Where’s Jackie? (11)

On another hot and sunny morning I produced a number of

garden views from above;

in the process a selection of Where’s Jackie? (11) for readers to find.

This afternoon I read more of Charles Dickens’s novel, Bleak House and scanned another five of the wide ranging illustrations by Charles Keeping.

‘On the step at the gate I saw a woman lying’ conveys the artist’s skill with buildings, graveyards, figures, and animals such as the rat, also giving perspective.

Attention to the writer’s detail is demonstrated by ‘Mr Vholes stood feeling the pimples on his face’

The effete ‘Mr Skimpole, lying on the sofa in his room, playing the flute a little’ is another worthy portrait’;

as is ‘The old man had shrunk down in his chair into a mere bundle’

Keeping is able to steep himself in the writer’s factories and waterways, as shown in ‘On the black canal bridge of a busy town’. A mere conversation is insufficient for him – he has to show it in context.

This evening Jackie and I dined on her spicy chicken jalfrezi with pilau rice; Flo enjoyed a boiled egg korma and plain boiled rice, with which she drank elderflower cordial; the Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Shiraz.

60 comments

  1. For reasons best known to WP, I can’t see any of your photos or scanned illustrations……..or indeed anyone else’s!

  2. Your garden from above looks so beautful and appealing! I found Jackie in six photos. My final comment is that “effete” is one of my favorite words, but I never get to use it in casual conversation–although I did manage to work it into a character rant in a short story.

    1. I doubt I shall ever use that descriptive word in general conversation, Uma. I can see my friends looking askance at me if I ever did.

  3. I spotted Jackie six times! The last one was the most difficult…left, top, oh, yeah! 😉 (Okay, now I’m seeing her in places she isn’t…so I best stop! HA! 😀 Just teasin’! 😛 )
    I spotted some owls, too…which you know I love to do! 🙂
    Mr. Keeping’s illustrations are wonderful as always…the details, textures, and shapes in the first one are so interesting! (Such a furry rat!)
    Oh, and playing the flute whilst lying down…how wonderful! 🙂
    (((HUGS))) 🙂

  4. I always enjoy seeing the garden from above, especially love seeing Jackie surrounded by the lush flora. The superb drawing of the woman on the steps is a stark contrast being a view from below. I like the rats.

  5. It is a tough quiz, and I suspect Jackie is standing in the top left corner of the image with her back to the camera. Keeping has produced a brilliant visual world enriching the storyline several fold.

  6. It’s always fun to have a bit of a challenge. I found Jackie in five photos, possibly six. That last one was only a guess. You have a lovely garden.

  7. Are you sure it was the garden that was your intention of photographing. I’m sure it was more that you wanted to take more photos of that lovely wife of yours. I enjoyed viewing the garden but I do think it’s the gardener who makes the garden alive. Just like the cook in the kitchen. A wonderful post focused on the the lovely Jackie. 🙂

    I loved the potted lavender tulips and lilacs (?) in the first photo.

  8. It is nice to see Jackie in the garden and your photos too. They bring the place alive. Reading about Charles Dickens, I will check if there are free audio book. It has been a long time since I have read his books.

  9. Wonderful “Where’s Jackie” shots. The Keeping drawings are his usual excellent work. I like the first one, and showed it our older child who is here visiting. They also admired it. That rat looks huge though!

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