K & S Show Part Two And Lovely Christmas Cards

Christmas is drawing ever closer and we have had a reasonable fall of snow already. The temperatures have been bitter (for England anyway). We have had a brief respite over the weekend but further icy weather is forecast. I hope everyone is feeding the birds.

I have always wanted to create a drawing with the title Ship Of Fools, and here it is. It is a pen and ink drawing with a digitally coloured background. Yes, I know it is more like a shallow boat than a ship, but that is artistic licence for you. I rarely draw men and I know they are a bit effeminate looking but they are men. Perhaps I need to square off the jawline a little...!

Ship Of Fools

The latest offering from my sketchbook project. I bet you are wondering how I will weave in the words "if you lived here". I really like this image and I will probably do it as a "proper" drawing soon. It is the last word in quirkiness.

It was a really cold and wet day when I decided to drive over to my favourite local art and craft gallery. They have a great Winter Show which I always enjoy visiting and what better way to take your miind off the inclement weather. I found masses of lovely things I would like to have bought but I contented myself with two lovely painted plaster angels. They have several different styles of dresses and postures but these two appealed to me the most.

You can see in the photo below that I have also recently treated myself to some sweet little Orla Kiely boxes in her divine large and small stem print. John Lewis have a good display of OK goods including diaries, notebooks and wrapping paper as well as different sizes of boxes. You can find some of her boxes here but they are selling out quickly. What to put in two little boxes...that is the question? Don't say presents for people either - these are mine!

I have also fallen in love with white frames recently. This one is the famous Ribba frame from Ikea here and it suits my prints down to the ground because it gives them a lovely fresh look. They don't even need matting.

and here is a closer look of the two little angels. They are so cute.

I was delighted whilst out walking a few weeks ago to come upon a field containing three horses as it was an opportunity to photograph their tails. I have always had a fascination with horses manes and tails and I love to see them swishing. It is a great challenge to try and photograph them and keep them in focus but it doesn't always work. Here are a few pictures of the horses and the back views of the swishy tails. Didn't do too badly did I?

Here is a little look at some of the 2010 Christmas cards I will be sending out this year. Anyone noticed the preponderance of birds? As is my usual habit I keep one card for myself and send the others out.

Sally Elford is a very well-known designer and she created this Dove Of Peace. A strong contender in the favourite Christmas cards stakes. Published by Woodmansterne.

Proud Partridge by Galia Bernstein. This one is beautifully designed and so very pretty. It is also published by Woodmansterne. Galia is a very talented artist who also creates wonderful ceramics. Have a look at her blog here.

This little lovely is a Robert J Reader card by TheArtFile. Not a traditional Christmas colour but definitely stunning. Deer always get my vote.

This lovely graphic design is Partridge by Jack Jones Design and is part of Portfolio's Dada range of cards.

Gorgeous traditional design called Dove by Janet Lawson produced by Ling Design. Ling do some amazing greetings cards.

Below are some photos I took on my recent travels around the district. I love the old decorative gate below. Hmmm...I think it might find its way into my sketchbook project book.

Huge quantities of berries around this year - a sign of a hard winter? We shall see.

Churchyard umbellifers - I liked the pinky out of focus gravestone in the background.

Umbellifers against a stormy sky hosting a busy little spider.

The following are a few general views of the Knitting And Stitching Show. They were taken in the late afternoon when the huge crush of people had died down. Much better time to take photographs. One thing about an otherwise exemplarily run show is the crazy stand numbering system which never fails to confuse everyone. What happened to good old A1, B1 etc.

The retrospective of the late Julia Caprara was marvellous. She was a wonderfully talented fibre artist, embroiderer and teacher. I love the use of bright and beautiful colour in her work; something she was well known for. She was very keen on hand embroidery which gave her work a lovely handmade look. The work below is all hers from the Show.

Highcliff Summer

Suffolk Meadow

Tree Of Life

Renewal - The Voice From The Fire

Detail of Peace Mandala

Detail of Textile Piece Below