Pastels

Last month we went down to Shropshire for a Sunday blipmeet. On the Saturday we did the tourist thing and went to Ironbridge. We found a charity shop with an amazing collection of books on Art,  one of them was Gardens In Pastel by Jackie Simmonds. I immediately bought it. Pastel was my favourite medium when I was a teenager. I don't know how I discovered them, I don't remember school having any.

Anhow, just before Christmas, #2 Daughter gave us a huge box of mixed art materials, paints and pencils, etc. to take for the grandchildren. I couldn't resist looking in the box and noticed MY 50 year-old boxes of pastels amongst them!

Well, having been inspired by this book, when we went back down to see The Grandchildren I asked #1 Daughter if I could have  them back! (The box hadn't been unpacked, the kids knew nothing about them.) The book has gorgeous drawings of garden scenes, the character of flowers caught in lines of chalk! 

I'd love to find time in my life for Art. I haven't done very much since I left college, so tonight I enrolled for a one-day course in Pastels, just to see if it would get me started off again. It will be a nicely spent day, whatever!