Enjoying An Indian Summer

We are enjoying a lovely balmy early autumn with lots of sunshine but quite chilly at night. If this had been July we would have been enduring a heatwave. I, for one, am pleased it is the end of September as the sun is warm but has lost that intensity.

If Horses Were Dreams (You may remember this scene from the watercolour I did a while back. Thought I would give it a rather colourful twist)

Nature's Muse

Hearts and Daisies

As you know if quite often listen to Youtube as they have some really good music clips on there which you cannot find anywhere else. This video music clip is UK X-Factor runner-up (yes runner up amazingly enough) Welsh singer Rhydian. I think he has an amazing voice, but then he is Welsh. They must have something in the water in Wales which coats the vocal cords and gives them wonderful voices.

Rhydian Roberts on Youtube

I love any jewellery with a nature theme, particularly leaves. This range of jewellery by Etsy seller stratussilver is really eye catching. You can find their Etsy shop here.

Twig and Leaf Bangle

Blackberry Leaf Necklace

Twig and Maple Pendant

I really like the lovely freshness and spontaneity of Amy Williams artwork. She has a very loose and illustrative style which makes sense I suppose as she has an MA in Illustration. She produces images of lots of animals and birds as well as complex papercuts and recycled sculptures. Take at look at her website gallery here.

Three Chickens

Rooster

Deer

Its the time of year for country rambles over stile and down dale. This is a local footpath for walkers. There are an amazing number of differently designed stiles all over the country. You can go for a long local walk and not see the same design twice. I particularly like the ones over the stone walls in the north and west which resemble minature ladders.

Just thought I would pop this one in as it co-ordinates nicely with the photos above and below. Another example of a stunning church stained glass window.

Occasionally I come across these black and white ladybirds hiding in dandelions. I haven't been able to find many pictures of them on Google but I have a couple of summer pictures with them in. We get lots of the red and black versions but these look a little larger. Probably just as "nippy" though.

Found these pretty little angel babies on Etsy the other day. They are by Etsy seller RememberMeEmily and her shop is here. I think she has done them beautifully.

I was shopping in a local town today and I found some cards by one of my favourite card publishers Milkwood. They always seem to have such wonderful designers and artists working for them. You can see their card collections here. I send lots of Milkwood cards to friends and relatives but I never seem to receive any so these may well be heading for the box marked "cards to keep". The three cards below are all published by Milkwood. Their cards are very reasonably priced too which is nice as there are a lot of lovely but expensive cards on the market these days.

This is Three Geese card by Kate Osborne. You can see more of Kate's gorgeous fresh and spontaneous watercolours on her website here. Check out the chicken gallery. It is really lovely. Kate is also an experienced textile designer as well as an artist. I think this card below has a little bit of a batik look to it.

These two cards are part of Enchanted Trees and are by artist Judi Trevorrow whose beautiful watercolour artwork I have mentioned previously. You can view the rest of the Enchanted Trees series of cards here at The Whistlefish Gallery. I might have to get that gorgeous bluebell one too.

The beautiful tapestries below are the work of Orkney weaver Leila Thomson. Leila uses her knowledge of the culture and folktales of the Orkney Islands and weaves them into her work to tell a story. Her tapestries are very large scale and she has her own gallery called The Hoxa Tapestry Gallery which houses them and provides her with a studio. She also sells cards and prints of her work and works to commission. You can view her website here with more of her exquisitely detailed tapestries. I find there is a lovely rythmn to her work and the designs are very contemporary. I particularly like In The Beginning below. If I am every lucky enough to travel to Orkney I would definitely like to visit and watch her weaving her magic.

Echoes Of Hamnavoe

In The Beginning

Centuries Of Seasons

In Search Of Solace

Between Two Worlds