A TOWN WALK AND TALK!

Today was a chance for Jenny and I to catch up.  It was pleasant walking conditions and we decided, as time was tight, to stick to roads rather than across countryside. We did a bit of window shopping at Kilver Court, the designer outlet on the outskirts of town.  They always have fantastic plant displays...

We came across the cat shown above who was guarding the recycling with attitude! He didn't move, even when we got close to photograph...

Although it is now September, there were still plenty of beautiful flowers on display, although some were looking a bit past their sell-by-date! 

By the time we arrived at Shepton Market, the setting up was well on its way. People have been taking advantage of the free parking on a Friday - there were few spaces left when I turned up to open up the One Craft Gallery at 10am!  It certainly encourages better attendance at the market which can only be good for the businesses in the town.  Just wish we could have free parking everyday of the week, like other local towns...

I have a thing about doors - I find them intriguing and mysterious - what lies beyond?  What opportunities do they hold? They often appear in my artworks and sometimes, when I do complete abstracts, a doorway manages to creep in!  As Ralph Waldo Emerson said "Be an opener of doors."  In other words say yes to life and happiness will follow...

Here are a selection of doors and their surrounds that I photographed around town this morning...

  

DECORATIVE DOORWAYS

Today, I  flew solo, as Jenny couldn't make it!  It was tempting to stay in bed, but I wanted the fresh air and exercise.  The weather wasn't promising - damp and grey - but, by the time I had finished, there was almost enough blue in the sky to make a sailor a pair of trousers, as my grandmother used to say, and it was quite bright!

The walk with no talk wasn't the same, but it did give me a chance to concentrate on my surroundings.  I love old and interesting doors - some of my first mixed media collages were based on them as the central theme.  I find them intriguing - what lies beyond?  What stories could they tell?

In Shepton I am always asking Jenny to stop so that I can photograph a doorway. Here is a montage I put together. 

 
The collage on the left had a photo of a cottage door taken in Lyme Regis, as its focus. This has been made into a greetings card and is popular as a moving home card. Above right, is another one which was used as a card - 'Merry Christmas'  in red was added, with the magic of computers, to the bottom half.  I have put 'artworks to be done based on Shepton doors' on my 'to do' list!

Near the start of my walk I was stared at by this cow.  I have never seen one with two black eyes before!