Friday, September 25, 2009

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.

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

33 comments:

Dolores said...

Simply beautiful - all of it.
Thank you once again, Cathy.

Pomona said...

You are so clever at seeking these things out - I love looking at the pictures on your blog!

Pomona x

andamento said...

Oooh, those tapestries are beautiful.

Never seen a black & white ladybird myself, interesting.

Like the enchanted trees too.

Thanks for sharing!

Cathy said...

You are very welcome Dolores.

Cathy said...

Thanks Pomona. I love reading yours too. Great fun.

Cathy said...

It is only recently that I have seen any too Anne. I don't think they can be very common.

sea-blue-sky & abstracts said...

So varied and interesting - how to choose a favourite, I'm not even going to try! Really love the photo of the b/w ladybird on the seedhead though. Bye for now.
Lesley

LOVE STITCHING RED said...

Another perfect post, thanks for all the wonderful art. I love the twig and leaf bangle - it's wonderful!

Nicola said...

Beautiful line drawings, as always! And always a treat to look through your collections. : )

Cathy said...

Hi Lesley. I love that picture too (even though I took it...hahah). I will probably never see another as I don't think they are that common.

Cathy said...

Thanks Carolyn. That range of jewellery is lovely. Anything with connected with leaves gets my vote.

Cathy said...

Hi Nicola. Thanks very much. It is lovely browsing the net to discover new (or old) arts and crafts.

ArtPropelled said...

My favourites are If horses were dreams and the Three Geese but I love everything you post.

Holly Zemak said...

I like your new banner, you are getting very good at these. Don't you just love the cooler weather, we are having much the same. Kate Osborne has some great pieces. I will admit that her bug art caught my fancy.

Acornmoon said...

I like the daisy banner and your new illustrations,always make me think of fabric. How lovely would your horse look on a silk scarf!

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Robyn.

Cathy said...

Hi Holly. Yes she has some lovely artwork on her site. Our weather is now getting down to normal autumn temps but we are very short of rain at the moment. Hopefully that will be sorted out soon.

Cathy said...

Thanks Valery. I wish I could design textiles but I think the repeats would foil me...haha.

Flower said...

I just found you via an Anna Pugh search. She is my favorite artist for happy thoughts and amazing talent! I will be back....when I'm not in a rush! You have so many pretty things to look at!
The chill is in the air on the Northern West Coast of the US.

Old World Primitives said...

Hi Cathy,
I am loving your new blog banner and all of your creations this week. The vibrant colors in If Horses Were Dreams are great! I especially like Amy Williams' work that you shared too - amazing!

Stephanie

Cathy said...

Hello Flower. Thanks for visiting and glad you like the blog. I had a visit over to your place in Oregon and it looks very interesting and animal and nature friendly. You have a lovely life there.

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Stephanie. I felt it was time for a new banner. I hope I don't run out of goose themes though...haha

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Those tapestries are so amazing,aren't they?

BeadBag said...

Hi Cathy - love your new 'header' - - - - and all your super posts. Leila Thomson's work is wonderful - so detailed.

Crafty Green Poet said...

what a beuatiful selection of things you've shared with us here (as always!). Leila Thomson's taperstries are gorgeous and you really should try to get to Orkney one day, wonderful place, full of history and wildlife

Caroline said...

Late again but just getting in a comment before you post again! Love the new header, Cathy! Your horse is such a pretty piece and would make a super card....that dandelion photo too - what a good eye for composition you have. Those weavings are wonderful butI think my favourites this week are those pieces by Amy Williams - so full of character.

Cathy said...

They certainly are beautiful Pamela. So complex and finely detailed. I would love to be able to create tapestries like that.

Cathy said...

Hi Shirley. Leila's work is wonderful. I bet it takes her ages to produce them too as they are quite large.

Cathy said...

I certainly would love to go Juliet. Two of my favourite things, history and wildlife.

Cathy said...

Hi Caroline. It must be great to produce beautifully fresh watercolours like Amy Williams. Mine are a bit too considered. I think if you do them quickly without too much planning they probably turn out more spontaneous;

Furniture said...
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Marcus Hadlock said...

Wow there are some beautiful works in here! I love the animals- I think the octopus is my favorite. Thanks for sharing :)

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Marcus. Nice to know you like the work I have blogged about.