak on Crystal Skulls . Much of the knowledge I have acquired and need to share will be presented through my books and esoteric paintings. I'm also spending more time on fine art.

Well enough for now, if anyone has any tips on golf which will make it easier on my bones, I'd love to hear from them.
I shall keep you posted on my progress.

Stay tuned for updates on everything including my trail to publishing glory!