Early morning Kestrel

This Kestrel has been a regular visitor to the field outside the house over the last couple of weeks, this morning it's hung about for the last hour and at one point hovered right outside the bedroom window while I was applying me makeup! Once again I'm wishing I could get some more detailed shots with a posher camera but I quite like these silhouettes!

I'm also see a Sparrowhawk fairly regularly, usually being mobbed by Corvids :)

Happy New Year!

So I'm really doing well with this regular-blog-writing malarky eh? Note to self: must try harder in 2014! A sort of resolution, I will try harder, really.

Well, where to start?! A very busy couple of weeks since my last post, working, walking, picture snapping, running back and forth to my printers and framers, badge & mirror making and plenty of general prep for my stall on Sunday the 22nd December. It had been nearly two years since my last stall so I needed to get my head together, gather all my display pieces and make sure I had enough stock available for the day.

The day itself went pretty well, made enough to cover costs at least which is always a bonus. I don't expect to make much money at these sort of events as my work is only going to reach out to a small proportion of folk visiting the fair but for networking purposes it's great, lovely to meet new faces :)

My badges and mirrors were a little experiment and I'm pleased to say they seemed to go down well, perfect little last minute stocking fillers and treats which was what I was hoping for. I still have a few left so they will be going up on my website shortly. Here's what my stall looked like:

At Haworth Christmas Craft Fair, Old Schoolrooms

A selection of compact mirrors & pin badges

It was quite a busy little place and there were lots of lovely stalls about, plenty of festive spirit too! I also met Katie Shelmerdine, another local artist and very talented lady. Katie's artwork is bright and uplifting, I particularly like her butterflies. Check out her website here http://www.katieshelmerdine.co.uk/

If you use Facebook, you might like to know I have a page on there which does get regularly updated with latest news, commissions and current projects. Here's where to find me: https://www.facebook.com/megghyllpencilartist

This was my New Year message to all those who have supported my artwork and continue to do so!

Hi folks, wherever you are and whatever you're doing tonight I hope you have a good one! 2013 has been full of ups and downs for me but my art has kept me going, YOU lot have kept me going! So that goes for every single one of you who has liked, commented, shared, messaged, commissioned and generally passed on a good word or three about my drawings, thankyouuuu!

It's going to be a busy 2014 as I'm planning on putting my Zoology degree to good use and sort out some veterinary nurse training (something I've wanted to do for a few years) but I will still be making sure my pencilling continues and I'll need to keep them pennies rolling!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year

Meg x

I hope you all had a good one! On to bigger, better and more exciting things to come this year.

Ta-ra for now! x

 

Christmas Craft Fair Sunday 22nd Dec

I will be having a stall selling my wares at Haworth's Christmas Craft Fair in the Old Schoolrooms on Sunday 22nd December. 

I will have my mugs and prints available plus a few other little bits and I'm hoping to get some drawing done while I'm there :)  If you're not in the local area that weekend then don't forget it's not too late for me to post anything out to you, you can order direct from my online shop! 
http://megghyll.co.uk/shop.html 

Royal Mail's last posting dates for Christmas are:

Wednesday 18th December	2nd Class and Royal Mail Signed For™ 2nd Class
Friday 20th December	1st Class and Royal Mail Signed For™ 1st Class
Monday 23rd December	Special Delivery Guaranteed™

Meg's Mugs

Limited Ed. Prints

Christmas Cards

It's £1 admission to the Craft fair with a free cuppa! There will be plenty of other local folks there too, so if you're in the area and wanting some last minute gifts or just a browse at what's on offer then do pop up & say hello! It would be lovely to see you :)  Here's a link to the events page http://www.haworthcraftfairs.co.uk/


Hope to see you there if you can make it! :)


Meg x

Steampunk Weekend

Something a bit different for the village of Haworth, West Yorkshire...it's first Steampunk weekend took place on the 23rd & 24th November and it seems to have been a great success! Many of the enthusiasts who attend the great Whitby Goth weekends also like to indulge in a spot of "Steampunk". It's based on science-fiction set in the British Victorian era or the Wild West and steam-powered machinery plays a big part. So with Haworth having its own steam railway (as featured in the film The Railway Children) and the world famous Bronte Parsonage it seemed to be the perfect place to hold such an event.

The wonderful thing about this weekend was the incredible individuality of the outfits on show, anything seems to go as long as a Victorian, Western Steam twist is in there! Here are just a few of the pics I took:

The Troll-Catcher

 

6ft5 Debbie, a different dress for each day and night, all equally stunning!

A bit of a Cruella De Vil character - she was getting a lot of attention and rightly so!

Although not strictly Steampunk, I had to stop this chap for a photo! The hat was bought from the "Sheetland Isles" :D

And finally, me on the bike, which does have express permission to park there, only me though!

Commissions

Here are a couple of my latest drawings. I'm currently working through Christmas commissions and often I can't show you those as soon as they are finished for obvious reasons! But these might interest you for now. I am very lucky to have such beautiful subjects. Commissions are a great way of encouraging me to draw breeds and poses that I otherwise may not have a chance to, they often provide new challenges (like my first detailed attempt at leather bridle and reins below!) and of course the wonderful feeling of having created a piece of work that hopes to bring happiness to others by capturing a beloved friend or a cherished memory for many years to come.

I'm fully booked up for Christmas now but don't forget pet portraits make lovely presents for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and more so remember: 

"A Pencil Portrait is for Life, not just for Christmas!"

"Jazz"
Welsh D X Warmblood

"Lottie"
Trailhound

"Freeway"
Anglo Arab (half Thoroughbred/half Arab)

A sad week

Due to being busy with Christmas commissions and this week being a bit all over the place, I've not been terribly active on the birding side of things. My little bike accident mentioned in my last post was the result of just hearing bad news, the loss of an elderly gentleman, a good man and the beloved partner of one of my dear friends. He was lost to cancer, that horrid C word that brings so much misery to families across the world.

I thought I might share this poem, written by another of my friends, Cheryl Bray.

Dear Cancer,
You’re persistent and foreboding, that I won’t deny
But it’s time you learned, because of you, Man will not die.
That’s right, you heard me loud and clear, you won’t kill mankind.
That fate will come from something else
That survival will not find.
For what you don’t appreciate, is that you cannot hide
It almost makes it easy, your attention seeking pride.
You make yourself so common that we’re learning every day
Learning how to kill you, how to stop you making way.
For all your work in weakening the people that you strike
There are others working tirelessly to stop you in your fight.
Nobody’s a victim of the sickness that you spread,
They carry proud the chances to help doctors stop you dead.
So remember Cancer, when you hit the undeserving brave
That the others bearing scars and loss will dance upon your grave!

 "The undeserving brave", such an apt description of this chap and indeed any cancer sufferer, he was beautiful inside and out and forever remembered in our hearts. A great bird lover too, I was so pleased to observe the flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare that alighted in his garden just before my little bike accident. I was so glad to tell him about them in person before he departed this world.

Rest in peace good sir.

An up and down day

Today I had a tiny crash on my motorbike :(

Not the first little off and definitely not my last. But the reason I'm telling you this: it was the direct result of me getting on my bike after comforting a friend, after hearing bad news and needing to be strong for her sake. I stupidly got on my bike and within seconds I was off it again (thankfully out of sight and earshot from my friend). I'm typing this mainly to drum it into my own head,

"One should not ride/drive when one is overly emotional for fear of making a stupid mistake and risking yours or someone else's life."

I'm fine and more importantly, the bike is fairly fine - it's seen more contact with ground than I care to share with you and needless to say I'm well practiced at picking it up! A few more scuffs and scrapes to add to its "character". So after it's little tarmac-kissing incident, my Suzuki SV650 was missing it's gear lever which, although not altogether a completely disabling feature, it still makes it a pain in the 'arris to ride.

So I'd like to introduce to you to #drum roll please# "The Fixer-Peg"!!! This will be one of the most useful things you click on in your biking career.

Link to Ebay shop to come VERY soon but in the meantime you should be able to contact him direct... http://www.hotfrog.co.uk/Companies/Fixer-peg

A simple and handy bit of kit designed to make a temporary fix for a missing gear or brake lever in the unfortunate event of a crash. Now I have limited mechanical knowledge...I probably know more than your average girly biker due to hours of watching and asking questions whenever my other half works on 'em...but I reckon if a Border Collie had opposable thumbs it would be able to fix one of these dewberries on, they are so quick and easy to bob on and bishbashbosh, you're mobile again! All you need is an allan key to fit it which is supplied in most standard toolkits...and if you don't have one in it then make sure it's there (along with tie wraps, duct tape and bungees - VERY essential!) So handy when you could be potentially stuck in the middle of nowhere with no help.

A friend of mine, by the name of John Davies (or DavieSV as we know him!), first invented this cracking device and his ingenious idea was ripped off by Motrax, the big motorbike accessory provider that also went into administration a couple of years ago (HA!).

So a sneaky plug for Dave in there and a little warning to my fellow bikers though I guess it goes without saying about the emotional thing. My motorbike is my ONLY form of transport and I really can't afford to be breaking her just because I didn't take a bit longer to sort my head out and ride with a clear mind. Although I admit in some cases when I'm angry or worried, riding can sort my head too, an emotional release through the need to concentrate and focus on the task in hand. I should know, after nearly 4 years of riding my own bike, how to judge my own moods but it appears not after today's antics!

 

So on a little tangent, I thought I'd also share this. I stumbled across it today:

"Why I ride" by Michael Carley

A truly fantastic read if you're a fan of motorbikes. Exact, precise and to a tee. And if you're not a fan of motorbikes then it's still a great read, it gives you a superb insight into what it is that fuels our passion for two wheels. Something that cannot be really understood until you've ridden that open road, just you and your bike.

I wasn't too sure about this quote however...

"A motorcyclist sucking his teeth as he looks at a rear tyre is not commenting on the lack of tread, but on the excess, implying that the tyre’s owner should probably have his hormones looked at."

...I was gutted at recently needing to replace my last rear tyre, I was bloody proud of my chicken strips ta very much! :P

But this quote I really liked,

"The motorcycle, unchanged in its essentials in a hundred years, is a riding animal, controlled like a horse. A car is not controlled in the way a coach and four is, but a bike is controlled by weight, pressure, touch, and the forces felt through hands and feet, thighs and gut."

So true and well put. Although my other half, preferred this...

"The inward and spiritual grace of a motorcycle is the thermodynamic reliquary of the engine, holder of the Pentecostal flame, holy of holies, chamber of combustion."

 He's an engineer and I'm an animal artist with a Zoology degree, I think our choices of quotes were rather apt, wouldn't you say?


I haven't typed this much in such a long time! And I have far too much drawing to do, oops! Please cross your fingers that this soreness in my thumb is not a fracture or worse, it's my drawing hand :/

Bye for now,
Meg x