Next Blog Post 18 July

I am having a week off from blogging now so my next post will be two weeks hence. Goodness isn't the summer flying by? I know they say that time seems to pass more quickly as you get older but not this fast surely?

This is Elegant Bird. Back to my usual palette of colours here although I enjoyed the change with my last digital drawing.

This is my latest scraperboard work in progress. It is of Michael and Lesley's cat Abby who normally skeddadles when she sees me but she was quite sleepy and amenable for once so I got a good photo of her. Doing a scraperboard of a cat is a lot trickier than I thought but luckily I have discovered that my rapidograph ink is a very similar black to that of the board. If I make an error in scratching I just ink over it and start again. Very reassuring.

These photos below are of Ashridge House and gardens. We visited on a Open Garden's Day and really enjoyed it. The House is now a management college and not open to the public but the gardens are extensive and well worth a visit. They have the most beautiful and varied selection of trees, some very old and huge. They also had very delicious cream teas set out in the Orangery which were irresistible (even to those on diets)

These lovely foxes are by artist Val George. You can see more of her work on the Bertram Enterprises site here.

Stealth

Young Fox Under The Moon

These gorgeous quilts are by textile artist Noriko Endo. She has a very detailed and time consuming technique whereby she lays all the tiny fabric elements on her base material and then covers them with fine gauze and quilts over the top to keep them in place. She calls it the confetti technique. I think her work is quite amazing. She has a deep love for trees and nature as you can tell when you visit her website here.

Mother Nature

Sylvan Ambience #2

Jenny Portlock's linocuts and wood engravings are gorgeously detailed and beautifully cut. The two images below are both linocuts although you can see examples of her engravings if you go here to Emma Mason's site. Jenny became a book designer for Longman Pearson after graduating but then went freelance to concentrate on printmaking. You can read a bit more about Jenny here at Norwich Print Fair

This is an article that I had saved for my cuttings folder about Jenny Portlock when she was interviewed by Craftsman Magazine years ago.

Harebells

The Hare And The Olive

A few blue flowers I have come across on my travels.

Lavender

Ceanothus

Lisianthus

Iris

I saw Anna Wadham's Geese painting quite a while ago but didn't know who painted it. I was delighted to come across her work and find the artist behind that lovely image. Out of season I know but who cares as it is so pretty and I have always been a fan of geese. Anna is a freelance illustrator who lives in Norfolk. She trained in surface design and childrens' book illustration and has had two books published. You can read all about Anna and see her work on her website here. She also has a lovely blog here and an Etsy shop here. I love her beautifully colourful and quirky artwork.

Anna Wadham Illustrations

Geese

Fox Face

Catwings

Elephant

Hot Summer Days

Our weather has gone into summer mode now and is a little too hot for me. We are having around 29C at the moment. I don't mind the hot days so much if only the nights were cool. We are getting a bit short of water too with the grass turning quite brown and parched in the garden. Sadly the bright lime greens of spring are but a memory.

This is my uber favourite song on YouTube at the moment. Have a listen and see if you like it.

Tell Me Now What You See by Moya Brennan

I never watch football as I am allergic to it but I did feel a bit sorry for the English side. Such a crushing defeat is hard to take. Mind you they have gigantic salaries to take their minds off it.

This is my latest digital drawing - Scarlet And Gold

My latest flower photographs

I love this cute cat embroidery by textile and mixed media artist Jane Poulton. You can see some of her images here at the Contemporary Art Holdings site. Just click on the central image which says Jane Poulton.

The two lovely etchings below are by printmaker Will Vaughan. I find his work beautifully atmospheric and detailed. You can see more of his artwork on his website here.

January

Rookery

I am really enjoying being out and about in the local countryside this summer. We have been busy geocaching for several months now and recently decided to hide our own cache. It comprises fourteen little receptacles and the instructions to find them will soon be published. It has been fun trying to find places to hide them and be as creative as possible. The three views below are near to where one of the caches is hidden.

I have read about Hus And Hem on quite a few blogs recently so I thought I would pop over to their site here and have a look for myself. They are a Scandinavian company and Hus and Hem means House and Home. They have some beautifully stylish designs but these two below are my favourites.

Golden Apple Dishcloths

Mugs

Holly Wright uses reclaimed materials to make her beautifully quirky furniture and chickens and often the two together. You can see more of her craftwork on her website here.

I would like to wander through Sue Slack's gorgeously vibrant landscapes. She has a wonderful sense of colour. She is hugely inspired by nature and the areas around North Yorkshire where she lives and works. I particularly love her tree paintings. You find lots more beautiful landscape oils on her website here.

Terrington Series X

Sun Setting On Trees II

Rosebury Topping Series I

Moo Cards And More Etchings

I have been happily etching away this week and I am quite pleased with the results. The lower picture will need to be enlarged as it is a very long image. I just happened to have a long piece of perspex and knew I had the perfect drawing for it. The mermaid image is one I drew a long time ago and I love it but I am not impressed with the Rhenalon plate that I used in place of perspex. I bought some from Lawrences' as I thought it sounded like a nice alternative to perspex but it is very thin, flexible and very slippery to etch. Because it is so thin there is very little plate mark and the actual impression is not as sharp as I would like. I will definitely re-etch the same image but either on perspex or copper. I think my inking and wiping technique is improving too. It is really wonderful to pull the plate through the press and draw back the paper for the first time to see what the etching is like. I may use one of the two mermaid etchings I have produced to try out watercolour washes just to see what the effect is. I am also going to try out some alternative ink which is washable in soap and water and is different from the oil based Charbonnel ink. I made a terrible mess of shirt and trousers when inking up the other day. It gets everywhere....!

Craster Mermaid Etching (Craster is a lovely little fishing village on the Northumbrian coast where I am sure mermaids play)

The Tree Is Heavy But The Birds Are Light Etching

We were asked to carrying out feeding duties for the kitties at my brother and his partner Lesley's house two weeks ago. A great photo opportunity for me and I spent quite a long time with them in the garden trying to get the perfect shot. They complied with my requests a few times. Sheba, the fourth and eldest of the cats, was far too sleepy to join in the feline rumpus.

Pixie (mum) keeping an eye on the youngsters

Poppy showing off among the wild strawberries

Abby beautifully framed by the greenery in the garden

Trevor Kemp was born in 1935 and trained as a painter/printmaker in Kent and later at the RAA. He is retired now due to ill health but continues to draw and paint. His wonderfully graphic prints are displayed at the Emma Mason Gallery here but these are my two favourites.

Horned Rams

Cows Under Tree

I found out from fellow blogger Gillian of Iheartcrafts blog about the offer of free moo cards except for £3 p&p. They all have Etsy and Moo info on them at the bottom though. I thought I would give it a go as I have always wanted to try out Moo business cards and this was a cheap way of seeing if I liked them. I chose 50 of my own designs and I am really pleased with how they turned out. A lot of the images had to be cropped to fit but on the whole they look really good all together like this. Now I have seen what they are like I may decide to order some proper ones without the advertising on. The offer still seems to be on although it says it expires at the end of April 2010 so if you want to try them out get over here asap.

A beautiful river which runs through a nearby town. One of my favourite places for walking.

I love these beautiful pieces by textile artist Karen Young. She has lived on Somerset's lovely Levels since 1986 and you can see that a lot of her inspiration comes from the area. I think the depictions of Glastonbury Tor and the pollarded willows are very evocative. The Tor is one place I am determined to see myself one day. Karen uses her own photographs, dyed fabrics, painted papers and stitchery to create her lovely works. You can see more images of her work on her website here.

Grey Green Tor

Somerset Rape

One Man, One Wife

Aren't these quirky wooden mechanical toy figures gorgeous? They are by maker Jane Ryan who studied Fine Art at Chelsea and then moved to Cornwall. They are made from reclaimed wood and are beautifully decorated. You can find these at the Janet Bell Gallery here.

Man And Dog

Love Machine With Three Gulls

Rigby Graham is a very well known painter/printmaker who trained at Leicester and originally became an illustrator and muralist. He is now known as one of the foremost landscape painters in the country. I particularly love his beautiful graphic woodcuts, four of which are illustrated below. He has always had a particularly strong connection with Ireland which has inspired a good deal of his work. There are also two books about his work which can be found on his website here along with a huge array of his art.

Doneraile Goat

Tretower, Powys, Wales

Brighton Pier

Annaghdown Castle