Thursday, September 10, 2009

Looking Forward To Autumn

Well, that is my blog holiday over for the summer. I have missed everyone but I intend to catch up with all your latest bloggings this week. I have been quite productive too, which is a good thing. I hope you like my offerings in this post. I have found lots of wonderful new artists and craftspeople for your perusal too.

Enchanted
Listening To Silence
Ink and watercolour crab
I decided to prune the ivy on the old tree trunk in the garden yesterday and also to prune my hand at the same time. I was using the secateurs and they slipped and made a deep hole at the base of my thumb. You can imagine the scene so I won't describe it. It necessitated a trip to the local minor injuries unit, a few stitches and some antibiotics. The ivy got its own back.

Hurrah for black cats. This is the back view of one of our cats, Jack, who is a cutey. He is looking over the slightly untidy garden which is his domain.
and here is his front view which is even nicer I think. Isn't he handsome?
Here are two of Ian MacCulloch's beautiful etchings. I love the gorgeous ochres and golds he uses in his work. Ian is a UK artist, illustrator and printmaker with lots of strings to his bow. These images are from The Hayrack Gallery catalogue of his work and it is well worth a visit as they have an excellent display. If you love etchings of hares and trees go and have a look.

Leaping Hare

The Elm Path
Autumn is nearly here now. The nights and mornings are quite chilly and the leaves are starting to get that brownish tinge. I always look forward to the autumn. It is one of my favourite seasons because it is so beautiful. I love the sense of nature winding down and the mists and moisture around. The last of the roses are making a valiant effort before the first frosts put them to sleep till 2010.





I have had a book token burning a hole in my bag for some time now and finally I let it out (of my bag). I saw this wonderful book on butterflies and moths and couldn't resist it - in the name of artistic inspiration of course...haha. It is a beautifully photographed butterfly, moth and caterpillar extravaganza. I have included some images below but I couldn't scan it as it is quite huge. The photos are really stunning and all in full colour. Little text but masses of images which is how I like it. You can definitely expect some butterflies to appear in my drawings soon.








The beautiful images below are the work of artist Catherine Hyde. I first came across her work many years ago when I saw her prints and cards in a local gallery. I was enchanted by her mysterious iconic white hares and deer and other symbols of myths and legends which pepper her work.

Catherine has a website here and you can also see masses of her work at The Lighthouse Gallery here.

Catherine has also illustrated a lovely childrens' book which I was browsing through the other day. It is called The Princess' Blanket and is a lovely story written by Carol Ann Duffy.

The Silent Star
The Melting Hills
The Winter Solstice
I wonder if everyone has a dream home. Somewhere they would love to live if fate were to look kindly on them. I have always loved this house below ever since I lived as a child in the country village where it is situated. It is a Victorian vicarage and is a stones throw away from the church which was built in 1875, so presumably the vicarge was built at the same time. It is beautifully situated on the village green next to a sapling oak tree, the massive old one having since been felled. I just love everything about it. The wonderful, slightly haunted, gothic look. The interesting attic spaces which could be explored. The vicar relocated when I was a child, presumably because such a large house was too expensive for the church to run. It was sold some years ago for a huge amount of money. Ah well...I can dream.
These beautifully detailed etchings are by Orkney artist Louise Scott. Louise is inspired by the natural world and particularly birds. More of her work can be seen at her Inkstone gallery site here.

Hare Etching
Crow Etching
I love this sculpture by Ashot Tonoian called "Seashells". He is Armenian by birth but now lives and works in Norway. He produces mainly figurative sculptures and some of his work can be found here at the Russian Art Gallery.


These beautifully made brooches are all created by Etsy seller "designedbyjane". They are lovingly handmade from felt and embellished with applique, buttons and embroidery although Jane also crafts other items. She has a wonderful and varied range of designs and can be found here on Etsy. If you want to see what else she gets up to check out her blog here and her Flickr site here.

Summer Rain
Starry Night
Caramel 70s Design
Over The Rainbow
Vintage Bouquet
Embroidered Felt Butterfly
Retro Starburst
Red Hot Retro

22 comments:

andamento said...

Love the work by Ian McCulloch & Louise Scott, will definitely look them up, thanks for the introduction!

bunnits said...

Cathy, so glad you're back! Thanks for all the visual delights.

Jack is a beauty. Perhaps one day Lickety will grow into such a lovely creature.

Dolores said...

I'm glad you're back. I have missed you. Once again, an inspiring post. Great looking cat, Jack. I really like the brooches. An awful lot of work put into them.

Cathy said...

Glad you like them Anne. Their work is quite wonderful. I wish I could etch but you need lots of space and equipment.

Cathy said...

Thanks Melissa. You are very welcome. I enjoyed my blog break but am happy to get back to blogging as I have found a lot of new people to entrance everyone with.

I agree about Lickety. He isn't ours but he is ultra cute.

Cathy said...

Hi Dolores. It seems ages since I was here. I love those brooches of Jane's too. She has a wonderful sense of colour and design.

Caroline said...

So glad you're back Cathy! Missed my weekly dose of One Pink Goose! I just love your crab - the colours are super! Louise Scott's etchings are wonderful! I did a course once, not my thing - don't like all that fiddling about with acid baths!! Your lovely autumnal photos made me quite homesick! Oh and gorgous kitties indeed! Thanks for lots of treats this week - looking forward to seeing what else you've unearthed for us over the next weeks.

Cathy said...

Hi Caroline. Glad you enjoyed everything. Regarding etching; I love the style but I agree about the acid. I would quite like to do some more drypoint etching but unfortunately you need a press which I don't have any room for. Perhaps one day...haha.

Art4Sol said...

So glad you're back. Love your latest work and wealth of other visual delights!

~ Phyllis ~ said...

Hi Cathy,
Welcome back. I missed you and your blog. Love your ink and watercolor crab.
Your dream home is amazing. I can see why you like it. I would love to see the inside. Can you imagine a home with all those nooks and crannies.

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Art4Sol. It is nice to be back to blogging again. I have lots of new great artists and craftspeople to post about in the next few weeks too.

Cathy said...

Hi Phyllis. Nice to hear from you again. Hope everything is well with you and yours. I think to myself if I imagine myself living in my dream home perhaps one day I will get there...haha. Only if I win the National Lottery though. My mum cleaned the interior once years ago and she has told me a bit about the inside of the house. Would love to see myself though. Glad you like crab. It is a painting I did some years ago and found again recently.

Pomona said...

Lots of lovely pictures there - I am wearing a brooch from DesignedbyJane at the moment - it is absolutely exquisite. Hope you have had a good break and thank you for visiting my blog for a catch-up!

Pomona x

Acornmoon said...

Hi Cathy, a visit to your blog is always a treat, not only because of your lovely artwork and photographs but for all the great links to other interesting artists.

Now I'm off to explore some more!

Cathy said...

Hi Pomona, how lovely to have one of Jane's brooches. They look gorgeous from the photos. I had a great break thanks but eager to get back to blogging.

Cathy said...

Thanks Valerie, it is nice to know my efforts are enjoyed. So much wonderful art and craft everywhere and so little time to check it all out.

Holly Zemak said...

Hi Cathy - Welcome back - so much to look at and it is all wonderful. Like the background you used on Enchanted, interesting twist. Enjoyed the etchings of both Ian MacCollch and Louise Scott, And last but not least is Jack who is very handsome.

Cathy said...

Thanks Holly. I love those etchings too. I agree about Jack - he is a sweetie but he has a real mind of his own and he is a bit of a fighter where the neighbourhood cats are concerned...lol

ArtPropelled said...

Welcome back Cathy. You were missed!
I've just popped over to Jane's blog and am so impressed with her exquisite work. Thanks for the link.

Judybec said...

It's my first visit to your beautiful blog -- there's so much to see!

sorry to hear of your trimming mishap -- I've given my thumb a clip already with the floral shears... ouch!

Nice sketches -- love the blues in the crab, your photos are ALL fabulous--love seeing your black cat"Jack" and your garden shots. Your new butterfly book looks like a beauty! I enjoy seeing the variety of artists and craftspeople -- really great!
There's so many wonderful things to see here -- I've bookmarked you -- so I'll be back!!!!

Cathy said...

Hi Robyn, I agree, Jane's craftwork is quite beautiful.

Cathy said...

Hi Judybec, thanks for visiting. Sorry to hear about your gardening injury too. Mine is just about healed now. I am very pleased you found my blog interesting, I found yours equally so and will return to see new posts.