Friday, September 18, 2009

Etchings And Other Lovelies

I have really noticed recently the huge number of artists who now have blogs. Not just amateurs like myself but professional artists and craftspeople too. Often when I put in a link to an artists website or Flickr page or Etsy there is often a blog to be linked to as well. Personally, I think it is a wonderful thing because you are able to see how artists go about the business of creating their art or craftwork, the inspiration behind it, the processes involved and the reactions of people viewing the work. What did we do before blogging..?

Fox In A Magical Land
Mischievous Bird - I think I may do a digital coloured version of this when I have a bit more time.
A bit of fibre tipped illustration


These beautiful mosaic pieces are by Russian self-taught mosaicist Irina Charny. Irina incorporates found objects such as bits of seashore glass, beads, wire and buttons etc into her work as well as traditional tesserae. She has a website here and some wonderful examples of her beautifully intricate and finely detailed artwork. Her butterflies in particular are wonderful.

Mariposa
Fortuna
I have been walking out and about in the countryside recently and taking some early autumn photos. The weather has been warm and dry and very nice to walk in, but I am eagerly awaiting the autumnal mists when photography becomes very special and mundane places appear magical. We have been promised that for early October, but can we rely on the weather forecast...hmmm.

Even weeds can appear pretty in close up.
This is a very friendly local horse who I often stop to have a chat with. I don't think he is very interested in conversation but he did oblige me with a nice pose.


Early Autumn Farmland
A couple of weeks ago I made my yearly craft pilgrimage to Stonor Craft Fair in Oxfordshire. Stonor is a tiny village with some beautiful buildings and gorgeous old barns, and is surrounded by undulating hills and woods. It is an idyllic spot and has a wonderful atmosphere. I have visited Stonor House in the past and it is a fascinating home with an intriguing history. The manor house has been owned by the same family for 850 years and the chapel dates from the 1200s and is situated on what was once a stone circle. One of the stones is incorporated into the chapel wall and the others have been rearranged on the lawn.

The craft fair is one of the best in the south-east of England and is very well attended. I spent a really enjoyable few hours there.

Stonor House
Marquees at Stonor
One of the exhibitors at Stonor was Leon Evans who is an illustrator and graphic artist who works in pencil and watercolour primarily. He was displaying his wildlife art at Stonor and the two scratchboard images below really caught my attention. Having cats myself I could see that he had rendered these animals beautifully. I hadn't really come across scratchboard work before and he explained the technique to me in detail. I might get some scratchboard myself and have a go. Looks like fun. You can see Leon's website here.

These delightful cards are produced by using scratchboard by Leon. They are so cute I couldn't resist them.


I really like the almost naive simplicity of Esther Brimage's work. Esther is a UK printmaker who trained in both illustration and printmaking. You can find more of her work on her website here.

Girl With A Dog
Morning Star
I love visiting John Lewis Department Stores. All those lovely items under one roof - a browsers paradise. I particularly like their carpet and rug department. There are so many lovely contemporary designs around now, as well as the traditional rugs of years ago. So lovely to handle them too; the thick warm tactile textures. You could imagine just lying on them in front of a roaring fire - in winter of course. The three below particularly caught my eye for their graphic designs and muted palatte.

Cheese Plant Rug
Harlequin Arcadia Rug
Silhouette Leaf Rug
These gorgeous etchings below are all the work of award winning Latvian artist/printmaker Marina Terauds. I love etchings anyway but Marina's are particularly beautiful. She has a wonderful detailed style and use of subtle colour. Her subject matter includes mythology, nature, the seasons, birds, trees, fairies and lots more lovely things. If you love her work you will be delighted by her website here with lots more images to look at.

Marina also has a blog where you can see more of her inspirations, work and life here.

Summer II
Dream II
Nuthatch II
Sounds Of The Sea
Sun Moon Fairies
Bird In Hand
Fairy's Music
Lady In Hat

20 comments:

Gillian said...

Hi Cathy - lovely blog post as usual! I loved your Autumn photographs - its great to capture the landscape at this time of year. Love the Leon Evans cards too! G

LOVE STITCHING RED said...

Love everything in your post today, especially the work of Marina Terauds - beautiful. I love your own work too. Thank you for sharing all these treasures with us :o)

Cathy said...

Hi Gillian, thanks very much. I love photography and the autumn has so many lovely sights to photograph. Leon Evans work is really good. I am definitely going to get some scratchcards but I don't think I will be producing work like his..lol.

Cathy said...

Hi Carolyn. I was thrilled to find Marina's beautiful work. I spent ages looking at all her lovely images.

Jennifer MacNeill said...

What a great blog! I love the fox at the top and the horse photo:)

My Owl Barn said...

Beautiful illustrations. I love your work. Very happy!

Caroline said...

This weekI really like your 'Fox in a magical land', Cathy - quite a wintery scene. Your patterned pieces are so attractive! Also enjoyed your autumnal photos - especially the first. I'm a big fan of John Lewis too and enjoy a good browse when I am back home. I don't often go into the carpeting dept though so it was nice to see these beautiful rug designs. Thanks for another super post!

Cathy said...

Hi Jennifer, nice of you to visit and comment. You have a great blog too - lots of lovely colour.

Cathy said...

Hi Owl Barn. Thanks for visiting. Lovely to see your owl blog. I never knew there were so many different examples of owl art and craft and cakes..haha.

Cathy said...

Hi Caroline. Pop into the carpet section when you next visit JL. You will want to take some home with you for sure. Glad you like the fox picture. I laboured over that one a bit because it wasn't turning out right when suddenly it worked out. It might make some nice Christmas cards too.

Old World Primitives said...

Hi Cathy,
I adore your Fox In A Magical Land drawing! Your autumn countryside photos are gorgeous - makes me wish I was there! Stonor Craft Fair looks like a fun time in such a pretty location - I wouldn't have been able to resist the cards that you bought there either!

Stephanie

Holly Zemak said...

Hi Cathy - Autumn is my favorite season, so I enjoyed all of your photos. We are in early fall here with just a touch of color. I enjoyed the work of Leon Evans, I see he even has clocks. Fox in a Magical Land is a great piece, I like the way you tucked the moon up inside the tree.

Cathy said...

Hi Stephanie. Stonor craft fair was great fun. A pity it is only once a year. The quality of the craftwork is very high. I am pondering about the design for my new Christmas card now - otherwise it will be Christmas and it will not be finished.

Cathy said...

Hi Holly, I love autumn, partly because it is a cooler period after summer, but mostly for the wonderful colours of nature. It doesn't last long enough though.

Trudy Honeycutt ~ Folk Artist said...

As always, Cathy....a marvelous post!!! I love learning from you!! What an inspiration you are!! The outdoor pictures, and the weeds, are wonderful!! Thank you so much for sharing your talents and the work of so many others with all of us!! Hugs, Trudy in Colorado, USA

Cathy said...

Hi Trudy. Thanks very much. Its nice to be appreciated...haha. Time passes so quickly. I am just writing my new blog post now.

ArtPropelled said...

Marinas etchings are fantastic. Thanks for the link.

Cathy said...

I couldn't agree more Robyn. She is very talented.

~Phyllis~ said...

Hi Cathy,
All the blogs and Etsy shops are such fun aren't they?
I really enjoyed looking at your Fox in Magical Land. He does look as if he is in a very magical place.
Irena's mosaics are beautiful. I especially like the colorful butterfly.
Thanks for sharing the pictures of the craft fair. Stoner House is gorgeous. How would you like to clean all those windows? lol
Have a good week.

Cathy said...

They certainly are Phyllis but they take up a lot of time too...haha. I definitely wouldn't want to clean the windows but it would be nice to work inside as a guide and be around all the beautiful artwork and objects. They have some very old historical tapestries in there too.