Saturday, January 24, 2009

Rain, Birds and Greg Poole

It is a bit of a birdy post this week. It took quite a while to get the colours right for this one. The colours seen on the screen are often not the colours you see when the piece is printed.

I am always thinking up new ways to decorate trees. I really like this pen and ink with digital colour.

I used some hands from a magazine picture for this pen and ink drawing. I think I have mentioned before that I cannot draw hands to save my life. This is entitled "Falling Leaves".

This is a digital piece called Ladder Birds for obvious reasons. I so liked the design of the birds with the pink tree in this post that I decided to use them for this drawing as well.

I thought you might like to see these delightful ceramics by ceramicist and sculptor Paul Smith. Lovely quirky items.





I found another very old and deliciously gnarled tree for those visitors, who, like me, love trees. This reminds me of the trees in Fangorn Forest in LOTR.

I have a great love of winter ploughed fields in the landscape. This is a local scene and a great draw for dog walkers.

We have had some beautifully misty mornings lately. They may be decidedly awkward for driving but they are great for landscape photography. The following images are all the work of UK artist and illustrator Greg Poole. He has a lovely and huge website here. You can find more information about him at the bottom of this post.
































Apparently we are having the wettest winter in the UK...ever. Not sure how far back "ever" extends, but it certainly sounds as if it is unusually wet. Being a water sign I don't mind water on the whole. I am not too keen on walking in it if I haven't got a waterproof on though. A nice warm waterproof jacket, waterproof over trousers and a pair of sturdy walking boots and you can walk for miles in the rain. It does amazing beautiful things to winter trees. Sparkling drops on the ends of dark branches etc. The only trouble with photographing them is that the camera is likely to get a bit wet. It also brings a huge number of wild birds to the garden bird tables and grass. The blackbirds are particularly amusing - chasing each other out of the garden when there are worms aplenty for all.


My featured artist this week is a multi-media English artist called Greg Poole. I have seen Greg's work exhibited for many years at the Society of Wildlife Artists exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. He has a huge interest and love of birds and nature in general and especially conservation. He has also illustrated books and magazines. Whenever I visit the SWLA exhibition, I always make a beeline for the printmaking section where his work is usually to be found.


His website is here and you can find a huge amount of his work there. I have posted a selection of his work but mainly prints. He produces silkscreens, monoprints, paintings, drawings and collages. His work has a lovely graphic spontaneity. He admits to creating bird art as an aesthetic rather than a scientific appreciation. Whatever he does, he does beautifully anyway.

16 comments:

~ Phyllis ~ said...

Hi Cathy,
Looks to me like you do a pretty good job of drawing hands. I like her bright red nail polish. The pink trees and birds are awesome. You know I'm in my pink phase right now.lol Pink is a good color.
That gnarley tree is wonderful. I love the moss growning on the roots. You are so lucky to have all of those old trees nearby.

Caroline said...

Love your birdies this week, Cathy! And you've clearly managed to save your life as the girl in the Falling Leaves picture has a lovely pair (hands that is!). I do like your tree and landscape photos - I love walking when I'm in England and the changing seasons is one thing I really miss so much about living in the Far East. I'm also a fan of Gregg Poole - thanks for reminding me how super his work is!

Cathy said...

Hi Phyllis. You know what they say - "A touch of red always makes a photo or drawing"...lol. That tree is gorgeous, isn't it? I agree we have so lucky to have many ancient and beautiful trees around.

Pink is a lovely colour. We should all have a "pink phase" at regular intervals.

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Caroline. I have to confess that the hands were traced though. Some people can draw beautiful hands but unfortunately I am not one of them. I love walking in the countryside too and I think it is especially lovely in winter in a stark, bleak sort of way.

Sandy Mastroni said...

Falling Leaves is GREAT Cathy
I know ... Hands are the hardest thing to draw .
this drawing came out very nicely
we're getting snow again tomorrow
bye Cathy !

Cathy said...

Hi Sandy. Enjoy your snow. I would quite like a nice fall in order to get some lovely landscape photos. All we have tomorrow is rain.

Holly Zemak said...

Hi Cathy, I would love to walk my Corgi down that winter field. One of her favorite things to do besides chasing the cats. You did well with the hands and I Love the red nails!!! Right now it is snow, sleet and freezing rain.

Cathy said...

Thanks Holly. You have sent some of that cold weather over the Atlantic in our direction...lol.

ArtPropelled said...

There's absolutely nothing wrong with these beautiful hands. I love "Falling Leaves".
Cathy you have been tagged over at my blog. No obligation.

Megan Coyle said...

I really one of the first images in this post--the tree. I really dig the colors, it's very stylish.

pRiyA said...

I am glad Robyn tagged you because I got to see your lovely blog chock full of interesting things, drawings and photographs.
:-)

Cathy said...

Hi Robyn. Thanks for the tag and the nice comments on my blog. I will have a hunt through a do it as part of my next post.

Cathy said...

Thanks Megan. Your blog is great and has many amazing collage images - something I have tried but with no real success.

Cathy said...

Thanks Priya. I loved your blog too. Very witty comments and great illustrations.

BeadBag said...

Hi Cathy - I love your new drawings.
Kindest regards,
Shirley I.

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Shirley. Very kind of you.