Busy as a bee!

 

Hello again, I hope all is well with you and yours. Spring is always a busy time, longer days and warmer temperatures are always welcome and bring a new found energy to create, garden and explore.

I have been busy painting bees, inspired by the many bumblebees in my garden at the moment. It has been fun to add gilding to these paintings.

In fact I have been getting carried away with gilding, there is something so entrancing about the shiny metal that becomes addictive!

This painting of a Wheatear has been given the treatment, using both flat and raised gilding in the borders.

Finally, I have been busy with preparations for this years Hilliard Exhibition of miniature paintings to be held in Wells Town Hall. The above painting "Golden Silence" will be one of the many miniatures on show.

More details on their website.

 June 5th - 12th 2021

(closed on Sun 6th June)

Arts and Crafts

This textile design has been based on a simple repeating pattern based around circles and was inspired by a visit to St Giles's church in Cheadle Staffordshire, designed by Pugin. I used one of my miniature paintings of a dragonfly resting on a water lily. The fabric will be available to purchase shortly and can be found in my Acornmoon Spoonflower shop, see links in the sidebar.

The hare badge is just one of many recent experiments and creations, using a badge making machine and images from my miniature paintings. These are now in my Acornmoon Etsy shop.

This lovely old Arts and Crafts house is just one of the many places we visited recently. Wightwick Manor is filled with William Morris furnishings, Rossetti paintings and many more splendid examples of decorative art of the Arts and Crafts Movement. The property is owned by The National Trust and is situated close to Wolverhampton.

William Morris took his inspiration from Medieval arts and crafts. This small piece of gilding is something I started at a calligraphy workshop, it too is inspired by an old illuminated manuscript. I have used transfer gold leaf applied to a base of PVA, this is a modern product but the principle is the same and I feel fairly certain that had it been around all those years ago the monks would have used it!