Market Square, Peterborough

We visited Peterborough in March, on the day of the Royal Wedding. There was a large Morris Dance event on at the same time, and I wanted to capture some of it as incidental detail in this painting.

Two cats by the window

Two cats, watercolour

I looked after these two cats for my son while they moved house and really enjoyed having them. They are two siblings, Athena (on the left) and Hercules.

They are still quite young and playful and enjoyed sitting on the window sill, catching insect (real and imaginary) and watching whatever was going on outside.

I painted this on khadi paper, mixing the black tones from ultramarine blue mixed with raw sienna and permanent crimson alizarin. The red tones on Athena were mostly pure burnt sienna.

Nene Valley Railways

On the day of the Royal Wedding, we went on a rail trip to the Nene Valley to celebrate my husband's birthday. Although we had expected a steam engine, our train was pulled by a vintage Diesel engine, which apparently is used once a month.

We had an hour's break in Peterborough, which had a Morris Dance event on. It was very enjoyable to see so many different styles of Morris Dancers. In the park in front of the Cathedral, a big screen was installed to broadcast the Royal Wedding and lots of people had set up for a picnic, some little girls dressed up as bridesmaids to celebrate the occasion.

I liked this little scene of the three people chatting, waiting for the departure of the train. The bright sunshine made for strong contrasts in tone.