Charity Shops And Cockerels

Ths is called "Cockerels Amongst The Seedhead" and is a digitally coloured drawing. You may notice that these seed heads are the same ones as the central panel of the garden at midnight picture below. I liked them so much I thought I would give them another outing.

This is a pen and ink drawing which I dug out of my sketchbook and redid properly. I cut out a cardboard leaf to draw around to create the shapes. I would never have been able to get them so perfect otherwise.

This started out life as a brightly coloured digital drawing which I wasn't happy with. I had a fiddle with it in gradients in PS which I haven't got a clue how to use. After a few colour changes I got this one which I thought was quite quirky. It is called "In The Garden At Midnight".

This is a quick pen and ink drawing called The Scarlett Sash.

If you enjoy textile sculptures you will probably enjoy this one. Pod by Bird Ross is made from vintage silk kimono and thread.

I think this wonderfully coloured image by Julie Barnes is very springlike not least due to the little lamb!

I want this quirky casserole dish by Kevin Warren. Love his geese.

I have long been an admirer of Vanessa Pooley's beautiful sculptures. I particularly like this "Tiny Mother and Child" artwork for the material she has cast it in. She creates lots of differents sculptures but I think her mother and child ones are really lovely. It would be wonderful to own one. I think they are very tactile. She has a very informative and extensive website here.

Spring is literally a week away now - the 21st of March is the first day of spring. I really enjoy the profusion of beautiful flowers that come into bloom in spring. These ceanothus belong to the people whose garden backs onto ours, but there bush is so huge that it spills over the fence and we can enjoy it too.

Can't wait for one of my favourite flowers - the allium - to come into bloom. We have lots in the garden but these beauties were in the grounds of a nearby church.

This narcissus is in the grounds of a local cemetery which has wonderful fruit blossom trees and masses of bluebells. More of that at a later date.

Love these delicious images by Pauline Hughes. Pauline is a sculptural artist who also creates wall art. Her website is here.

I really enjoy Sir Terry Frost's colourful images. I haven't seen this egg one before though.

James Campbell is a ceramic artist and painter. He was born in Scotland and was brought up there and in Wales where he now lives. His work is a combination of drawing/painting and creating ceramics to which he applies his very distinctive artwork. I love his painted images of simple, moody landscapes and his wonderfully stylised crows. His work is more powerful I think because it is fairly minimalist. He attributes his work to the beauty of those two places where he grew up. The Stour Gallery has a large display of his work.

Night Journey-Standing Stone

Wintersun Ceramic

Encircling Hill 2

Landfall

Misty Morning

Night Journeys-The Lake

Night Landscape Ceramic

Night Journeys-The Tower

The Encircling Hill Ceramic

The Old Straight Track

Wintersun ceramic bowl

Wiltshire Wane

Aren't charity shops amazing? I am sure I am not the only one to think so. What ever did we do before the first charity shops really made an impact in the high street. A lot of people complain that our streets are full of charity shops these days and they are taking the business away from the "proper" shops. I suppose in some ways they do just that. There are so many good quality M & S items available in charity shops that M&S must notice the drop in their sales to some extent. Those who try to live greener lives appreciate the chance to buy "recycled" items which cannot be a bad thing. I suppose like everything else there are pros and cons.

I know for a fact that I have had access to far more interesting and originally expensive books than I would have been able to purchase new. I am constantly amazed by the quality of items people give away. I have come across books originally costing £30 to £35 and even more and sometimes they have only been published that year. It is almost true to say that if you really want something and don't mind waiting, eventually it will turn up in a charity shop. That is very true of some of my books. I have purchased all my Kaffe Fassett books second hand. You can often buy books that are now out of print too. Thank goodness for people having the urge to declutter their lives. There are even some charity shops that cater just for books...ah bliss.