Thursday, May 6, 2010

Last Of The Bluebell Photo's

My email problems are sorted out now so I have gone back to my original and preferred email address although the alternative will reach me just as well.

I have had very little time for art this week but I did manage this pen and ink cat drawing. I found it very difficult due to the large amount of white on its face and chest. It does look a little better enlarged but I am not too happy with it. It would probably have looked good in scraperboard but I don't think I am au fait with the technique enough to do it justice. Perhaps when I have practiced a bit more I may try it again.
Do you remember my post about the stunning etchings of Flora McLachlan a while back? Well I heard from a lady, Neile, who read my blog that she is exhibiting as part of the Oxford Art Week event this week. She will be at St.Giles Church in Oxford if anyone is in the area. Unfortunately I cannot go but I am sure she will be very successful. Her work is really beautiful. You can read about Flora on this Art Weeks page here.


Aren't these two paintings by artist Dawn Stacey gorgeous? Such a beautiful use of colour and detail. Dawn is a very successful artist who originally studied for a textile degree but then went into painting. Her artwork is composed of various layers and decorative surfaces and collage. You can check out the rest of Dawn's work on her website here.

Lilies In The Royal Pavilion


Heron On A Quiet Spring Afternoon


I visited Hatfield Craft Fair on Friday and it was cold... very cold. They have moved the fair from just outside the main house to a very draughty spot on a hilltop nearby. The original Palace of Hatfield was the childhood home of Elizabeth I but there is only a tiny remnant of that now. I spent quite a while photographing the ancient trees (there are over 800 ancient trees in the forest) and I will put some of them on the blog next week. The craft fair used to spill over into the lovely old outbuildings and stables of the house and it was wonderful to walk around but I think the atmosphere has gone now. Not a wise move in my opinion. Still, the fair itself is enormous with many huge marquees cramed full of lovely goodies and handmades. There were lots of things I would have loved to have brought home with me but I restrained myself and bought only cards and a lovely silver engraved heart necklace. The marquees below represent only a tiny fraction of the fair.







These are the last of my bluebell posts for this spring. These are from three different areas. I have a huge collection of bluebell photos now from quite a few local areas where they grow in large numbers. You can click on them to make them larger if you like.






Tony Foard is an English potter who creates beautifully delicate raku figures of African women. He produces other ceramics as well but is best known for his tall, slim ladies. He pays great attention to detailing the faces and figures and gives them gorgeous gowns to wear. They are really stunning to see grouped together like in the images below. His work can be found in galleries in the UK. You can see more of Tony's work on his website here.




We came across this fascinating old garden door on the Earl Howe estate at Penn Manor when out walking one day. You will have to click on the photo to enlarge it as it is partly in shade. It is a composite door with three different panels, one of which is extremely beautifully carved. The middle part is completely plain and the other side panel is very rusty and old looking. The very decorative part was obviously never meant to be in a garden door but was probably an interior feature. Judging by the border it must have been a huge thing originally. Amazing what you can find in the countryside.






Valerie Armstrong is a multi-talented artist who creates work in the form of paintings, drawings, collage, monoprints, collographs, illustrations and folding screens. She also trained and worked as an art therapist. My favourite of her work is defintely her collographs though. The three images below are all collographs and they have a lovely narrative and contemporary feel to them. I never can resist birds of course. You can find lots of Valerie's work on here website here.

Gossip


Watching The Weather


The Message


I have added a few new images to my large collection of greetings cards. The paintings are by artist Alex Egan who produces really lovely fresh and spontaneous watercolours of animals and birds and lots of other things too. She has some delicious chicken and geese artwork. The cards are produced by greetings card company Wildcard and you can find Alex's page on their site here. You can find Alex's own website here.

Mother Hen


Hare Study


Gwendolin And Brenda

24 comments:

andamento said...

The bluebell woods you have found are beautiful. I've yet to see one properly in the flesh.
The big old gate is fabulous!

LOVE STITCHING RED said...

Love it all but especially your cat drawing, Watching the Weather and all your delicious bluebell wood photos

Have a lovely week
Carolyn

Sandy Mastroni said...

Cathy ... my two favorite drawings here are the mother hen and YOUR amazing cat
Your comment on blog .> about how I clean my house made me smile ... you know me too well and we've never even met !
If only > if only .... If I could , I would love to visit you , have a cup of tea
That's the only sad part about blog friends , we're all so far away from each other

Gina said...

Your posts are always so inspirational with such lovely images. I can't believe I missed Living Crafts at Hatfield again. I always used to go but it seems to have passed me by for about three years now.

Acornmoon said...

It seems to me that you have achieved much despite your lack of time!

Your bluebells look wonderful, it is a pity they don't last longer but maybe that adds to their magic.

Cathy said...

Thanks Anne. I am very partial to a nice bluebell wood and being in the Chilterns we have lots to choose from.

Cathy said...

Thanks Carolyn. I love those seagulls Watching The Weather too.

Cathy said...

That is very true Sandy. The blogging community crosses barriers but there is still the wide Atlantic...haha.

Cathy said...

Hi Gina. Craft Fairs are my passion and there is masses to see at Hatfield but sadly my favourite art and craft bookseller wasn't there. I hope he will be at Stonor Craft Fair in August. I love browsing the books on his stall. I wish I could have taken more photos of stalls but often stallholders prefer you not to photograph them.

Cathy said...

I think it does Val. Perhaps we would not be so entranced if we saw them for several months. They are here and gone till next spring.

sea-blue-sky & abstracts said...

Glad that your email problems have been ironed out Cathy and I've really enjoyed looking at the wealth of talent displayed in this post - again!

The gate is both interesting and puzzling, with the carved section resembling a piece of moulding from a gigantic frame.

Have a good week. Lesley

bunnits said...

Always a delight! The craft fair looks wonderful. Thanks for the bluebells. I miss seeing them. They used to grow in an area off the beaten path at the museum where I worked in Memphis.

Holly Zemak said...

Your drawing of the cat came out fine. Such an inviting look. The bluebells are lovely, they must be amazing to see in person. And I enjoyed Alex Egans watercolors.

Cathy said...

Hi Lesley. I think that is what it is. A huge carved frame for something interior. They wouldn't put that amount of carving on something outside I am sure. Perhaps I should write to the estate and ask where it came from.

Cathy said...

How lovely Melissa. I didn't know you had bluebells in America. Apparently they are worried now about the Spanish bluebell which is not endemic to this country. It is paler, larger and takes over from our gentle homegrown species by cross pollination and its stronger genetic makeup. The Spanish grows in open ground and the English prefers woods and shady places.

Cathy said...

Thanks Holly. Alex's watercolours are gorgeous. I wish I could paint bluebell woods. I find it impossible to make them look realistic. Glad you like the kitty. I only have one photo of him and I have never seen him again so perhaps the owners moved away.

Lynn Cohen said...

Your art is all so wonderful to behold. Thanks for sharing so much.

Caroline said...

I do like your kitty drawing - lovely detail - what patience you must have. Gwendlolin and Brenda are superb aren't they? Great names too! I will be away next week for a couple of weeks - I'm hoping your print will arrive before I depart!

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Lynn. I wish it was all my art...but I know what you mean.

Cathy said...

Hi Caroline. I hope your print arrives safely. Let me know if it doesn't turn up. Have a great time away and come back with lots of lovely photos like you always do. Have a safe journey.

Chatters said...

Hi Cathy

The art work by Alex is gorgeous and I love your cat drawing. Despite not having time you always manage to do at least one drawing. That would be great if I could manage that at the moment. My energy for art seems to come in bursts then I stop for a while.

Cathy said...

Hi Amanda. Sometimes I really don't feel like drawing anything but I always do end up with something. When I first started blogging I used to do three or four pieces of artwork regularly but it was really too much to cope with. If I wasn't blogging I probably wouldn't put pen to paper for some weeks at a time.

Artist said...

love your cat drawing. I do have to admit though that the face does get a little lost in with the white chest. Great job though!

Cathy said...

Thanks Artist. You are quite right about the face. It is white on white and doesn't quite look right to me. Perhaps I should have altered its chest to black...lol.