Autumn News

Our big news is we have a puppy; he is a small but very lively Jack Russell of sorts. I say “of sorts” because he is very different to our dear departed Ted. He is black and tan with white paws and a bent tail and we love him, he has brought much joy into our lives. As soon as we were able we took him on a trip to The Lake District where we enjoyed a brief interlude of sunshine between the showers. He proved to be an enthusiastic walker and found many admirers in the dog walking community. I had forgotten how many people stop and talk if you have a dog!

We visited Buttermere, possibly one of the most beautiful lakes in Cumbria. The colours in the landscape were beginning to change and added a sense of warmth to the reflections in the water. I loved the woodland walks and found inspiration in the tiny ferns and mosses growing in the crevices in walls and trees. We spotted several moths and butterflies, berries and fungi, some of which made their way into my new painting “Moths and Moonshine”.

This year I will be submitting a couple of larger paintings into this years R.M.S, exhibition. You can see details of this over on my website. “Moths and Moonshine” is one of these larger works; it is watercolour with gold leaf inspired by our recent trip. The barn owl was one I met earlier; he was so tame I was able to take lots of photographs of him for reference.

Some of you may have noticed that I have reluctantly removed the comments section form my blog. I do genuinely miss the interaction with my blog friends but have found that I spend more time on other platforms like Instagram and my neglected blog was attracting too many spam posts. I do hope a few of you still find this space interesting enough to visit despite recent changes.

All hot and bothered.

We are in the grip of winter now and my garden has been visited with many different species of birds, feasting on windfall apples and berries. With Christmas looming ever closer, despite my love for this season, it has the habit of filling me with mild panic. I have done hardly any shopping, have no tree or decoration in place and have been stricken with a horrible allergic skin condition which is driving me slowly crazy.



So instead of focusing on the negative I thought I would share with you some things that I have noticed and that you might enjoy. In my last few posts I have told you about my plans to publish my children’s books and over on the website of Martin West, my former publisher and now my mentor, I came across this charming book. You know how it is when you see something so simple and yet so clever and you say to yourself “I wish I had thought of that”? Here is a lovely picture book about a pair of socks; it is the brainchild of Japanese artist Noriko Matsubara. Bocchi and Pocchi are no ordinary pair of socks. They are the best of friends; then one night Pocchi disappears!

Now I know that many of my friends in the blogosphere are keen knitters, Noriko has a free pattern to knit these charming character socks. Would that not make a very special Christmas gift, a book and sock combo?



Whilst on the subject of gifts and knitting, my friend Frances has opened her Etsy shop. I am the proud owner of a pair of her wrist warmers, shown on a previous post. I also looked on as she knit the most beautiful scarf whilst in her stay in the UK.

Meanwhile, I have been busy with my granny squares, to date 30 pink and 30 white, for me something of a record. I hope to update you all on that soon.

We enjoyed a little break in a country cottage in Cumbria, taking the dog for some long and invigorating lakeshore walks and taking lots of photographs for future reference. Whilst taking a little R and R I bought myself a copy of Country Living December issue, and who should be featured there but none other than Celia Hart who came to a virtual tea party not so long ago!

The cottage had an Aga cooker in a rather small kitchen; the effect was a little overpowering. Anybody who has tried to cook a full English breakfast on an Aga will understand the phrase “slaving over a hot stove”, so when life gets you all hot and bothered, what better image than an expanse of tranquil water. And now, I shall take my leave, bye for now. x

Winter Skies

The New Year got off to a busy start with the arrival of my niece, husband and their delightful daughter. It was touch and go if the visit would take place at all on account of their recent acquisition; a retired greyhound also named Ted. We were all very unsure as to how our little Ted would react to suddenly having another strange dog in the house. Oddly enough, he did not mind a bit and life took on a new dimension, especially walks where big Ted was let loose to gallop across the fields. It is one of life’s great pleasures to see dogs playing; their “Joie de vie” is infectious. It was also very amusing to see how amiable they became, lying side by side in front of the fire in the evening.



The winter skies have been most inspiring, I love the way the stark tree branches appear like black lines engraved upon the heavens. Earlier this year I attended a workshop taught by Emily Martin of The Naughty Dog Press, where I learnt to make a magic book. I am not sure of its proper name but to me it appears to work like magic. Even though my brain understands the principle behind its construction my eyes tell me a different story. It is very difficult to explain but if you look at the photographs you will see that the book appears to be like a very simple concertina book. When it is opened it has inside covers decorated with trees. The first and last spreads have trees and the middle has snowflakes and a fox. When you hold the cover pages and pull, the book becomes flat and the fox disappears. When you turn the book over there is no sign of the trees or the fox. Now if that isn’t magic I’ll eat my hat. Whilst out walking today I noticed animal tracks in the snow, which has given me the idea of decorating the empty back page with fox prints. You may have worked out that the woven design has something to do with the magical transformation.

Since I wrote this post I have found out that the name of the structure is a woven flexagon.







The weather then took a turn for the worse; cold grey skies brought sleet and then snow.
My elderly mum had a very nasty fall and just as she was getting over that, I hurt my right hand trying to unscrew the top from a jar of marmalade! I was feeling extremely glum when a parcel arrived containing the most wonderful creation in the shape of a winter hare called Mademoiselle Ciel d'Hiver made by Stephanie, known to you and me as Millefeuilles
This little work of art has been most lovingly stitched, using perfectly chosen materials and is full of little details, tiny glass beads, hand made lace, silk ears, I am still discovering and marveling at her artistry.You can see more of these wondrous hares here in her Etsy shop. As you can see she has already made herself at home with my collection of hand made bears; acquired over the years for drawing reference material- (Some of the bears have featured on my china mugs).



With a painful hand there was nothing to be done except rest; painting, sewing, book making, housework were all out of the question. On days like that there was only one thing to be done and that was shop! Below are some of my more recent findings in various charity shops and second hand bookshops, all bought for inspiration.
The opened book with the goose engraving is ‘Footnotes on Nature” illustrated by Nora Unwin. The other opened book is “Nature and Ornament” by Lewis F Day and that beautiful tree drawing is by Mary Newill.

Bluebells and bookbinding

We have had a peculiar May this year, as I write this the sun is shining as we would expect but earlier in the month we had miserable, grey, cold dreary weather which cast a gloom over everything. The bluebells have been lovely but not so plentiful as previous years. On one of our dog walks we spied a fox near the canal path. We watched as she made her way to a dense patch of brambles and wondered if she had any hungry cubs to feed. The young fox illustration comes from “A Book of Days”, a birthday book I illustrated for Blackie and Son Ltd.

We had a very pleasant visit from artist friend Celeste Goulding, who had traveled to England on holiday from Australia. You may remember Celeste from a previous post? This time we enjoyed an actual rather than a virtual cup of tea. It was so nice to meet her in person.

Work has been busy, getting design collections ready for Surtex, an annual trade fair in New York. I did however find the time to attend a bookbinding workshop with Glenn Malkin, a bookbinder from East Yorkshire. Glenn is an amazing and inspirational craftsman who has a bindery called Signature Bindings Glenn specializes in affordable bindings and repairs, journals and fine bindings. His website contains useful information about forthcoming workshops and events as well as showcasing his award winning designer bindings.

In the one-day workshop we managed to complete three books. One wrap around binding, one Japanese stab binding and a little single section cased binding. All the materials were supplied including the lovely marbled papers. I was especially pleased with the book, which utilized part of an old map, an idea I am sure I will use again. Maybe next time I will remember that as this structure is covered with a map it has a front, back a head and a tail. I managed to create a back and a front the same way up but would have preferred the back to be the front, although in Japan it would have worked perfectly! Finally I have been creating an online print shop with Society6, the shop currently offers art prints and stretched canvases, and I hope to add more images in due course.

Children's Book Giveaway

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments you left about my children's book. It has been very heartwarming to read them, I really do appreciate your visits. This week I am hosting my own giveaway open to anyone who cares to enter. I have a signed copy of “White is the Moon” to give to you but first, I hope you will help me in a little market research. I have recently had some postcards printed, there are two sets available in my Etsy shop and I am wondering which people will like the best? So, if you would like a free, signed copy of my book please leave a comment below and say which animal postcard appeals to you the most.

I have always loved frogs, though I know that many hate them, it was lovely to see so many tadpoles whilst walking yesterday. We have been experiencing very heavy rain and cold, wintry weather but yesterday saw a bit if sunshine so we put on our dog walking boots and headed to the fields. The rain has made everything look so fresh and green, cowslips and primroses in flower, every cloud has a silver lining I suppose!

I will choose a winner on Wednesday the 2nd of May, so bye for now and good luck.

Gordon Setter.

I have been busy working on Easter artwork and a couple of commissioned pieces, none of which I can show you yet. This piece is something I did to illustrate a poem by Robert Burn’s; it was published by Kingfisher and appeared in “A Little Book of Dogs”. I am not entirely sure if the dog in question was actually a Gordon Setter but that was what I was instructed to paint by the editor at the time.

On Friday I hope to take it over to Chester where I will meet up with “Books Illustrated”, and so, in preparation for handing over the original I had the image scanned at my local repro house where they have a wonderful drum scanner. The repro house used to serve many of the local pottery companies; it is a sad sign of the times that in the last six months I was the only artist who used this facility. I dread to think what will happen if this scanner fails, it will be too expensive to repair and I have been unable to find another in my area. Of course I have a scanner here but there is no comparison in image quality. Before the world went digital I used to have my artwork photographed and put onto three inch by five inch transparencies, the problem now is the photographer cannot find suppliers of large format film. It is all very worrying and very sad, especially as I have to drive past so many closed down factories in what used to be the very heart of our pottery industry, poor old Stoke-on Trent!

On A Dog Of Lord Eglinton’s

I never barked when out of season,
I never bit without a reason;
I ne'er insulted weaker brother,
Nor wronged by force or fraud another.
We brutes are placed a rank below;
Happy for man could he say so.

Robert Burns

When life gets me down I find great solace in dogs especially my own little Jack Russell Ted. He makes me smile without fail; he lifts my spirits and keeps me fit. He gives me unconditional love and devotion and asks nothing in return except his keep. A dog that belonged to Lord Eglinton inspired this poem by Robert Burns but I think it will strike a chord with many dog owners.

House to Let

Dog walking is one of my favourite forms of exercise; it forces me out of the house no matter what the weather and gives me time to appreciate the wildlife on my doorstep. There has been so much to see recently, wild orchids, a grass snake, a heron chasing a buzzard, some rather unusual wild flowers which turned out to be orange hawkweed (sometimes called fox and cubs), and yesterday we watched a very industrious solitary bee.

A flash of green passed at eye level, at first I thought it was a dragonfly but on closer inspection saw that it was a bee carrying a piece of leaf. It took the leaf into a hole in the canal bridge wall. We watched in total fascination as the bee emerged from a gap between the bricks and returned with yet more pieces. Despite the fact that we had focused the camera on the hole, we did not manage to get a good shot but you can just about make out a piece of the newly cut leaf being dragged into the tiny space in the motar. We think that the bee must have been a leaf cutter bee, which makes nests similar to a cigar, rolling the leaves into a cylinder. Please click on the photograph to see more clearly.



Earlier this year I placed a bee house in the garden, so far we have had no takers. It has been thought for sometime that pesticides may be killing our bees and it is clear that more research is needed. The Co-Operative Plan Bee is campaigning for more research into the effects of pesticides on bees. You can visit their website and sign a petition and learn more about our bees. If you enjoy flowering plants, juicy pears, almond and cherries then please spare a thought for our bees without which we would have none of these things. If people had to take over the job of bees in the UK it would take a workforce of tens of millions, to find out just how many visit this link. In some parts of China humans now have to pollinate fruit, it could happen here, please help.

Bluebells and Barthomley

It is so hard to stay indoors when the bluebells are in bloom. For a brief spell, before the leaf canopy gets too dense, sunlight dances on the woodland floor and the bluebells take center stage.



This little woodland is only a mile or so away from our home but as yet, remains an area of great tranquility and natural beauty, despite being so close to the town. As you can see we took Ted for a walk over the May Bank Holiday, as usual he chose his walking stick with great care and attention. (Click for a closer look.)

The weather was bright but cold and before too long the rain started in earnest, there was only one thing for it, we headed for the pub where a roaring fire awaited us. You can see more of this old inn in Barthomley which dates back to 1614 here. It is the sort of pub where dogs are welcome but we decided to take Ted home first as he had got rather wet in the rain, he did not seem to mind too much as he snuggled into his new blanket.



The water colour illustration above is taken from “A Book of Days” which sadly is now out of print.

daffydowndillies

I have been reading an old gardening book which refers to daffodils as daffydowndillies, isn't that a lovely name?
Our daffodils have more or less gone past their best; they have been so much later this year than last thanks to our very prolonged winter. We have a few in flower at the moment but I don’t think they will last much into next week. The painting here will be an Easter card to be published next year in the UK, actually I finished it last year and had the luxury of painting it from life which is always preferable to working out of season.

The weather has been truly wonderful here and we have been taking photographs of wild flowers in order to have lots of reference material on which to draw. Our usual walking place is now scattered with cowslips, primroses and wood anemones. Baby rabbits have been keeping Ted on his toes, fortunately he is hopeless at catching them, in fact I think he enjoys hunting for sticks! We have noticed a few rabbits with what looks like Myxomatosis, something I thought had died out years ago, it is quite heartbreaking to see them limping about by the wayside.





I have started to work on a new book project, which is a bit daunting; I hope to share more news of this soon, and in the meantime I hope to catch up with reading your blogs.

It's getting to look a lot like Christmas?

Despite the spring like nature of this post it seems more like Christmas here in my home studio. I can see snow on the lawn outside and I have my heating switched on. My desk is strewn with eighteen pots of gouache in classic Christmas colours, mixed especially for a new design collection that I am working on for Christmas 2011.



We have had some brief respites between showers and have managed a few country walks along the canal towpath. The wildlife seem to think that it is spring and the air is filled with various chirpings and squabblings as birds seek out their nesting sites.

Every year a couple of swans raise a family along the canal side, this one in the photograph seems to think it has found the perfect spot. Ted found a few new friends as you can see; it is hard to think he will be ten years old in July. I will have to keep a close eye on him when then cygnets appear, as those mute swans get very protective of their young. click for a closer look.

It will soon be time to tidy away my work and set to preparing this empty nest in preparation for our family visitors over Easter. There are metal Easter eggs to fill, beds to be made, a house to clean and lots of shopping to be done so without further ado I would like to wish you all a very happy Easter!

Handbag or Manbag?

I have been invited by Frances from Fairy Lanterns who in turn accepted an invitation from Frances of City views, Country dreams to reveal the contents of my handbag.
Both of the aforementioned have wonderful blogs, which are well worth a visit.

Now them, I don’t actually use a handbag as such but I do carry a rather scruffy shoulder bag on most excursions outdoors. I bought my bag in Bruges three years ago and have been using it constantly ever since. It reminds me of the kind of bag Isaac Walton would have taken with him on a fishing trip; it could well be a described as a manbag!

Inside, slightly more feminine and even a little bit canine. In the small front pockets, a hair appointment loyalty card, tissues and what are sometimes rather politely called “dog waste bags”, unused I hasten to add!

In the main part I have the usual, purse, keys, mobile phone, camera (you never know when the next photo opportunity may arise) and glasses. A tiny notebook with a tulip cover, which a friend brought back, from The Rijks Museum. A handmade leather notebook, one of my many attempts at bookbinding. A tissue holder which I made using some Debbie Mumm fabric and a little coin purse which I sewed using some of my own fabric which this holds change for the car park and two lipsticks. I also have two Oyster cards from a recent trip to London; these are used by Londoners on buses and tubes and can be topped up when needed. Last but not least I have my trusty green umbrella and lovely silk lined soft black leather gloves both of which were presents from my mum.

I would like to invite you to play along if you have the time or the inclination. Do you favour the handbag or the manbag?