Prunella and Dash were inseparable
It was hard to tell where one began and the other ended.
Ginger lads and lasses could be like that
Especially when the Lad was a Lovely Irish Setter.
None the less, it was oft said that on cold nights by the firelight the pair would sit and bask in their ginger locks, taking on the sheen of the orange glow of the drawing room fire.
Once , it was said, in a blizzard unheard of in a century, a couple were struck paralyzed with the cold, their car having broken down.
When they thought they were done for, so said they days later in the local over a pint, still shivering despite the glow of the open fire, that in the dark cold blue snow filled night they saw an orange glow envelope them.
The Orange, warm and furry, moved about them and seemed to melt the snow and ice. In a flurry of ginger locks and warm breath they were transported from their frozen roadside fear to the warmth of a well appointed drawing room lit only by a fire.
After sipping whisky and warming their toes, the realized their saviors were a ginger haired lass and the most beautifully brushed Setter they'd ever laid eyes upon. The pair lay upon a great bear rug, it's creamy white setting off their ginger locks.
They told, there after their 3rd rounds in the local, that they swore as Prunella brushed her long ginger locks they merged into the very sheen of Dash's, for the dog was named Dash.
"It was hard told where one began and the other ended", said the man of the couple, attempting a sip at his now empty pint glass.
Now, on many a cold night, town folk will sneak a peek from the roadside at the old house. Children, naughty in snow clothes, will pile themselves upon one another to try and reach a view in the old windows; to get a look in on the ginger pair.
To this day, they say, if one is caught out in the cold, close to death, a soft warm caress of ginger hair will glide upon the snow about one, melting the ice and the hearts of those rescued.
But, one is never apt to truly believe all the tales told in Village pubs...Until a flash of tweed and ginger hair strides by and one can swear the snow has melted off the windows.
This piece started out as a few sketches. Then I scan them and fuss about digitally. Here you can see I am playing with various color stories and had wanted, in a watercolor version, to make our pair into a decorative motif.
The joy of once scanned sketches is the ease one has in trying out shapes and color stories.
Watercolor stabs and decorative scribbles inspire me to consider what I can make of the pair for a design.
For now I'm rather happy with the progress thus far in the painting of the pair, done in digital oil pastels and chalks, and think they may simply be a standalone portrait of 2 ginger pals.
Often when I sketch and paint I wonder if I'm created characters or if they are simply begging to come through into this realm
I think simply that I adore sketching ladies and animals and being rather a hermit who probably loves her own company far more than is good for one, One cannot help but think up the conversations one would have with them, were they sat there in the studio with a cup of tea and an afternoon to tell their tales.
However they come into being I hope you are amused by them.
Thank you for indulging me in sharing my art and their back story with you. I hope you get a moment in your day to indulge in your own passions and as always remember to stay creative!
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