Next Blog Post 18 July

I am having a week off from blogging now so my next post will be two weeks hence. Goodness isn't the summer flying by? I know they say that time seems to pass more quickly as you get older but not this fast surely?

This is Elegant Bird. Back to my usual palette of colours here although I enjoyed the change with my last digital drawing.

This is my latest scraperboard work in progress. It is of Michael and Lesley's cat Abby who normally skeddadles when she sees me but she was quite sleepy and amenable for once so I got a good photo of her. Doing a scraperboard of a cat is a lot trickier than I thought but luckily I have discovered that my rapidograph ink is a very similar black to that of the board. If I make an error in scratching I just ink over it and start again. Very reassuring.

These photos below are of Ashridge House and gardens. We visited on a Open Garden's Day and really enjoyed it. The House is now a management college and not open to the public but the gardens are extensive and well worth a visit. They have the most beautiful and varied selection of trees, some very old and huge. They also had very delicious cream teas set out in the Orangery which were irresistible (even to those on diets)

These lovely foxes are by artist Val George. You can see more of her work on the Bertram Enterprises site here.

Stealth

Young Fox Under The Moon

These gorgeous quilts are by textile artist Noriko Endo. She has a very detailed and time consuming technique whereby she lays all the tiny fabric elements on her base material and then covers them with fine gauze and quilts over the top to keep them in place. She calls it the confetti technique. I think her work is quite amazing. She has a deep love for trees and nature as you can tell when you visit her website here.

Mother Nature

Sylvan Ambience #2

Jenny Portlock's linocuts and wood engravings are gorgeously detailed and beautifully cut. The two images below are both linocuts although you can see examples of her engravings if you go here to Emma Mason's site. Jenny became a book designer for Longman Pearson after graduating but then went freelance to concentrate on printmaking. You can read a bit more about Jenny here at Norwich Print Fair

This is an article that I had saved for my cuttings folder about Jenny Portlock when she was interviewed by Craftsman Magazine years ago.

Harebells

The Hare And The Olive

A few blue flowers I have come across on my travels.

Lavender

Ceanothus

Lisianthus

Iris

I saw Anna Wadham's Geese painting quite a while ago but didn't know who painted it. I was delighted to come across her work and find the artist behind that lovely image. Out of season I know but who cares as it is so pretty and I have always been a fan of geese. Anna is a freelance illustrator who lives in Norfolk. She trained in surface design and childrens' book illustration and has had two books published. You can read all about Anna and see her work on her website here. She also has a lovely blog here and an Etsy shop here. I love her beautifully colourful and quirky artwork.

Anna Wadham Illustrations

Geese

Fox Face

Catwings

Elephant