Friday, April 29, 2011

Wedding Fever Over – Back To Drawing


This is an ink and watercolour painting which I have called Blessing The Garden. I have fiddled a bit with it and I am not entirely happy with it but I will see how it goes. It isn’t finished yet anyway. I do like the combination of yellows and turquoises though.

Blessing-The-Garden

Pen and Ink Drawing entitled Red Birds In Trees
Red-Birds-In-Trees
We have had the most wonderful two weeks filled with Bank Holidays and the Royal Wedding and gorgeous sunny weather. What more could anyone want? Kate looked divine in her dress and William looked very happy. I am sure she will make a perfect princess and later Queen. I, along with the rest of the country’s women I am sure, had a good laugh at some of the outfits displayed at Westminster Abbey. It just goes to show that being rich is not necessarily an arbiter of good taste in clothing. Someone needs to have a discreet whisper in the ears of the very pretty York girls – what was that Beatrice had on her head???

We have had some wonderful geocaching walks around the shires and below are a few of the photos. I fell in love with pretty and ancient Linslade Old Church on the hill in the middle of nowhere. Nearly a thousand years old and thankfully very minimal restoration inside. The countryside is very green at the moment but the lack of rain is a bit worrying. Not a hint of an April shower but I am sure nature will put that right in the coming weeks.


Tree lined country lane at Linslade

Country-Lane,-Linslade-(2)

River at Old Linslade

River-at-Old-Linslade

Old Linslade Church built in mid-1100’s.

Old-Linsdlade-Church

Beauty

Swan-At-Linslade-Canal-(13)

and the Beast (Cockchafer Beetle)

Cockchafer-Beetle

I love Manja Scott’s graphic and quirky work. Her blue cat below is such a character and her happy landscape makes you happy just to see those colours. Manja was Croatian born and now lives and works in England. She has worked as a textile designer and you can see that influence in her drawings and paintings. She has a wonderful style, both graphic and illustrative. You can see much more on her website here.

Blue Cat

Manja Scott - Blue Cat

Happy Landscape

Manja Scott - Happy Landscape

I really like the work of English artist/craftswoman Flo Snook. I first saw her work during a Brighton Open Studios event years ago. Much of her work shows the influence of the sea and the coast and landscapes around Southern England where she lives. Below are her accessories but she also has textile wall art and paintings on show on her website here.

Pin Cushions

Flo Snook - Pin Cushions

Needlecases

Flo Snook - Needlecases

Below are some more of the gorgeous spring scenes we found whilst out walking in the countryside. The bluebells are still thriving in these shots.

Spring Scenes 1

Spring-Scenes-2

Spring-Scenes-3

Kate Lynch’s paintings are beautifully colourful with a deliciously naive narrative quality to them. She works in oil, pastels and willow charcoal. A lot of her work is connected with farming, and the people who work the land. Kate lives on the Somerset Levels and is married to the very talented painter James Lynch whose work I have mentioned previously. Kate has a very informative website here with lots to see.

Pilgrimage With Cockerel

Kate Lynch - Pilgrimage With Cockerel
Leaving Home With Doll And Cockerel

Kate Lynch - Leaving Home With Doll And Cockerel
Rushing Woman With Cockerel

Kate Lynch - Rushing Woman With Cockerel

The artwork below was created by the late great contemporary Maori artist John Bevan Ford. His paintings and sculptures are in museum collections all over the world. He was also a great speaker of Maori culture and heritage. You can find examples of his work all over the Internet but this site here has a nice slideshow of some of his paintings.

The Connection With London

John Bevan Ford-TheConnectionWithLondon

Flight

John Bevan Ford-Flight

Ruru In The Pacific Bush

John Bevan Ford-Ruru In The Pacific Bush

Some Birds To Guide Us

John Bevan Ford-Some Birds To Guide Us

21 comments:

bunnits said...

I love the landscape photos.

Thanks for sharing the Ford works. I don't see much contemporary Maori work.

Cathy said...

No I haven't seen much either. It is a shame because they produce some amazing artwork.

jamjar said...

Love the bluebell woodland pics and Kate Lynch's paintings are wonderful. What a talented couple the Lynch's are. thanks for your comment on my blog, I had to laugh at your remark about Hello magazine, as I had just bought the last copy from Tesco's and had pored over each photo, loved seeing those wedding pics of other royals.

rossichka said...

You draw amazing trees, Cathy! I like all of them - you already know that, don't you?:)
What an exciting walk through such interesting places and inspiring recesses of nature...
And the art you've chosen to present this time is worth to be seen. Thank you!

Cathy said...

Hi Joy. Yes, Hello really came up trumps with the wedding feature. Definitely a copy to keep. I agree about the Lynchs' too. Very talented.

Cathy said...

Hi Rossichka. I am so pleased you like my trees. Birds and trees are my favourite art subjects. I never get tired to drawing either.

deb said...

I love the colour combination in your painting. Your walks always look stunning - such beautiful countryside.
We all had a giggle at Beatrice and Eugenie too.
Has anyone mentioned to you that some of your photos aren't coming up in the last few posts? Perhaps it's just me being on the other side of the world?

Caroline said...

Lovely movement in your Red Birds and Trees! I also enjoyed seeing all the outfits at the Wedding and feel the same about the York gals - neither seems to have much fashion sense!!!

Lynne said...

Hi Cathy,
Love this post! So much wonderful information. I also LOVE "Blessing the Garden" whether it's finished or not. There is a lot in it and it's beautifully done. Also, thanks for the encouraging comment you left on my blog. Appreciate it!

Cathy said...

Hi Deb. Glad you had a giggle at the Yorkies too. They have a lot to learn regarding fashion.

No one else has mentioned the photos being absent. I will ask a few people if they can see them all. It probably dates to the time I have been using Livewriter as it uses a different photo place to Blogger. Thanks for letting me know.

Cathy said...

Hi Caroline. At least they provided us with a bit of a laugh - albeit at their expense. I saw a picture of Eugenie the other day in a lovely cream and white suit and she looked really elegant. A pity she hadn't worn that for the wedding.

Cathy said...

You are very welcome Lynne. I will have to work on finishing that painting now. Sometimes when I have put them on my blog unfinished I never get around to finishing them..tut tut.

Unknown said...

Linslade looks magnificent! Have a good weekend!

Cathy said...

Thanks Linnea. You too.

Crafty Green Poet said...

beautiful bluebells and trees in your photos. i love the geometry in your red birds and trees picture, beautiful! And there is something magical almost in the constant presence of cockerels in Kate Lynch's paintings

Cathy said...

I think so too Juliet. She must be very fond of them. I have a few more bluebell photos left yet but the real ones are going rapidly now. I remember as a child we never saw them till mid-May but they are about a month ahead of that now.

~Phyllis~ said...

Hi Cathy,
Just stopped by to say hello. I have been a lousy blogger lately. Afraid I haven't been visiting my favorite blogs.
Glad to see you have a new Etsy shop. I'll have to look up up.
Take care,
Phyllis

ArtPropelled said...

I really love your Blessing The Garden, Cathy.

Cathy said...

Thanks Phyllis. Lovely to hear from you. Sounds like you are finding it difficult to fit everything in too.

Cathy said...

Thanks Robyn. I enjoyed that one although I think I may do a black and white version too.

Anonymous said...

This is a nice surprise to see John Bevan Ford's work!