Cool And Interesting

Rooks - Work In Progress

I am pleased with how this one has turned out. It shows two of my favourite birds - rooks. It is a pen and ink drawing using multi-directional cross-hatching to build up the tones. I find it quicker than pointillism. This is just to show that I can draw traditionally as well as stylising. It is in progress at the moment and I am not sure how to continue but that is where the value of a scanner lies. I can try out various backgrounds without ruining the original. What did we do before scanners?

Little White Bird

This is a pen and ink drawing with a digital background called "Medieval Lady". I found a lovely book in a charity shop a while ago about church brass monuments, how to do brass rubbings etc and which churches to find them in. It has lots of lovely illustrations and photos of the brasses and the medieval garb of the people represented on the brasses. This picture is inspired by some of the beautiful costumes and headgear. Many churches have brasses but are a bit reluctant to have them used for brass rubbing as it can wear away what is usually a 600 to 700 year old piece of art. I think they are just lovely to look at.

I have been listening a lot recently to the very talented violinist Andre Rieu. There is a lot of videos of his concerts on Youtube and I also have access to quite a few DVD's. One of his soprano's is Brazilian Carla Mafioletti and this one is called "Once Upon A Time In The West". I can guarantee you will love it.

The beautiful creature is a relief print found on theoddgallery on Etsy. It is the shop of the artist John Steins. He has some lovely prints on there and also at his website here. He has a journal site on his web page where he blogs about his art and printmaking. Very interesting stuff. I will have a much closer look when I get two spare minutes to rub together!

I really love this Jill Barker print of resting sheep.

This is a scabious flower head I photographed in a bouquet at an art show. A bit of PS later and quite a nice result. Gorgeous colour.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens - well no whiskers on show at the moment but I photographed this rose in our garden a while back after a heavy shower.

The artwork below was created by Louise Davidson but there is practically nothing about her on the web except for a page of her gorgeous work here at Handmark Gallery in Hobart. Perhaps she is as mysterious as her beautiful etchings.

Hidden Things

The Art Of Reading Flowers

Last Sunday we went for a long hike starting in the village of Bledlow in Bucks. Bledlow is a quintessentially English village beloved of film-makers. It has a wonderful church which has been the centre of nasty goings-on in the Midsomer Murders detective series with actor John Nettles and also Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Two favourites of mine. Holy Trinity here at Bledlow is an ancient church dating back to the 12th century and the churchyard is surrounded by lots of huge mature trees.

This is the most wonderfully photogenic cottage. It is just opposite the church and believe it or not, a road runs between the tree and the cottage. I am standing in the churchyard for the photo and our car is parked in the road but because the bank is so high it cannot be seen. Anyone who has watched the Midsomer Murders will recognise this as the cottage in Badger's Drift where the first victim lived. I now have this on my computer desktop.

A row of lovely cottages near the church. This would make a great pen and ink drawing if I had the time. I have drawn a few buildings like this in the past and they take ages to do as everything has to be in proportion and perspective.

I love these cottages with the huge chestnut trees in the front gardens and the pillar box on the wall. Very English.

This is at the end of our walk coming back into Bledlow. We walked through several fields of crop like this. The sound of the crickets was deafening.

Matte Stephens is well known artist and illustrator. He produces some very witty and quirky artwork. I love this gouache painting from his Etsy shop called "Lilian Playing With An Abstract Thought" - gorgeous. He has a great palette of colours.

I like this angel illustration by Julia Luchkina.

I recently discovered the work of an Irish ceramic artist that speaks to you. The artist is Fidelma Massey who has a studio in Co. Wexford in Ireland. Her works are mythical, symbolic and very individual. She seems to often work with themes of birds and trees which are my favourite art subjects also. She wants her viewers to be uplifted and stirred and surprised into a sense of wonder. I think her work does all this and more. It is stunningly beautiful. If money were no object I would buy all her sculpture so that I could look at it all the time.

You can see much more of her work on her website here and also at the following galleries:

Imagine Gallery, Greenlane Gallery and Kilcock Art Gallery.

Dancing Eve detail

Watermother detail

Shrine For Mother Of Birds

Mother Of All detail

Sweet Chestnut detail

Fish Girl

Crowing Hen