8th August 2026
It feels like my 2 week holiday was a long time ago but i am excited to be back going out to share photographs , my journey and especially good to be painting again. Sometime we feel stale and stuck in the same groove and it is good to step outside from that and maybe there is some insight to gain or just re-kindled energy.
The plan was to do nothing but hang out with Stella ( The cat) , read , listen to music and the odd movie without feeling that i should be producing something. However , i did have some work to do : I needed the images for August “Meet a Tree” which i visited Sidwood. Sidwood is about 5 miles from me via a very beautiful walk , however , the second time to capture photographs i drove around allowing me more time. I instantly fell in love with the place and declared to myself that it will be one of my three new feature places for my 2027 diary.
I also wanted to work on awareness of my thoughts caught up in the past and the constant narration so i may find more silence and be less attached to words and thinking out everything over and over again. Dr Joe Dispenser has some great video of changing your thought patterns as when we often live in the past , thoughts and actions which bring the same results over and over again. i know i do this and as an Autistic spectrum person over thinking and planning what you will say or explaining out conservations before they happen is very predominant. On my mindfulness path during learning “Insight” one of my intentions was to become more spontaneous. It is a long road to take and often you have to start over again but i small changes have occurred for the better.
Being able to just sit and observe without needing to do anything else was so helpful and i have noticed a feeling of space which is quite weird as i keep on thinking it should be filled or i am missing something. But , what it is finding your true self , reality and presence.
I had planned to go to Tynemouth Weekend market with some of my small watercolour abstracts tomorrow but there were things not quite right so now my first day physically selling my art is on Sunday 15th August. This date is quite similar to the date i began working for myself as construction estimator in 2010 which was quite a leap of faith but i managed to keep going for 10 years so maybe , just maybe , i can do this again.
I had some good news with a Northumberland Art Market curator and that i am included into being able to show my work online and most importantly i can participate in their art pop up shows. I am over the moon as until up to now i have been ignored at best.
Bakethin Nature Reserve
Once you see them , they are everywhere you go. Little red baubles of delight , Rowan berries. I have tried to make Ink from them but can be quite glutenous but have quite a appealing pink colour and also on alkaline paper a very exotic blue green emerges.
The Rowan is steeped in folklore in Britain , known in places as witchwood. Druids used Rowan to protect the spirits of the dead. Talismans were made from the twigs for protection from evil. People would grow the tree beside their homes for protection in which i am lucky to inherit a few trees across from my home.
It is said a bumper crop foretold a hard winter but this was not the case last year but they do look gorgeous against frost or a covering of snow.
They are not so nice eaten raw and advised to consume a few. My suggestion would be to make a jelly/jam as it makes a wonderful condiment.
Purple is the colour at the moment as you walk through the sections not under cover of the woodlands. Nature is such a master colourists showing so many tones of purple that you could possibly imagine. It is noticing that connects you to its beauty so allow its invitation into its world and enjoy the forms , textures and intricate colouring.
But wait , do not forget the yellow . there are still buttercups sprinkled along the paths , some now are quite straggly but in the path of seeing beauty in everything they deserve our attention.
In June/July it was very much abundance of one flower in waves of different colours but as we know there are colours within colour . and forms unseen which we have to wait for. This lies the fun of finding your own natural place and building a relationship with it , befriending nature in becoming your family.
The Cow Parsley are a few weeks behind than in Hareshaw Linn and you witness there lightness of fluffy clouds within the verges complimenting all the other flowers. They are the showman , the heckler which draws the crowd into its patch of heaven.
Most of the thistles are now transitioning into fluffy headed characters , looking like lawmakers with their traditional wigs. But , its the bulbous flower heads which ripen from a glorious green into magestic purples and crimsons which give them a quite regal appearance.
Last month the brambles showed off their delicate white flowers and now as promised berries are formed ready to ripen. Green to deep purple ready to eat. I am going to enjoy being part of their journey , a journey to nourish the woodland just before winter time arrives.
In the Wild , Painting
Even when unseen
I still bloom
christopher Evans
Kielder Forest Forms : Watercolour on 33 × 50 Fabrinno paper
Bull Crag Peninsular
It was an early start along the Peninsular to make use of the softer light and cooler temperatures. It felt quite fresh at 8 degrees. The Forest paths verges glittered in the morning sun and shadows formed from the tall forestry trees.
Along the reservoir the changing plants and flowers were enjoying a serene view of the water and the peace. It is my favourite time , you can happily chat to the plants and trees without being caught by suspicious tourists.
The mixture was different than Bakethin although only 4/5 miles apart showing some new plants and flowers emerging. I even found a new flower that i had not seen before , a beautiful purple bauble. I keep on telling myself i need to go on a learning their human names but sometimes i feel thats like domination and owning something so i am still having that playing out within me. I think i would like to learn and my resistance is more about my doubt in myself rather than thinking its domination of nature ; i am allowing myself the time for it to settle within me.
The dreamy meadow sweet is everywhere along the verges alongside the waters edge. I love how it there are clumps of them creating a melody between other plants and that melody will change next year.
When you begin to be curious and investigate deeper into what lies in front of you you began to notice diversity of things , everything separates out like individual marks on a painting forming a whole picture of dreamy summertime.
Strange grasses appear , you notice plants complimenting other plants in proximity and even one plant has different stages of change and that melts my heart. It gives me permission to be myself and that self is changeable.
Opening awareness is a learnt skill from experience and like anything else take time to develop and you will begin to notice nuances signalling that you can open yourself even more. Good indicators is beginning to see more and there is less tension in your seeking. Quite often when i am focussed on finding things in nature my mind closes to new things as i am subconsciously seeking what i found before. This nature work is a mirror to how we often get stuck in the past through our thoughts and habits which limit us and blocking boundless spirit into our life.
Hareshaw Linn
There is still a vibrancy prior to the woodland of flowers and wonderful structural plants. Just enjoy what is provided within the moment with judgement. Social Media tends to spotlight through digital processes and un-natural rendition of what nature really is like and can feel disappointing at first. Nature wants to do the work and return to being natural where life is messy and wholesome.
The Elderberry fruits have formed now like the blackberry and they sit with patience soaking in the sunlight readying themselves to provide goodness into the world . I love these plants , the red structures holding the tiny green balls , i love the transition of colours and form as it evolves through August and towards harvest time. I get a feeling of inclusion each time i arrive to check up on them , they feel like my family where i am proud of their endeavours.
Before the blackberry and elderberry are the juicy bright red raspberries which are sweet and tangy at the same time. I take a few along the way just to taste what nature has gifted but conscious that all the wild creatures need them the most especially during such hot dry spells.
In a few isolated spots beside the Burn the spectacular Bell Flowers are enjoying there yearly moment and the butterflies are enjoying them. We used to call them “Mother-in Law Bloomers” in Manchester growing up. Some call them Angel’s trumpets or Moonflowers. They are toxic but they have a lovely fragrance in the evening. They are not native to Britain but i love finding them appear during summer time.
The woodland is now very lush green and it does take some work seeking out other colours . There is a lovely calming energy as you wander through the woodland , like its from another mystical world. But , really it is of this world and the industrial world is an alien species.
The Burn is still trickling down from the waterfall even though its been some time since we have had rain and i give it a blessing. I know many have grateful rituals and honour the spirits of the waterways but i feel instead that i should bless the waterway with energy of compassion.
