Thursday, March 4, 2010

Winter Winds Are Blowing

Isn't it cold? We have had some very bitter winds this last week. Everything was looking sunny and spring like until you got your nose out of the door and then the north-easterlies hit and you retreated back to the central heating and a nice cup of tea...I did anyway.

Pen and ink and digital piece called Beneath The Trees Of Paradise. You may need to enlarge to see it properly. Don't ask how long all those little flowers took.


This is a pen and ink drawing inspired by the series of songs about The Fabled Hare by Maddie Prior. They were originally written to accompany an excellent TV documentary called In The Shadow Of The Hare and narrated by Attenborough some years ago. The programme covered all aspects of the hare in the mythology and folklore of the British Isles and the connection to Easter. My favourite part of the lyrics of I Shall Run And Run ends with:

I will run and run forever where the wild fields are mine
I sall goe until a hare
I'm a symbol of endurance running through the mists of time
Wi sorrow and such mickle care

You can find the series of songs about The Fabled Hare here on YouTube. Maddie Prior has a beautifully haunting voice and originally sung with folk band Steeleye Span.



Linda Chilton is a very talented embroideress who creates mostly rural and garden scenes of great delicacy and detail. You can find Linda's website here and some more of her work at the Fibre Arts Mixed Media page here. Worth having a look not only for Linda's beautiful textiles but also the zingy textile border.

Moonlit Apples


Orange Tree Garden


I discovered a wonderful website the other day quite unexpectedly. It is called Memorials By Artists and is full of gorgeous examples of carving and calligraphy. I have posted some of the work below. There are lots of artists' sites to browse and if you click on their work you get a nice big image which you can see clearly. I am still working my way through it and if you would like to do the same go here. I have always been fascinated by calligraphy and have had a few goes at it myself. My favourite script is Uncials or Half Uncials which is very Irish looking.

I love these carved fish by Joe Hemming


Beautifully engraved stone by Jacky Allan


Gorgeous calligraphy Peter Furlonger


We have had some amazingly cold, bright and frosty mornings recently. Great for photography if you can cope with getting frostbitten fingers. I must get myself some fingerless gloves for occasions like this. The first picture is of a local cemetery. It is high up and has great views of the valley and some beautiful trees.







I have received three blog awards recently. I posted about the first last week. The second is the Kreativ Blogger award kindly donated by Juliet of Crafty Green Poet . I haven't shown that one because I already had it in my sidebar but thanks very much for that Juliet.

and the third of my awards is this lovely one from Lyn of Two Ghosts . Not sure if I have enough fellow bloggers who like awards to send this on too, but thanks very much for the thought Lyn.


The lovely, quirky ceramics below are the work of UK ceramic artist Marie Prett. Marie produces wonderfully detailed and painted work with a narrative theme and mostly animals and humans, often related to the theatre or circus. I find her work quite magical. You can find lots more of her work here on her own website or here on Montpellier Gallery or here at Castle Gallery.

Acrobat And Dog On Zebra


Epona On Horse


Two Acrobats And Dog On Horse


Favourite card producers Art Angels have published another Andrew Pavitt greetings card below. It has all Andrew's beautifully designed and stylised forms and is called Silflay...remember the wonderful Watership Down? I looked up silflay on the Internet and it means to go above ground to eat. For those who don't know his work you can find his website here.


I found this gorgeous Canns Down Crimson greetings card below by Andrew Waddington recently. I hadn't come across his work before but was interested enough to look him up on the Internet. He is a English painter/printmaker who produces work in various techniques. I love his subject matter especially the foxes and hares and crows. I particularly like his woodcut technique which is wonderfully spontaneous and graphic. He is well represented on the Internet and in galleries and you can find lots of his art at Beside The Wave Gallery here. (Click on the left hand links to see all his work) and also on his own website here.

Spring Tide


Crow, Sheep and Bird (Woodcut)


Farewell


Raven (Woodcut)

34 comments:

tammykingdon said...

I love your pen and ink hare drawing. I'm curious about digital art, not having a clue how it's done - there's an exhibition of really emotive digital art in our local gallery at the moment and it's really mesmerising.

Acornmoon said...

I love your hare drawing, it is certainly the right month for seeing March Hares.

The weather has become much more springlike here although it would be unwise to cast a clout!

A bird in the hand said...

thank you once again for this gorgeous "banquet" for the eyes.

I won't ask how long it took you to do the little flowers, but I have a pretty good idea!!! Your attention to detail is extraordinary!

xox

Caroline said...

What a beautifully detailed piece Beneath the trees of Paradise is -I am so glad I followed your link to the song - I enjoyed the video very much! Aren't hares marvellous animals? I really like those works by Andrew Waddington - especially the woodcuts. The calligraphy is superb too - something I also did a few years ago - well, with pens, that is, not the carving!
Hope it soon warms up for you over there in UK!

Cathy said...

Hi Tammy. My work is more digitally colouring an existing drawing really which is simply colouring between the lines. People who can do real digital art from scratch have a huge knowledge of photoshop or illustrator and they can create the most amazing effects and textures. I just stand back in awe really, but I do enjoy the gorgeous range of matt colours you can get, especially when the piece is printed out.

Cathy said...

I am not casting anything Valerie until that dreadfully cold wind has gone. I am still out and about in my winter coat and thick scarf. The forecast says 8C but my streaming eyes tell me differently...lol.

I wish we could see more hares around here. I think I have seen about 6 in my entire life.

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Colette. I do love detailed work but I do try to "loosen" up sometimes, especially if I do a linocut.

Cathy said...

Thanks Caroline. Spring is teetering on the verge but just needs a little push over the edge with some warmer weather. I am really looking forward to all the blossoms coming out.

I agree about hares. I think they are buried deep in the British psyche. Rabbits are gorgeous and loveable but somehow hares speak to us on a deeper level. I find them totally fascinating anyway.

jeannine davidoff said...

your work is really inspiring. I also really love those ceramics...stunning. thanks for bringing sunshine to my life today.
take care
jeannine

Crafty Green Poet said...

such lovely things as ever, specially all the hares and your frosty tree photos

Cathy said...

Hi Jeannine. Thanks very much for your very nice comment. A bit of sunshine in our lives has to be a good thing.

Cathy said...

Thanks Juliet. I shall miss the frosts when they have gone but we shall have a lovely spring to look forward to.

Old World Primitives said...

Hi Cathy,
The detail in Beneath The Trees Of Paradise is really breathtaking! I really like the splashes of rainbow colors too.

I am finding "Moonlit Apples" particularly enchanting - I must go check out more of Linda's work. I especially like the woodcuts too.

:)
Stephanie

Linda Sue said...

This post will keep me busy for quite a while- I am inspired by your tree of texture. Thank you for surfing for us- you found some winners !
I painted a cnavas with detrius from the street, used plaster, gesso and water colour, it is dimensional- one of the branches actually comes away from the canvas. It looks iffy but has held up rather well.
Love textures! Great post!

Sandy Mastroni said...

Beneath the Trees is a beautiful illustration Cathy !
and I want to thank you for Evelyn Williams... I love her work
And I want to thank you for visiting me ... I've been working so hard lately , my blog time has suffered

Cathy said...

Hi Stephanie. Linda's work is really beautiful. I wish I could do textile work. There are some amazing fibre artists around. Ideally I would like to do a bit of everything.

Cathy said...

Hi Linda Sue, thanks for visiting. Glad you like the post. I love textures too and wish I could do more of them. So much potential art and so little time..lol.

Cathy said...

You have been producing gorgeous things as usual Sandy so it is no wonder. I find it difficult to create art and blog at the same time. Evelyn Williams is fabulous. I love the sense of mystery in her art.

Hannah Nunn said...

thanks for your blog comment! Thanks for pointing out that the street scene worked so well. I'd not used that feature before. It's ace! shame it's my old shop and not my new one as Imoved down the road. Nice to have the old shop there though in case i miss it!

Nice things on your blog too. xx

Holly Zemak said...

Cold frosty mornings are beautiful, I love to go walking with my dog early on those days. Everything coated with an ice frosting. Enjoyed your photos.

Artist said...

i love your art - the first one!! I bet the flowers took a long time. But i love the different tones in those flowers!!

Caroline Gill said...

Couldn't help noticing your fabulous puffins. I shall add a link from my pages.

Speaking of puffins, you (or your readers) might care to visit my puffin poem here. There is a link from the poem page to all the other competing poems in the competition. I know we'd all value votes and/or comments! Alternatively, you can click on my name icon and follow the link... Thank you!

Marthann's Musings said...

Cathy, you are absolutely amazing, as it your work, and your blog. I am new at blogging, having just started mine about 3 months ago. I love this though, such inspirations from so many talented artists. Hop over and take a peek at my blog sometime, I would love feedback.

LOVE STITCHING RED said...

Another wonderful post Cathy. I love to visit for the wonderful photos and inspiration you provide. Thank you

Carolyn

Cathy said...

Hi Hannah. Sorry, I thought it was your new shop because it had the white washed windows. I am really hooked on this Google street view thingy. It is totally fascinating to check out the shops in unfamiliar towns.

Cathy said...

Thanks Holly. Even though it is freezing to walk in the photos make up for it. We won't be having too many more frosts now.

Cathy said...

Thanks Artist. They took me far longer than I anticipated because they are also all outlined in black. Still, it was worth it.

Cathy said...

I really enjoyed your puffin poem Caroline. I am disturbed to know that they are declining. Such comical and unique birds. Andrew Waddington painted the gorgeous puffins that I posted. A man of many talents.

Cathy said...

Hi Marthanne. Thanks for visiting. I enjoyed browsing your blog and good luck with it. It seems like yesterday that I started mine but I am two years old in April. Where does the time go?

Cathy said...

Thanks Carolyn. I love the photos and your inspiring artworks on your blog too. What on earth did we all do before the advent of blogging...lol?

Caroline Gill said...

Thank you so much, Cathy, for voting for my puffin poem. Much appreciated.

Thank you for mentioning Andrew Waddington...

Cathy said...

Happy to do it Caroline.

ArtPropelled said...

LOvely post filled with wonderful pieces. Oh the carved basin of fish and the quirky ceramics .... my eyes are twinkling.

Cathy said...

Glad you like them Robyn. So much talent around.