Next Post - 21st June

An extra long blog this week as I won't be blogging next week. I have a million things to sort out and need some time to get organised. Hope you enjoy what I have posted.

This is a pen and ink and watercolour picture which I gave a black digital background. There is also a white version but I think this one shows up the flowers better. It is called Flora. Looks better if you click for the larger version.

Pen and ink drawing called A Precious Handful. Lots of birds in this post as usual

This is my pen and ink artwork with a digitally coloured background. It is called Her Favourite Bird.

This lovely picture is by Katherina Goncharova. It is called Live As A Miracle. None of us would mind being near snails if they were as decorative as this one. There are stacks of images by Katharina at ArtNow.ru.

This is Rooster by Jennifer Davis. She has some lovely contemporary acrylic images like this at her website here. She also has a blog here with lots more of her work on display.

These amazingly colourful oil paintings are by Leonid Afremov. He is a very well known and collected artist whose canvases live and breathe colour. His style may not be to everyones taste but I could image one of his paintings acting as a focal point in a very neutrally decorated home. They would be amazing as the only point of colour in an all white room. If you like his work pop over to the Deviant Art Site here and take a look at no less than 20 pages of paintings.

Dark Rain

Invitation 2

Winter

Below are two embroideries by the late and much lamented Constance Howard. She was born in England in 1910 and became one of the greatest contemporary embroiders of the twentieth century. Jean Littlejohn and Jan Beaney, themselves well known textile artists, produced a book of her life and work called Conversations With Constance. She produced some amazing work during her very long life. My real favourite is the Doves below. She had a wonderful sense of design.

Doves

The Balcony

Detail of embroidery from Constance Howard's book "Inspiration for Embroidery". This book, which I bought from a charity shop, is full of wonderful illustrations meant to provide inspiration for embroiderers but it is just as inspiring to artists.

The two beautiful etchings below are the work of printmaker Fiona Watson. Fiona is a Canadian who now lives and works in Scotland. You can find some of her work at The Castle Gallery. She also has a website of her own full of her lovely images here. She is particularly interested in nature - her colours, patterns and rhythms. She has lots of beautiful images of pebbles and stones. My favourites are her moody angels though. She has two Flickr sites full of delicous things - here and here.

Wind Blown

Honesty

This delightful fellow is created by Cynthia Toops using polymer clay. Amazingly it is actually a teapot with the hat as the lid and the spout at the shoulder. Very inventive. It is actually composed of tiny pieces of clay in the shape of mosaic.

I remember this walk I took with my family about twenty years ago. Yes, it is a very old photo and the quality isn't brilliant compared to today's photos. It was a little village somewhere in north Bucks and I wish I could remember where it was. We walked here one beautiful spring day when the trees and hedges and fields were that lovely fresh, bright green you only get in springtime. Perhaps if I could remember and revisted I would find this idyllic scene changed and be very disappointed. Sometimes it is better to remember things as they were. Then again, it could still look exactly like this.....!

Beautiful detail on this black oxide torso by sculptress Alison Dix. It reminds me of a very detailed pen and ink drawing or an etching. Alison Dix shares a web gallery with Anthony Dix who is also a ceramicist. Two very talented people together. You can find their work here.

You can find some wonderful things on Flickr. This photo is in the stream of Uncle Shoe and is called Tree Hive. It is part of a contemporary sculptural installation. I think it is amazing but it would be a bit draughty living there...ha ha. I have always been fascinated since childhood by tree houses. There are some seriously enormous ones around with very sturdy trees to match. My favourites are the ones that are completely enclosed with the tree trunk growing up through the middle. As a person who loves trees, that would be the ultimate.

I have seen Sophie Smith many times at various craft fairs in the south-east of England. Her ceramics are delightfully whimsical and very popular. She produces lots of different items with lovely greeny blue and white and cream glazes. I would love to post a couple of links connected with her ceramics but there is practically nothing about her on an Internet search. It never ceases to amaze me that artist and crafts people who are so popular and sell well are so poorly represented on the Internet.

The images below are all the work of Scottish artist Madeleine Hand. She has a wonderful colour sense and produces lovely whimsical work of, often, everyday subjects and people doing ordinary things, but she adds something very special to them. Her work can be found here, here and here at Frames Gallery. She produces oil, watercolours and very detailed paper cuts. A very talented lady.

Hollyhocks

Bird Talk (papercut)

Spring Is In The Air

A Little Bird Told Me

Flower Girl (papercut)

Forest Moves

Bird Man

Hand In Hand
Planning a very busy week next week with many, many things to do that I have put off. They cannot be put off forever though and it is best to dive in and get them done. The worst part is always the thinking about it. Once you have started it is not such a problem. That is what I find anyway. Here goes...diving in...!

Who Rides The Tiger

You may have noticed the Flickr gadget on the right sidebar. This is my new site to record all my drawings and artwork over the past year which I have produced for my blog. I thought it would be easier for anyone who wanted to see my work, to be able to see it all without having to go back to over a years' worth of older posts. I am still uploading them so it is not completed yet.

This was inspired by the old Chinese saying in the text. I have simply substituted the he for a she. This is an ink and watercolour drawing.
A purely digital image called A Tree To Be Proud Of. The leaves of the tree took ages to draw. I think they look a bit like a herringbone pattern.

This is a detail of my pen and ink and watercolour drawing called Sheltering The Red Birds.

And the complete drawing.

This is another Art Angel greetings card by Clare Curtis. This is called Winter Fox and is a linocut. It would make a lovely Christmas card. I love the contemporary graphic design.

This youtube song is called "My Immortal" and is beautifully sung by Gregorian. It was originally sung by Evanescence but I prefer this version.

The paintings below are by the very talented and imaginative artist Simon Garden. His work has a lovely sense of mystery and narrative, even when the people he paints are doing everyday things. You can find lots more of his artworks on his website here, and also here and here.

Copse

Blackberry

Leaf Gathering

These beautifully quirky ceramics are by Helen Martino. She has exhibited widely and is extensively collected. Many of her works display women in ordinary situations relaxing, dreaming or chatting to unseen persons, but she has quite a varied repertoire. My favourite of her pieces is the lady in the gold trousers below. Her website is here. You can also find a good selection of her work here and here.

This is one of the most beautiful blues I have ever seen. Definitely one of my favourite colours. I took this picture a couple of years ago and it achieved front page on Flickr.

Some handsome bovines I came across some time ago. I love the curiosity of cows.

Oystercatchers are always great to see in real life and in art and craft. I often use them in my own work. These cute fellows are embroidered by Amanda Wright. They are also known as "Sea Pies" which is a lovely name for them.

I love this vintage bird embroidery found at a sale by Flickr member Art Craft Thrift. I think the red bird is an American Cardinal.

I love all birds but I am particularly fond of rooks. They epitomise the English countryside for me. The sounds of them quarrelling and chatting while building their nests in the rookeries in February is an enduring sign that spring is on its way.

These images are by artist and printmaker Adrienne Peverall. Her work is varied but very much inspired by Cornwall where she lives. I have always loved her rook etchings and paintings. She gives them such character and personality. You can find some more of her images here.

And here are three of my photos of rooks. They are very wary birds and very hard to get close-ups of unless you have a long range lens. These were tempted by a bit of food.

The paintings below are all the work of Irish artist and sculptress Margaret Egan. She imparts a wonderful sense of narrative and mystery to her figurative artwork, almost as if the viewer could step into the lives of the people she paints. She is also has a great love for and talent for painting the seas around the Irish coast. Two galleries where you can find lots more of her art are Courcoux & Courcoux and Solomon Fine Art.

Ladies Day

Yellow Dress

Moment Of Happiness

After The Ball 2

I will Go On

Surrender

White Lady

The Artist

I enjoyed watching Britain's Got Talent along with a huge portion of the country. There were some really good acts. I think Susan Boyle has a beautiful voice but I think she was definitely suffering from serious nerves on the night. Apparently she has been hounded by the paps recently and for someone previously living in relative obscurity, that must be quite frightening. I am glad in a way that she didn't win. She is now well known enough to make the most of her singing but will not have the terrible stress of appearing on The Royal Variety Show. She may not agree with me of course..ha ha. I am also glad the little girl Hollie didn't win for the same reason. She seemed to be having trouble coping and I don't think her voice is strong or reliable enough for public singing at the level of TRVS. Diversity, the winners, were absolutely amazing. Incredible choreography from the leader. I think they are on a par with Flawless for great dancing but Diversity just came out with the better showing on the night. I am sure Flawless will find their dancing careers boosted though. I hope so anyway.