Last Of The Bluebell Photo's

My email problems are sorted out now so I have gone back to my original and preferred email address although the alternative will reach me just as well.

I have had very little time for art this week but I did manage this pen and ink cat drawing. I found it very difficult due to the large amount of white on its face and chest. It does look a little better enlarged but I am not too happy with it. It would probably have looked good in scraperboard but I don't think I am au fait with the technique enough to do it justice. Perhaps when I have practiced a bit more I may try it again.

Do you remember my post about the stunning etchings of Flora McLachlan a while back? Well I heard from a lady, Neile, who read my blog that she is exhibiting as part of the Oxford Art Week event this week. She will be at St.Giles Church in Oxford if anyone is in the area. Unfortunately I cannot go but I am sure she will be very successful. Her work is really beautiful. You can read about Flora on this Art Weeks page here.

Aren't these two paintings by artist Dawn Stacey gorgeous? Such a beautiful use of colour and detail. Dawn is a very successful artist who originally studied for a textile degree but then went into painting. Her artwork is composed of various layers and decorative surfaces and collage. You can check out the rest of Dawn's work on her website here.

Lilies In The Royal Pavilion

Heron On A Quiet Spring Afternoon

I visited Hatfield Craft Fair on Friday and it was cold... very cold. They have moved the fair from just outside the main house to a very draughty spot on a hilltop nearby. The original Palace of Hatfield was the childhood home of Elizabeth I but there is only a tiny remnant of that now. I spent quite a while photographing the ancient trees (there are over 800 ancient trees in the forest) and I will put some of them on the blog next week. The craft fair used to spill over into the lovely old outbuildings and stables of the house and it was wonderful to walk around but I think the atmosphere has gone now. Not a wise move in my opinion. Still, the fair itself is enormous with many huge marquees cramed full of lovely goodies and handmades. There were lots of things I would have loved to have brought home with me but I restrained myself and bought only cards and a lovely silver engraved heart necklace. The marquees below represent only a tiny fraction of the fair.

These are the last of my bluebell posts for this spring. These are from three different areas. I have a huge collection of bluebell photos now from quite a few local areas where they grow in large numbers. You can click on them to make them larger if you like.

Tony Foard is an English potter who creates beautifully delicate raku figures of African women. He produces other ceramics as well but is best known for his tall, slim ladies. He pays great attention to detailing the faces and figures and gives them gorgeous gowns to wear. They are really stunning to see grouped together like in the images below. His work can be found in galleries in the UK. You can see more of Tony's work on his website here.

We came across this fascinating old garden door on the Earl Howe estate at Penn Manor when out walking one day. You will have to click on the photo to enlarge it as it is partly in shade. It is a composite door with three different panels, one of which is extremely beautifully carved. The middle part is completely plain and the other side panel is very rusty and old looking. The very decorative part was obviously never meant to be in a garden door but was probably an interior feature. Judging by the border it must have been a huge thing originally. Amazing what you can find in the countryside.

Valerie Armstrong is a multi-talented artist who creates work in the form of paintings, drawings, collage, monoprints, collographs, illustrations and folding screens. She also trained and worked as an art therapist. My favourite of her work is defintely her collographs though. The three images below are all collographs and they have a lovely narrative and contemporary feel to them. I never can resist birds of course. You can find lots of Valerie's work on here website here.

Gossip

Watching The Weather

The Message

I have added a few new images to my large collection of greetings cards. The paintings are by artist Alex Egan who produces really lovely fresh and spontaneous watercolours of animals and birds and lots of other things too. She has some delicious chicken and geese artwork. The cards are produced by greetings card company Wildcard and you can find Alex's page on their site here. You can find Alex's own website here.

Mother Hen

Hare Study

Gwendolin And Brenda