Fruits of my labour!

Where does the time go - I've not posted for nearly a month - shame on me! Still trying to move, I've found a house I love but now looking for a buyer, as my original buyers went elsewhere, (I couldn't find anywhere at that time) - soooo frustrating!

Anyway, something completely different. My sister is a woodturner (see her Etsy shop here), and has turned items that she is either not happy with, or the wood is too boring. Sometimes she bins them but more often I ask for them, and I've had a growing collection of rejected things that I've not been too sure what to do with! The solution was staring me in the face - literally - being surrounded by paint!

So here is my fantasy fruit with different paint effects, and I've given them a glossy lacquer finish. They look quite large, but the pear is only about 4 inches high.

Really enjoyed doing something different, and I've got a bagful of rejects to go to! I've also told my sister never to bin anything again!

Had a trip to the British Museum to see the new Mitubishi Japanese Galleries - fabulous exhibits, including ...

Miniature articulated figures of a cicada and praying mantis, from the 19th century.

Samuri armour (1600 - 1800)

Red Illusion Series: Swallowtails (1983)
Saito Kaoru

Nabeshima porcelain (1690-1750)

We also visited the Sir Percival David Collection of  Chinese Ceramics.

I found inspiration for the colour combination to use on my current project ...

The are photos not brilliant as taken on my phone through glass.

Happy Winter Solstice, which, in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs  tonight at 22.23 hours GMT.

Also, wishing everyone a happy and peaceful Christmas with one of my favourite Pre-Raphaelite painters - Dante Gabriel Rossetti -

A Christmas Carol 1867