Two Cats And A Frog

I was very amused at an incident at our local large supermarket today. I set off the alarm as I entered the store and was stopped by the security guard. I told him that I hadn't bought anything yet and he laughed. He wanted to know if I had a new jacket on. I was wearing one about a year old and had often visited the shop in it in the past. It turned out that it had a magnetic strip carefully hidden inside the washing instruction label. I wasn't even aware that it was there but he must have had experience of exactly that. It is the kind of tiny magnetic strip shops use on all sorts of "expensive" items like DVD's, pricey cosmetics etc. The shop where I bought my jacket should have removed it when I purchased it. He told me that the store had upgraded their security system and it was much more sensitive now, hence it recognised my magnetic strip whereas before it had ignored it. I went home and removed another one that I had in a similar jacket just in case. I bet the security guards were kept busy removing those strips from customers clothing since the upgrade.

This is The Gardener's Cat and took quite a while to draw. Not too sure about the text at the bottom though. I may change it to another font as I think it looks a bit messy and I think it would show up more if it were black.

I couldn't resist taking this photograph on a visit to Studham church recently. I have seen many, many churches in my time but never one with roses around the porch.

This is the beautiful monument that I had been meaning to photograph for some time. It is in Waterperry Church and is a dedication to a young mother who died aged 27 and left behind her less than 6 month old child. I think it is the most poignant and lovely sculpture and you get a real feeling for the grief of the bereaved husband. I took the photo by natural daylight because it gives a lovely glow to the marble.

If you love dogs and textiles you will love Sue Britton's website "Dogs in Stitches" here. Sue is a UK textile designer who creates beautiful and quirky studies of dogs getting up to all sort of mischief. She uses her own three dogs as inspiration and loves to include patterns and embellishment. Her website is a delight to browse and the dogs are irresistible.

Countryside Capers (detail)

Bundle Of Fun

Whilst cat sitting the other week I noticed Abby peering at something in the grass.

It turned out to be a frog who had been jumping around near the pond. It very obligingly kept still whilst I took its photo. Unfortunately Abby was intent on making the frog's very close aquaintance and I had to use one hand to fend her off and the other to photograph the frog. Eventually it returned to the pond and safety.

Poppy was paying absolutely no attention whatsoever, being more interested in a little laid back grooming.

The lovely ceramics below were made by UK ceramic artist Adele Thurstan. Her designs on the ceramics are very illustrative in nature and are produced from her pen and ink drawings which are screen printed using ceramic enamels on to the item. You can find more of Adele's work here at New Ashgate Gallery and here at Cambridge Contemporary Crafts.

I love Joe McLaren's illustrations. He has such a talent in whatever medium he happens to be working in. I think these Christmas cards below are a touch of genius and I wish I had thought of them. He knows exactly which colours to put together. You can find lots of his work if you do a google search for his name but otherwise he can be found here on his Flickr page.

Christmas Card 2

Christmas Card

Three Chickens On An Overcast Day

Three Chickens And Oast House

UK artist Jenny Holm's paintings are quite magical. They have a wonderful movement and rhythm and a lot of my favourite subjects. Her ladies are quite beautiful with their clothes and long hair flowing and her landscapes and trees are mystical and mysterious. Jenny sets the scene with colour and mood and leaves the viewer to decide on the narrative. She is based in Northumberland and you can find lots more lovely artworks here at The Biscuit Factory and here at her Axis site.

Hurrying Home

A New Day Dawning

With The Wind In Her Hair

Feeding The Birds