In Reverse.

Despite piles and piles of proofreading to do, I decided to take a day off, and attended a workshop on reverse painting by artist Paul Birchall. What fun I had! And much cheaper than therapy.

First we practised on pieces of shiny plastic.

In the second one I accidentally started painting on the wrong side (the shiny side), so that the matt side ended up being on top, but it still looks pretty cool. Unfortunately I can't claim the man with the fish as my own design; I used a painting by Jan Vermeiren as inspiration.

In the afternoon we worked on a bigger piece on perspex. I added texture by using a comb to scrape through the paint, and using a paper towel on the dress. You can't really see it on my photograph though.

Woman with Bird (acrylic and permanent marker on perspex).

PS Any advice for sore and watery eyes? I average about 8-9 hours of proofreading a day. This obviously does not include the breaks I take to make tea, rest my eyes, etc. The pages are extremely dense, and some are printed in what looks like 8 or 9 point text. I hope I haven't permanently damaged my eyes! Still a few hundred pages to go ...

Contemplating the moon.

We spent four days at Toontjiesrivier last week. Snous came along, of course.

Pepper Tree Cottage

We walked ....

... and visited some friends ...

We ate ...

 ... not forgetting dessert (fresh figs)

We observed the wonders of nature ...

 ... meditated on the meaning of life ...

... and contemplated the moon.

Easy.

I made this easy gift for a friend - ribbon sewn up at the sides, two buttons and a bit of string or leather to close.

You have to put something inside, obviously - I added some incense sticks, but you could use pencils, pens or knitting needles. Anything long and thin, really.

Easy peasy.