An Artist is born

Today I had the wonderfull opertunity to join Ali's art group with a client.. Ali aka 'Lostfoot blog'(Check it out..too wierd to live, too rare too die). So Ali plonked a blank piece of paper and asked me too draw Alice..ie Alice in wonderland as is the current art theme...As you can see see I am an Undiscovered talent..I found creativity in me I did not know existed..found drawing a rabbit mighty hard but with Ali's tenative nurturing of my creativity i produced this profound peice of work.

NB..Said picture is subject to copyright laws as apply to Eu states..original will be for sale on E-Bay and as alimited edition lithograph

Oh and yes Alice did wear American Tan tights..not a lot of people know that

My Dalek

Do you love my Dalek?..it was made from a council compost bin and stands decaying in a garden, composting to this day...

Bio mechanical mirror

My mate scott made me this Biomechanical mirror years ago..he is a big fan of the Aliens films and giger..love it..more for the Bachelor pad I think though..lol

Dean Castle country park

I love the Dean Park in Kilmarnock,Ayrshire in Scotland. I spent most of my childhood exploring it and still spend many days there.The park used to be more wild however it is now a country park and lots of areas have been cut back, fenced off and generally made more safe, it is still a great place to explore though with miles off walks through forests. I made a video in the park..'The Forest of Doom'..it started as a story I told my wee boy about during a walk in the park..however the video tuned out to be more sinister...It's in the blog sidebar if you want a look.
Dean Castle takes its name from ‘The Dean’ or wooded valley – a common place name in Scotland. The original keep dates from around 1350 with the Palace being added around 110 years later. Built by the Boyd family, it has strong historical connections with many people and events in Scottish history – Robert the Bruce who gave the lands to the Boyds, James III whose sister married a Boyd, the Covenanters – some of whom were imprisoned there, Bonnie Prince Charlie – whose rebellion was joined by the 4th Earl of Kilmarnock and Robert Burns who was encouraged to publish his poems by the Earl of Glencairn who owned the castle at the time.

Around 1290, the English committed an atrocity in Ayr by hanging a number of Scottish nobles. It is believed that Sir Robert Boyd was amongst the murdered men along with members of the Wallace family. As a result of this action Boyd’s son (also Sir Robert) joined forces with William Wallace and other Scottish patriots to fight for Scottish independence. He took part in “The Burning of the Barns of Ayr” where the English forces were either burned alive or slaughtered. He also took part in a battle with the English at Loudoun Hill outside Darvel. It is also thought that Sir Robert Boyd was present at the Battle of Falkirk where Wallace was defeated.

After Wallace was executed, Sir Robert Boyd was then one of the first supporters of Robert the Bruce and was trusted enough to act as his queen’s escort in 1306. In 1316, Robert the Bruce gave him the Lordship of Kilmarnock for his support during the Battle of Bannockburn. He was finally captured by an English army at Halidon Hill in 1333 and died soon after. The English however, due to the efforts of Boyd and others like him, were never able to gain a strong foothold in Scotland again. His son, Sir Thomas Boyd of Kilmarnock probably completed the building of the keep of Dean Castle before being captured with King David II in 1346 and suffering a period of imprisonment in England. The Boyd family were to live at Dean Castle for the next 400 years.

The 8th Lord Howard de Walden (Thomas Evelyn Ellis) inherited the castle in 1899 and spent many years restoring the castle as it had suffered over two centuries of neglect after being gutted by fire in 1735. The restoration of the Keep was completed in 1908 and the Palace in the 1930’s. Lord Howard De Walden was a man of many talents – he wrote books and plays and had a keen interest in music and art. His other passions included horse racing (both as an owner and breeder) and fencing ( he was a reserve for the Olympic team in 1908). He collected some of the countries finest collections of swords, weapons and armour which are now housed within Dean Castle.

Lord Howard De Walden was married to Margherita Van Raalte, the daughter of a Jewish Dutch immigrant, Charles Van Raalte, who is responsible for the finest collection of historical musical instruments anywhere in Europe. This collection is also housed within Dean Castle. Lord Howard De Walden and his wife spent a lot of time at their Scottish home and chose to be buried here as is Lord Howard De Walden’s mother - Blanche. He died in 1946 and was succeeded by his son – the Right Honourable John Osmael Scott Ellis as the 9 th Lord Howard De Walden and Seaford. In 1974, he gifted the castle and its collections to the people of Kilmarnock and in 1976 the castle was opened to the public. The collections of Arms & Armour, historical musical instruments and tapestries are some of the finest anywhere in Europe.

Tarot Cards

Have dabbled in Tarot over the years.
The Universe is a painting by Lady Frieda Harris. It was one of an entire set of paintings created with the instruction of the occultist Aleister Crowley for his Thoth Tarot Deck and Book of Thoth: A Short Essay of the Tarot of the Egyptians. Their colaboration was supposed to be a six month project to update symbolism of established Tarot imagery, most commonly known from the Rider-Waite-Smith Deck, but the richness of the new project ended up taking five years to complete. Many of the works she had to repaint as many as eight times to satisfy his vision. This is the set I own andI love this card. To me it represents that an individual has become all they can be and they shine bright...good Karma..






This card however I think is horrible and is a fantastic representation of destruction in ones life..scares me a bit..came up once in line with a few other negative cards and things eventually did not bear to well for the person...

Love Edward Gorey--Gashlycrumb Tinies,

Intoducing..Neo...the most amazing..fandabuloues....darling off a cat you would want to meet...

A horrible noise(30000 HZ to be precise) sorts off messes with your brain

Oscars Holiday--A short story I wrote years ago on a beech in Rhodes

Oscar’s Holiday

Oscar donned his rucksack and said goodbye too his friends. It was his first holiday and he couldn’t wait to get away from all the hustle and bustle, the running about and the constant orders. As a member of the collections and clearance department he was totally overworked and would certainly live life to the full during his allotted and only weeks holiday

Finally he left the city, passed the border guards, the checks, and he was free

The rucksack was heavy on his back but Oscar sped along the trail. The land was rocky and inhospitable, obstacle after obstacle blocked his way, deep crevasse’s had too be negotiated and enemies avoided. After a day’s travel he arrived at the resort. ‘Abundance land’, named for its variety and lot’s of everything you would ever want, plus more and plenty off it

Oscar checked into his room at the ‘High leaf’ hotel which soared onto the sky and offered marvellous views of the surrounding countryside. First thing first, the bar, thought Oscar. The barman winked at him and put a white rock into his glass and then pored water over it, the rock dissolved and frothed in the cold water. Oscar drank greedily, giving out a breathless gasp. The barman winked at him, “Good eh, pure high”. A few more rocks and Oscar was in the party mood and the disco began.

‘Stand and deliver’ blasted out the speakers followed by ‘Prince charming’, Oscar was in heaven, Adam was his favourite singer and he had all the records. Oscar started to dance wildly, arms and legs everywhere, when he seen her.

She was leaning against the bar, the most beautiful creature he had ever seen; all her legs were slender and shining. Oscar wasted no time and bought her a drink and chatting too her was easy as she was in the same line of work. As the night progressed, so did the dancing and soon Oscar and Wilma were in each others arms. At the end of the night they went back too Oscar’s room and caressed each other’s bodies, wishing they were off a different order where sex actually happened. Oscar and Wilma were inseparable, doing everything together, ‘Silk swinging’, ‘Stick boat tours and the highlight of their holiday, the pool party where a large buffet of ‘Catapil’ was on offer at the free buffet all night. The company does look after its workers well, Oscar thought and he and Wilma drank a toast to their Queen.

Soon it was all over and he and Wilma had a tearful parting, after all they would both be dead next year.

In no time at all Oscar was back at work and his gaffer was once more shouting orders at him.

Yes, being an ant is a tough life he thought, ho hum.