Watercolour – berry daines

Exhibition

April 17, 2026April 19, 2026 berrydainesLeave a comment

Photo of a glass case with small linocuts inside

It’s been forty years since I had a solo exhibition. At this rate I’ll be 103 when the next one starts. Maybe I’ll have finished some more drawings by then.

Venue: Pembroke Dock Library SA72 6DW. Open 10 a.m – 4 p.m on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m – 1 on Thursday; 10 a.m – 12.30 on Saturday. Exhibition is there until the last day of April 2026.

Two watercolour skies exhibited within view of a window

The white poppy has been a symbol of pacifism for decades. The Peace Pledge Union has promoted nonviolent alternatives to violence since 1934.

It’s a family friendly exhibition, with nothing to upset anyone. However, the pictures could be propaganda for a better environment. Viewers so far have been pleased with the light and shadows in the trees. Showing pictures of an ideal world is easier than nagging everyone to plant more trees to keep flooding at bay.

Oval dance

March 12, 2026March 17, 2026 berrydainesLeave a comment

In theory this is an illustration for a novel that has been an ongoing project for decades. They’re practicing for a dance at their midsummer festival. The lady in the purple dress is a character called Amelia Bliss. All of the characters have names that I’ve come across while researching my family history.

In 1871, my great grandfather was lodging with a woman and her daughter. The first transcription I found said that she was Mrs Bliss. Later updates show that she was Mrs Elliss. I was disappointed, but looked for a real Amelia Bliss anyway. The one I found, of about the right age, went on to die aged 25. It’s much easier to find info about people who aren’t my relatives.

My great grandfather was particularly elusive; he was a widower in one 1871 transcription but married in the later version. He’s nowhere to be found in 1861 or 1881, but he was in the merchant navy so could have been anywhere. In 1891 he’s a lodger (or visitor?) at his son’s/ my grandfather’s house. They both worked at the Woolwich Arsenal. His gravestone in Norwich describes him as the beloved son of Isaac and Rebecca Daines, no mention of anyone else.

Blue Monday

January 19, 2026 berrydainesLeave a comment

PVA glue around the edge of a jar lid will print a nice circle on a piece of paper. Add more glue for more visible parts of the moon. Sprinkle glitter before the circle dries. Add a few paint and/or crayon clouds to the sky.

Art Out West

September 12, 2025 berrydainesLeave a comment

I enjoy making stuff but pricing and sales are completely alien. Maybe bartering with pictures could become a trend? There are times I wish I made useful items instead, although customers would have to wait a while for their second glove or sock.

Picnic

September 2, 2025 berrydainesLeave a comment

The photograph of the drawing looks different, the camera sees the separate crayon lines in the shadows.

I’m using my teenage self’s methods that anyone would have expected to have improved by now. Good to see it from a different perspective before tidying it up.

Multitasking

April 8, 2024 berrydainesLeave a comment

Knitting on five needles lying on a watercolour cloud

There are many tasks to do today but I knitted instead. The project will become too big for three needles so I’ve added more. They’re slightly bent from being stuck under a heavy item for too long. They still function well.

Cats

July 15, 2023 berrydainesLeave a comment

Recent drawings on greetings cards for various life events. Mixed media, Bic Cristal biro (black and green) with watercolour crayons. The cat sitting on a hill is near some wild garlic, which has been given darker green foliage since the photo was taken. I wondered why Ramsbottom is called that, or which other names were considered at that meeting. A bit of etymological reading suggested ransoms and the bottom of a hill. Wild garlic valley, obviously.

Sweet Peas

June 23, 2023 berrydainesLeave a comment

Graphite and watercolour crayon drawing on paper

The old people used to say they grew sweet peas because you don’t have to bend far to smell the blooms. This is the first time I’ve grown some for a few years. The last attempts ended with little stems surrounded by slug trails.

Today’s drawing of the sweet peas might inspire the usual questions: “but what will you do with it when it’s finished?” etc. Well, since you ask, parts of it might be used for a family tree project. The little spirals are interesting, and could be a useful link between the names and dates of the more complex ancestors.