25/06: PALAMINO PONY IN PASTEL ON VELOUR. WIP III

I didn't get as much done as anticipated on Charlie - he is very nearly finished but it won't hurt to put him to one side for a couple of days and take a look at him with fresh eyes next week.  

Had a visit from 'Bill & Ben' today.  They are two very dapper gents (brothers in their late 60s/early 70s) who make their 'beer money' by delivering garden compost/peat/potting soil/manure etc and they are cheaper than the local garden centres.   They are always beautifully turned out - crisply ironed shirt collars and neat pullovers etc - just to deliver compost.   I think they are ex-forces which would account for it.   They deliver the bags of 'mud' and drop them exactly where you want in the garden and all for an average £2 per bag!!   Their 92 year old mum acts as secretary and takes the phone calls ... amazing family!  

I didn't plan on doing so much gardening today, but I find it hard to say no to these guys when they knock the door and ask what they can do for us  .... so I placed a 'smaller' order than usual - just 20 bags today.  It helps to break up our horrible clay soil.   It's all dug in now and I'm aching a bit tonight!

This is where I'm at with Charlie.  I've strengthened the colours a little more and reapplied the black pastel which had dulled through picking up pastel dust  ... now its photographed I can see that the fence doesn't look  substantial enough to house ponies, so I'll tweak that a little next week to make the fence panel look heavier.  The grass at the lower end of the picture (between fence panels) also looks a bit 'scrubby' in the photo - but less so in 'real life' so I'll rectify that.

But no art tomorrow  - visiting Roxy (horse), our Mums, Richard in hospital and then out for an evening meal with daughter Caroline, her partner Lee, and Lee's parents who are visiting from Yorkshire.   Guess its going to be another 15 hour day :o)

Hope you all have a great weekend