Friday, March 13, 2009

Charity Shops And Cockerels

Ths is called "Cockerels Amongst The Seedhead" and is a digitally coloured drawing. You may notice that these seed heads are the same ones as the central panel of the garden at midnight picture below. I liked them so much I thought I would give them another outing.
This is a pen and ink drawing which I dug out of my sketchbook and redid properly. I cut out a cardboard leaf to draw around to create the shapes. I would never have been able to get them so perfect otherwise.
This started out life as a brightly coloured digital drawing which I wasn't happy with. I had a fiddle with it in gradients in PS which I haven't got a clue how to use. After a few colour changes I got this one which I thought was quite quirky. It is called "In The Garden At Midnight".
This is a quick pen and ink drawing called The Scarlett Sash.
If you enjoy textile sculptures you will probably enjoy this one. Pod by Bird Ross is made from vintage silk kimono and thread.
I think this wonderfully coloured image by Julie Barnes is very springlike not least due to the little lamb!
I want this quirky casserole dish by Kevin Warren. Love his geese.
I have long been an admirer of Vanessa Pooley's beautiful sculptures. I particularly like this "Tiny Mother and Child" artwork for the material she has cast it in. She creates lots of differents sculptures but I think her mother and child ones are really lovely. It would be wonderful to own one. I think they are very tactile. She has a very informative and extensive website here.


Spring is literally a week away now - the 21st of March is the first day of spring. I really enjoy the profusion of beautiful flowers that come into bloom in spring. These ceanothus belong to the people whose garden backs onto ours, but there bush is so huge that it spills over the fence and we can enjoy it too.
Can't wait for one of my favourite flowers - the allium - to come into bloom. We have lots in the garden but these beauties were in the grounds of a nearby church.
This narcissus is in the grounds of a local cemetery which has wonderful fruit blossom trees and masses of bluebells. More of that at a later date.
Love these delicious images by Pauline Hughes. Pauline is a sculptural artist who also creates wall art. Her website is here.




I really enjoy Sir Terry Frost's colourful images. I haven't seen this egg one before though.
James Campbell is a ceramic artist and painter. He was born in Scotland and was brought up there and in Wales where he now lives. His work is a combination of drawing/painting and creating ceramics to which he applies his very distinctive artwork. I love his painted images of simple, moody landscapes and his wonderfully stylised crows. His work is more powerful I think because it is fairly minimalist. He attributes his work to the beauty of those two places where he grew up. The Stour Gallery has a large display of his work.

Night Journey-Standing Stone
Wintersun Ceramic
Encircling Hill 2
Landfall
Misty Morning
Night Journeys-The Lake
Night Landscape Ceramic
Night Journeys-The Tower
The Encircling Hill Ceramic
The Old Straight Track
Wintersun ceramic bowl
Wiltshire Wane
Aren't charity shops amazing? I am sure I am not the only one to think so. What ever did we do before the first charity shops really made an impact in the high street. A lot of people complain that our streets are full of charity shops these days and they are taking the business away from the "proper" shops. I suppose in some ways they do just that. There are so many good quality M & S items available in charity shops that M&S must notice the drop in their sales to some extent. Those who try to live greener lives appreciate the chance to buy "recycled" items which cannot be a bad thing. I suppose like everything else there are pros and cons.

I know for a fact that I have had access to far more interesting and originally expensive books than I would have been able to purchase new. I am constantly amazed by the quality of items people give away. I have come across books originally costing £30 to £35 and even more and sometimes they have only been published that year. It is almost true to say that if you really want something and don't mind waiting, eventually it will turn up in a charity shop. That is very true of some of my books. I have purchased all my Kaffe Fassett books second hand. You can often buy books that are now out of print too. Thank goodness for people having the urge to declutter their lives. There are even some charity shops that cater just for books...ah bliss.

15 comments:

Dolores said...

Thank you. Inspirational. Love the pics.

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Dolores. I can never get over how much wonderful art and craftwork there is on the Internet.

Caroline said...

Your Cockerels and Seedheads is superb, Cathy! Do you make cards of your illustrations? The photos of Spring flowers are gorgeous too - what camera do you use? I was very taken by the paintings and ceramics of James Campbell - as always, thanks for sharing!!

Holly Zemak said...

Cathy, Great design on "Cockerels Amongst The Seedhead", you have a graphic eye. I like James Campbells ceramic pieces.

I agree with your comment to Dolores that the internet has opened up a world of art seems like I find someone new every day.

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Caroline. I really enjoyed doing that drawing. I do put some of the designs on greetings cards sometimes - in fact I gave lots away when I had my 50th blogpost giveaway. Glad you like the photos. My camera is a Konica Dimage Z2. It cost about £300 several years ago but that is nothing compared to what people pay for Nikons' etc these days.

Cathy said...

It is funny you should say that Holly because when I was secretary to an architect about a million years ago, I used to do little designs on my shorthand pad and he always said that I should have been a graphic artist...lol. I love hens and cockerels of course and love doing pictures of them. I agree that James Campbell's pieces are great.

Jess said...

Hi Cathy, thanks for your lovely comment on my blog :) I see you too like birds!x

Cathy said...

Thanks Jessie. Yes, I do love them.

~ Phyllis ~ said...

Cathy,
Your floral pictures are beautiful.
I just love to look at all the spring flowers. Spring is my favorite time of year.
Charity shops are great. Over here we call them thrift stores. I try to stop and shop each week.You can find lots of treasures.

Cathy said...

I quite agree Phyllis. It is lovely to sift through all the stuff and find something really lovely. What would we do without them?

Unknown said...
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A bird in the hand said...

Cathy, you are my favourite online art gallery. So many many wonderful pieces to look at. Thank you for filling me up!

Colette xo

Cathy said...

You are very welcome Colette. I am very pleased you like the images I find. The internet is an unending source of inspiration for all of us.

Kate said...

Really beautiful works!

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Kate.