Time Flies

And there are days when I feel the wings of time more than on others. Today is such a day as it is the day now exactly 32 years ago that I first came to the U.K. Some years have gone very slowly and you wish them gone but other years such as this last one fly by so fast that you want to say: "Hang on a minute, can we rewind and do that again".

This is a spread done in my 2012 Sketchbook Project and as the title is so appropriate for this particular day I saved uploading it till today. The above picture is a scan but I also photographed this page for today's blip. The 2012 project is now closed for sign-ups but a new Sketchbook Project has already started, the Limited Edition, open to only 5000 artists. You can find out all the necessary information here and I made a start on this new sketchbook today. My theme for the 2012 one was monochromatic and every spread in the sketchbook is dedicated to a different colour.

The tree, as well as being brown, is also a great symbol for the passing of time with its rings. It is a photo I took in the Dawyck Botanical Garden back in autumn and on the right hand side of the page are the watercoloured squares you're probably familiar with at this stage.

Sometimes I spend a lot of time reminiscing on this day, more than on New Year's Eve or my birthday. Maybe because in many ways it was the start of my life as I now know and love it. I can remember some events on the day so well, such as how windy it was on the ferry. In fact, the weather was a lot like it is today here in Scotland. I also remember getting lost on the North Circular in London on our way to Slough. Some friends drove me across (sadly I no longer remember their names) and my first sight of London was at night. I was only planning to be here for 6 months or a year at the most, but life had other ideas! And I have no complaints about that nor any regrets!