I haven't been able to paint much this week as life is getting in the way but I have been giving some thought to the next painting in my "window" series. Which season to do next? Autumn seems the obvious choice, but do I use the same scene through the window as the summer painting or a different one? I'm thinking of putting apples on the window sill as these represent the autumnal harvest. One of my favourite poems is "Moonlit Apples" by John Drinkwater which a friend has written out in beautiful calligraphic handwriting and I've had framed. It's evocative of my childhood, when my grandfather used to bring home boxes of Cox's Pippins in autumn from the farm where he worked. Wind-blown leaves in various colours; a flock of birds flying off to the warmth; a misty aspect, maybe as in Keats' "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness"; should I include all or some of these in the scene?

Anyway, meanwhile I have two small canvasses ready and waiting for a summer harvest set up and I've collected three vases together which could make an interesting still life for the second one. Hopefully, I'll be able to pick up a paintbrush soon.

On this blog I'm going to post my latest work which will be for sale on my website. However, the first picture I want to share is the one on my Home page:

This is the first in a series of four that I'm planning to do. As I state in my Profile I love the way light shapes form and casts shadows and this is a perfect example. The bright sunlight causes the jugs to leave deep shadows in the window sill. Also, windows have a  fascination for me. In his poem, "Ode to a Nightingale" Keats mentions "magic casements" and to me windows can be thought of as magical in that the view they hold changes as the weather and seasons change. So, this one (above) is Summer and I hope it is evocative of a hot summer's day. I've included two nightingales as a tribute to Keats' poem and they symbolise the voice of poets so are apt. The butterfly symbolises metamorphosis, or change; the tree symbolises the human family tree and there is a path over the hill, leading where? The viewer makes of these symbols what s/he will.

Setting up my website (www.patcusackinnesart.co.uk) and this blog have taken a great deal of time lately but I've managed to complete the small painting below. The rose is from my garden - I love roses and gardening - and the bud vase is a new acquisition. There's an abundance of fruit to choose from at the moment, both for painting and eating! Hope you like the painting.

It will be uploaded to my website  in due course and available for purchase.