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)