Tuesday 1 November 2011

the duck who loved me

orchard goose, originally uploaded by Dru Marland.
I spent my early life in an orchard with geese and ducks, waiting for the moment when the BIG WHITE GANDER would sneak up behind my dad (who was pruning trees) and prod his bum. As kids, my brother and I found this overwhelmingly funny.

Some of Geraldine Taylor's piece for the next Bristol Review of Books, that this picture accompanies. Seemed like a good idea to show the finished version, as it was 'work in progress' on the earlier post.

More watercolour paper stretching and drying on the board, and me doing a bit of sorting-out in the meantime. I've got a bag of readymix mortar in the back of the car, ready to go up onto the roof and fix the bit that's leaking. I stopped off at B&Q to get the mortar, and, as usual, went in through the door marked TRADE PROFESSIONALS ONLY because I'm bolshy and don't like walking round the long way, and I don't think you need to be a fat bald bloke with builder's cleavage to be a builder. Even though it's statistically probable that you will be.

3 comments:

  1. Lovely colours,especially the skin. We had a goose who was a nasty piece of work. when my parents moved they had a hard job finding someone brave enough to take him on.

    The builders I recently had around were young and more like the chippendales. They were nice too. i'm secretly hoping the rest of the house caves in....

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  2. Your goose was comfortably housed, by the look of things...

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  3. Thanks, Anji. The geese on the neighbour's farm used to scare me rather; I gave them a wide berth. Actually, I can think of one or two builders who are quite good-looking. Though decidedly in a minority.

    I'm generous that way, Graham. And I suspect that it would be more effort to draw a picturesquely squalid goose hut.

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