Sunday 26 January 2014

Lions, ducks and horses

Hi everybody!
We had a lot of wind and rain here all night, which meant lots of puddles on my walk today. But it stayed dry all the time I was out, which was good, although their was a biting wind along the Rhine which seemed to be nibbling at my ears! Puddle jumping is a sport which I have practised since I was a toddler, and which stood me in good stead today.


I love these mossy and rather dilapidated lions on the bridge over the moat.


And the ducks were busy as usual, they don't mind it being wet.
  
Between my morning walk and the afternoon one nearly 18.000 steps!)  I did some crafting, got some of my DT cards for Gecko Galz done, which I can't show yet, and made this one for Artful Times, where the theme is 'Year of the Horse', for the Chinese New Year.  I don't have any Chinese stamps, but remembered this drawing which I made back in the 1980s, using soft, blacklead pencils. I had the idea from the son of a friend, who always drew horses. I took a photo of it and printed it out as my focal motive, matting it with dark grey mirri-board, and red and black cardstock. As an embellishment I added the little sticker with the rose and some Chinese/Japanese? writing.




Have a good day, take care, and thanks a lot for coming by!

33 comments:

  1. Same weather here Valerie and I never went out at all so well done and thanks for sharing the photos.

    Love the card you made it is stunning. Thank you for joining in at Artful Times

    Love Chrissie x

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  2. Wonderful photos, I am ashamed to say we stayed home and played games today....well done on walking so far again! Love the card, a very striking and bold design! Hugs, Sarah

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  3. Gorgeous artwork Valerie.
    It's been very wet and windy here too and judging from your pic, I hope your long jump ability is still there!!!
    Hugs, Fliss xx

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  4. Wow the drawing you did of the horses is fantastic. Love your incorporation of them into your chinese card. x

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  5. Omg Valerie, your drawing is absolutely stunning. A fabulous card. Xx

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  6. beautiful tribute to the year of the Horse!

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  7. Totally gorgeous!

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  8. Wow Val, what fabulous drawings. A lovely tribute for the Year of the Horse. Torrential rain here in Scotland for most of the day. Hugs Rita xxx

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  9. Perfect illustration for the Year of the Horse. Enjoy your puddle jumping, we might get more snow. xox

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  10. A fabulous menagerie of animals, the lions are lovely but those horses are stunning xx

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  11. I agree! The horses are just beautiful! And perfect for the project - they are really, really beautiful. xoox

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  12. What a great share for Artful Times ! Those horses are amazing Valerie :)
    Von ♥

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  13. Your horses are wonderful.
    xxx Hazel.

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  14. OMG wie wundervoll deine gemalten Pferde sind,einfach ganz bezaubernd,sie sehen so zart und galant aus,unglaublich schöööön.
    die Bilder sind wieder klasse,ich liibe diesen Ententeich,sowas haben wir hier gar nicht bei uns,war auch gerade etwas draussen,die sonne scheint und es hat geschneit,mein Rock hält mich gut warm :-)

    GLG Jeannette

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  15. Your drawing of the horses is wonderful, Valerie, and that's very clever how you have created the reflections. I like the way you have made it into a card.
    I like the old lion, he's saying "I was a fierce young lion once!".

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  16. Beautiful Valerie - your horses are extraordinary and I only hope you will do more. Your card is so well done - I knew you were a real artist - I just knew it. And by the way, that first puddle was humongous - could you really jump that!!
    Sandy xx

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    Replies
    1. Well, I'm not telling - but I came home with wet feet!

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  17. Hi Valerie, Wonderful pics and those stone lions are stunning. Love the moss on them. So regal. That is a large puddle to jump~~ I think you just jumped and flew over it.
    Your card is stunning and I love the mirror image of the horses. What a grand card for the Chinese new year!! Is there anything you can't do??
    Hugs

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  18. Marvelous card for Year of the Horse. You are amazing to go walking even when the weather isn't perfect. I love your photos.

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  19. totally perfect for the year of the horse, love your artsy card Valerie, Hugs Annette x

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  20. Your horse picture is FABulous Valerie!
    I love old, mossy, stone statues; I always try to imagine how they were as new. Any idea how old those lions are? :o) x

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    1. I don't know, probably a couple of hundred years.

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  21. Love how the horses have the mirror image, its a stunning card. Had to laugh at the puddle jumping you had to do, I probably would have fallen in it, however if I'd had the wellies on it would have been great to splash through.
    Yvonne x

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  22. Your horses are fabulous, I can't draw animals at all. It has made a great card.

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  23. Wow! Die Pferde sind einfach traumhaft schön!! Fantastische Zeichnung! Sehr elegant und doch voller Energie! Schöne Fotos ... besonders der Steinlöwe hat es mir angetan!
    LG, LonettA

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  24. Oh WOW Valerie, that is impressive. Absolutely stunning! Shows a great talent.
    Thanks for sharing with us at Artful Times.
    Hugs, Neet xx

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  25. Gorgeous horses, very clever to mirror them and perfect for the year of the horse! Beautiful walk, love the lions! Big hugs, ~Diane

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  26. Happy year of the horse to you! Your lovely card is perfect for the occasion.
    When I was a child in Italy, my mom took me to a park that used to be an aristocratic villa. There were fake grottoes with tritons and other fantastic creatures in them and marble lions like the one in your picture that I climbed on. They all had that same worn look and they always fascinated me. Your picture brought me back many years and many many miles. Thank you! :)

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  27. Wow this is gorgeous, I love your horses! We're having very grey weather too, lots of mud and puddles :-( xx

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  28. Boah, die Pferde sind ja der absolute Oberhammer, Valerie! Ich habe zwar nicht ganz verstanden, wie du das genau gemacht hast, aber das Ergebnis ist sehr überzeugend!
    Die Löwen sehe eher wie Kuscheltiere aus, die haben so nen verschmusten Gesichtsausdruck.

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