Cactus Mural Anniversary!

Three years ago I had the opportunity to work on a wonderfully interesting project in one of my favourite places - the University of Durham Botanic Garden! The project was to paint a mural to go in the Cactus House.



Situated next to the Tropical House in the complex, the Cactus House backs onto another glasshouse. The Garden staff wanted a mural which could be installed to screen the room behind, and also to serve as an educational tool for visitors.


I was given a list of species to feature on the mural, which were to complement the collection of living cacti and succulents in the glasshouse. I produced a sketch/plan showing where the cacti were to be situated on the mural, with the landscape behind drawing the eye compositionally into the scene.



Below you can see the lovely smooth clean boards - primed with several coats of white gesso. I do love to start a new painting, and this one was in a particularly interesting environment!


The staff had made a kind of 'easel' for the boards to rest on in one of the glasshouses behind the cactus house.


To my right was an amazing feature - a raised pond housing the Victoria amazonica!


I worked during the afternoons, so that visitors to the garden could come and see what I was doing and talk with me. Later, when the gardens were closed, I was given the keys to the glasshouses so I could work uninterruptedly during the night. It was wonderful to watch the sky grow dark and the stars appear through the ceiling of the glasshouse!



I built the mural up in stages, from the basic drawing in pale colours, to laying in the blue sky, and then gradually working up the foreground.

More form and detail was gradually added.



To my right, the shapes of the lilypads in the raised pond were a constant source of fascination!

During the night, new lilies opened from buds. I would be painting away, then turn round, and a beautiful lily had opened!




Behind the pond were all kinds of cacti in pots - can you see the one with the little face that someone had made in it?

I had a comfortable bench to sit on to paint the details lower in the mural.


And little creatures to keep me company!






The mural was nearly complete ...


Details on the left ...


Details on the right ...


The Head Gardener asked me to paint a secret giraffe somewhere on the mural for visiting school children to find ... can you see the neck?



Why? ... Places can become secret portals to other worlds when mysterious intergalactic light shines on them!



After many days the mural was complete!


It was installed into position in the Cactus House. I love to go and see it and relive the wonderful time I had painting in such a special place. If you click on the picture below, you can view the website of the Botanic Garden.
Ingrid Sylvestre Mural Painter Mural Artist Durham North East England UK Newcastle Sunderland Teesside Darlington Northumberland Murals

February Moon

I've always loved February. The trees, with their wondrous forms still bare of foliage, seem to lift their branches in anticipation of the surging life of Spring.

The above painting, sold a few years ago, was composed looking up from the woodland in the University of Durham Botanic Garden. The tree-roots ripple along the grassy bank and the light snowfall is similar to ours earlier this week.

I painted it on tinted Ingres paper, using ink, watercolour and white gouache, a technique I find particularly expressive for sylvan scenery.


Above is another painting on Ingres paper, painted at the same time as the previous image. The group of conifers, also in the Botanic Garden, seem to be drawing together to gaze at the February moon and waiting ...


I love this group of trees so much that I decided to paint the image again, this time on a larger scale using acrylic on canvas. This painting is not quite finished - I often like to 'rest' a piece of artwork, to contemplate it for a while before completion.

Ingrid Sylvestre - Durham Artist

Evening Light of Gold

I love the light during the Winter, especially in the evenings when the sun is low and casts exciting shadows. Here the sunlight turns the damp surface of the road to magical liquid gold!

Greetings of the Midwinter Solstice

Greetings of the Midwinter Solstice.
May the year ahead be happy and wonderful!

An Autumn visit to Guisborough

On one of the gloriously sunny days last week I revisited Guisborough, a beautiful historic town close to Middlesbrough.

The sunlight created a series of curved shadows at the entrance to the ancient Priory.



I strolled round the back of the Priory to view its magnificent arches against the autumn sky.


A secret door set in an old wall enhanced the mood of enchantment and beckoned me to explore.


In the grounds of the Priory there were wonderful shadowy paths, where light and shade revealed strange shapes.


A mysterious poly-tunnel gleamed between the dark trees.


In the distance the distinctive shape of Highcliffe rose from the Forest.



Autumn colours adorned the trees in the mellow sunlight.


Clouds swirled exultantly in the warm breeze.



Closer and closer I drew to Highcliffe as the sun shone through golden foliage.



At the edge of the woods cottages nestled into the hillside.



I chose from the many pathways through Guisborough Forest and was entranced by the dappled light as the path wound and dipped, revealing distant vistas.

As the warm dusk closed in, a peachy-golden glow settled over the land.

Ingrid Sylvestre

September Light

On the first day of September I went for a walk to revel in the early autumn light. The mellow sun illuminated the path as it led into the Wood.



Deep in the valley, an abundance of fruit clustered among the twigs, and leaves glistened green-gold.


A secret lane wound between berry-laden trees.


Looking back I saw the sun transforming the edge of the grassy bank to gleaming bronze.


Along the edge of the silent Wood, the fields stretched in tranquillity beneath peach coloured skies.

Ingrid Sylvestre

Inspired by Whitesnake - Forevermore!

YouTube Film by janeyb65 (a person in Newcastle City Hall audience)

Very occasionally I hear a music track that so resonates with me that I know I am going to be playing it non-stop for years. Such is the title track of Whitesnake's 'Forevermore' album.

Last week I saw Whitesnake live for the first time, at Newcastle City Hall, where we also had the wondrous priviledge of meeting David Coverdale backstage! Of all the concerts I've ever been to, this was the absolute best. Whitesnake are everything one could want in a rock band, with each member bringing their own special brilliance, and David Coverdale is a true 'rock god'.

You can see and hear the live performance of Forevermore at the City Hall on the YouTube film above, made by a person in the audience. It's great to be able to re-live the experience of such a fantastic evening! If you can get to see the band live, do - and get the album too!

After the concert towards dawn I was gazing at the trees, listening to Forevermore, and was envisioned to create the painting shown below. First I sketched the idea, then worked on the painting in oil pastel and watercolour over the last few days. I think this is the first time I've been inspired to paint from a music track - there's something so powerful about the song, I felt I just had to.

Neckshund Nexploits at the Botanic Garden!

Wednesday 1st of June was another nextra special day at the University of Durham Botanic Garden. Once again, Necky Becky travelled all the way from Giraffe World to take part in a story-telling session with Ingrid. This time she brought her beloved neckshund dog Hals with her, and her toddler brother Littl' Nicky too!

They were all very nexcited to arrive at the secret portal behind the Intergalactic Cacti.




During the storytelling Hals got very hungry and decided to pop back home to get some of his favourite biscuits.

He went to the Intergalactic Cacti, but though he tried and tried, he couldn't get the secret portal to Giraffe World to appear!


"Oh dear!" he said to himself. "I'm so very hungry. I wonder if there are any nice biscuits in the Botanic Garden?"

Someone had left the door to the glasshouses a teeny bit open, so he squeezed through into the fresh air.



There were lots of beautiful flowers in the Garden, and Hals sniffed them. "How lovely!" he said. "But not like biscuits ..."




Further along the path he found a big display board. There was plenty of information about trees on it, but no directions to biscuits.




He trotted past the gunnera and stopped for a moment. They looked so huge and the stems were
very prickly-looking, so he decided not to look for biscuits there!

By now he was feeling tired and very hungry indeed. He wondered if Necky Becky had noticed that he was missing. Maybe she would come and look for him. That would be so comforting.




Suddenly Hals came face to face with a very strange looking creature. In the shadows under the trees he couldn't tell if it was a fallen log or a huge monster!
*

He turned and ran, looking over his shoulder to see if it was following him. Faster and faster, his little legs moving so quickly you could hardly see them, until he arrived at a big blue door - the Visitors Centre!




As he stood outside panting, so very tired and thirsty from his mad dash through the garden, one of the ladies in the cafe saw him. She brought him a big bowl of water to drink.



By this time the story-telling had finished, and how pleased Hals was to see Necky Becky and Littl' Nicky running towards him! Guess what Necky Becky had in her pocket? Some of his favourite biscuits!

They all sat by the Intergalactic Cacti and waited for their dad, Raph, to collect them.



Back through the secret portal they go in their family bus, until neckst time!

Necky Becky's dad has his own blog, Raph's Ramblings, where he writes about his thoughts and the family adventures.