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.



Pen and Ink Drawing entitled 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

River at Old Linslade

Old Linslade Church built in mid-1100’s.

Beauty

and the Beast (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

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



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.







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


Leaving Home With Doll And Cockerel


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

Flight



Ruru In The Pacific Bush



Some Birds To Guide Us