Illustration Friday - Atmosphere

Water media on gessoed mountboard © Caroline Soer 2010

'The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work
That points at him amazed'.

From The Moon and Little Frieda by Ted Hughes

I combined this week's Illustration Friday word 'atmosphere' with last week's 'star gazing'. I chose this line of poetry by Ted Hughes from ' The Moon and Little Frieda' in which Hughes vividly evokes the atmosphere of the English countryside.

Full Moon and Little Frieda


A cool small evening shrunk to a dog bark and the clank of a bucket –

And you listening.
A spider’s web, tense for the dew’s touch.
A pail lifted, still and brimming – mirror
To tempt a first star to a tremor.

Cows are going home in the lane there, looping the hedges with their warm wreaths of breath –
A dark river of blood, many boulders,
Balancing unspilled milk.

“Moon!” you cry suddenly, “Moon! Moon!”

The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work
That points at him amazed.


--Ted Hughes, from Wodwo (1967)

Illustration friday - by the skin of my teeth

copyright Caroline Soer 2010

Oh my gosh, think I'm scraping in by two seconds here for this week's word -' Stargazing'. I've been under the weather all week with a nasty cold and am only managing my sketchbook page as I couldn't decide on which theme to go with. Please click to enlarge the image.

Here you have them all in rough - star/moongazing hare, Stargazer Lily and Star Gazey Pie. Ever heard of Star Gazey Pie? This pie originates from the small fishing village of Mousehole (pronounced Mouzel) in Cornwall, in the southwest of England. As legend has it, for many days one winter, the seas were too rough to bring in the catch and the village had little to eat. However, eventually, one fisherman called Tom Bawcock, braved the storms and went out fishing. Against all odds he managed to bring back enough fish to feed the starving villagers and for ever more, December the 23rd has been called Tom Bawcock's Eve. To make the small catch go further, the fish were baked in a pastry case with the fishes' heads poking out up at the stars, hence Star Gazey Pie. The man was revered for saving the inhabitants' lives and his festival is an annual attraction in Mousehole complete with illuminations and depictions of Star Gazy Pie in lights.


I visited the Mouzel a few years ago and bought a copy of Antonia Barber's delighful tale The Mousehole Cat, illustrated by Nicola Bayley which tells the story of this legend. The illustrations are delightful!