Affection

Andy and Merlin after they return from their daily walk.  Merlin usually sits in his bed whilst Andy has a coffee but today he obviously felt in need of some love.  You probably can't see from the picture but he is sitting with his bottom resting on the footstool whilst his front end is in Andy's lap.  He does adopt some funny poses.

Another lovely sunny day but the edge taken off the temperatures with a steady north-easterly wind.  Andy ventured to the supermarket today and we had two bags of garden supplies (compost and bark) delivered.  Tonight we'll continue to watch Sky Portrait Artist of the Year - we are working our way backwards through the series and are currently viewing the 2018 competition!  Its really fascinating to watch the different processes the artists use - for example, some create lots of practice sketches before starting on their main portrait, others start immediately to sketch with paint or charcoal, others draw a grid to work with and some put in a backwash before doing anything; some brush wildly, others are more considered and put down tiny little dabs as though they are painting by numbers.  We ponder how we would each approach painting - Andy says he thinks he would be very precise and considered trying to put in every detail. I'm not sure about myself - perhaps I need to try?!